At least 30 strikes of health care workers have hit U.S. facilities this year

Walkouts and strikes hit hospitals in pandemic hot spots There have been at least 30 strikes of health care workers so far this year, according to a tracker from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. POLITICO

Hospitals taxed by the pandemic over the last 20 months have a new problem: Labor strife and a wave of resignations have people waiting longer for care.

Months of marathon shifts, an onslaught of verbal and even physical abuse from patients and the public, and perennial complaints over low pay and staffing shortages are stirring unrest at a particularly critical moment in the pandemic.

There have been at least 30 strikes of health care workers so far this year, according to a tracker from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. More than a half million health care workers quit in August, the last month for which data is available. That’s the most in a single month in more than 20 years.

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