What happened with the Kaiser strike? 🪧

Plus: The trucking industry is its own worst enemy

Hey there! Before diving into today’s newsletter, a personal announcement: James (AKA the STS cameraman!) and I got married on Sunday. 🎉 Because we’re all about ✨ transparency, ✨ we’re making a video about how much the wedding cost (down to the tiniest details)! In the meantime, here are some pictures from arguably the best day ever.

– Hannah

 1   The Kaiser Permanente strike wraps up…for now 🪧

AP Photo/Ryan Sun

“Hot Strike Summer” is far from over. On October 4, 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers staged the largest walkout by healthcare workers in US history. X-ray technicians, receptionists, medical assistants, and more swapped out their scrubs for picket signs to protest for:

  • Higher Wages âžś A minimum pay bump of $25 an hour companywide, a four-year pact that includes a 7% raise during the first two years, and a 6.25% raise in years three and four. Plus, a minimum performance bonus of $1,500.

  • Better Staffing âžś Increased hiring beyond Kaiser’s 2023 hire goal of 10,000 employees. FYI: 74% of Kaiser employees mentioned insufficient time to properly care for patients due to staff shortages.

  • Improved Benefits âžś A fund of $2,500 per year for healthcare reimbursement accounts on top of a fixed retirement plan with zero loopholes or plan changes.

Kaiser’s offer? $21 hourly minimum in most states and a $23 minimum in California. It’s a start, but let’s not forget that Kaiser’s Chairman and CEO, Gregory Adams, netted $17.2 million in 2020 (in fact, dozens of Kaiser executives have seven-figure salaries).

While protests ended on Saturday (the federal government limits the length of healthcare strikes), the fight isn’t over: “If in-person talks next week fail, union leaders say another strike is on the table,” reporter Jackie Fortier told NPR.

 2   Acknowledging Latina Equal Pay Day 🙌

52 cents on the dollar. That’s how much Latinas earn compared to white men. In other words, Latinas would have to work until they’re 90—past their life expectancy–to match what white men earn by age 60.

That’s why on October 5, we recognize Latina Equal Pay Day. This day is intended to shed light on equal pay during Hispanic Heritage Month while seeking solutions to close this gap.

The solutions in question: Raise the minimum wage, strengthen maternity leave policies, create union-friendly policies, mandate pay transparency (đź’š), and policies to let busy moms plan their schedule in advance, just to name a few.

 3   Trucking companies prevent women from filling driver jobs đźšš

Women In Trucking

“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem.” – The Trucking Industry. Trucking companies have long complained about a shortage of workers. But—ironically—its very own training policies prevent qualified women from filling those empty slots.

FYI: Trucking companies insist that women train female trainees to avoid claims of sexual harassment. The pairs usually spend weeks alone on the road—oftentimes sleeping in the same cab.

A same-sex training policy isn’t the answer. Instead, companies could create better anti-harassment programs, pay for trainees to sleep in hotels, and place cameras in cabs to monitor bad behavior.

In the meantime, three women have filed a discrimination complaint against Stevens Transport with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the commission finds a violation it might bring its own lawsuit.

With the Kaiser Permanente strike on the mind, we’re throwing it back to our interviews with fellow nurses. 🚑 We explored 16 types of nursing roles to give you a better picture of what this profession is actually like.

To name just a few:

  • đź’‰ Nurse Anesthetist ($280K)

  • đź’‰ Nurse Practitioner ($200K+)

  • đź’‰ Travel Nurse ($90K–$100K)

  • đź’‰ Registered Nurse ($80K)

  • đź’‰ ICU Nurse ($42/hr)

Plus, we lay out the steps to become a nurse if you’re thinking of joining the healthcare field.

  • Want to break into tech? This tech program can help—previous graduates collectively increased their salaries by $185,000. 🤯

  • An ex-Google recruiter reveals the top question you should ask in a job interview.

  • Select fast food chains (shout-out In-N-Out, Taco Bell, and Chipotle) are paying their managers up to $180,000. đź’°

  • A (gentle) reminder that a 2% to 4% salary increase is not a raise: That’s a cost of living adjustment.

  • Employers are searching for these 10 skills on your rĂ©sumĂ©. Do you have them?

Thanks for reading! Last week, we asked: “How important to you is healthcare coverage from an employer?” and most of you agreed it’s a must-have: 🏥

  • “Healthcare should be separate from employers BUT since it is not, it should be covered. Fully.”

  • “Even if freelance or covered by a partner, employers should invest in worker wellness for productivity.”

  • “I get really good healthcare through my employer for my whole family. But…I feel stuck at my job because the healthcare is too good to pass on.”

Our take? Everyone should have access to medical care regardless of where (or if) they work.

See you next week!

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