- Valley View News
Kaiser Employees Face Suspension
LOS ANGELES, CA - Thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees were suspended from work on October 5th after a COVID-19 vaccine requirement was instituted. So far, more than 2,200 healthcare workers have been placed on unpaid administrative leave. Nationwide, 2.2 million healthcare workers are given until December 1st to either get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs. The deadline for Kaiser workers to get vaccinated or get an exemption for facility and healthcare workers was September 30.
James Mack is a property manager for Kaiser who thinks that the vaccine requirement is simply for the best.
“All hospitals, all businesses are doing what they think is best for their employees and for visitors, anything like that.”
President Biden mandated that companies with more than 100 employees must have them all vaccinated. “I think it’s a little unfair because if people don’t want to take the vaccine, they shouldn’t have to. But of course, the vaccine could be safe, but then people are a little suspicious of it,” says local resident Justina Zamora.
The clock is ticking, and termination will be a real possibility for Kaiser employees and those from many other companies if they don’t decide soon.
Shane Marshall is an employee for a company that is experiencing the same consequences in his workforce. “Yeah, it’s wrong,” says Marshall. “I’m not down with it. I’m looking at the same thing at my job. Shot or fired. And we don’t have a date yet.”
Kaiser employs 216,000 people nationwide. In addition to the new Covid rules, Kaiser hospitals are also experiencing staffing shortages, and their healthcare workers have voted to strike for a 4 percent raise.
Video credit: CBS News
Video credit: Mary Paronyan
By: Mary Paronyan
With contributions from: James Mack, Justina Zamora, Shane Marshall, Juanita Lujan.
Video: CBS News, Mary Paronyan.
Photo: Mary Paronyan
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