San Francisco • As many as 18,000 nurses went on strike Tuesday and picketed in front of Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California to express their concerns about patient-care standards and Ebola.
The nurses, who are in the midst of contract negotiations, held red and yellow "strike for health and safety" picket signs. The two-day strike was expected to affect at least 21 Kaiser hospitals and 35 clinics and last until 7 a.m. Thursday.
Union officials said nurses are striking over claims there has been an erosion of patient-care standards in Kaiser facilities for months and that the company has failed to adopt optimal safeguards for Ebola.
"The nurses are telling story upon story of the lack of safety for patients, the lack of concern for patients," RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association, the union representing the striking nurses, said. "This isn't about money. This is about something far deeper."
Kaiser said calling a strike now, "just as we are entering flu season, and when the nation and our members are concerned about the risk of Ebola, seems particularly irresponsible."
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, smiles during a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from the hospital on Tuesday, where medical team members were cheering, 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, smiles during a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from the hospital on Tuesday, where medical team members were cheering, 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, center right, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, is escorted by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from the hospital on Tuesday at a joyous news conference where medical team members were cheering and hooting. It happened 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, is hugged by Dr. Laura Evans, director of Critical Care at Bellevue Hospital, during a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital on Tuesday at a joyous news conference where medical team members were cheering and hooting. It happened 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, right, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, is escorted by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, to a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital on Tuesday, 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. The physician had been working with Doctors Without Borders. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, is applauded by the Bellevue Hospital nursing staff as he arrives for a news conference at the hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital on Tuesday at a joyous news conference where medical team members were cheering and hooting. It happened 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, arrives to his apartment building after being discharged from Bellevue Hospital in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer, a Doctors Without Borders physician who was declared free of Ebola said Tuesday he was living proof that early detection and isolation can stop the spread of the deadly virus, and called for a better focus at the center of the outbreak in West Africa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Dr. Craig Spencer, right, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio laugh during a news conference New York's Bellevue Hospital, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital on Tuesday at a joyous news conference where medical team members were cheering and hooting. It happened 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A neighbor brings a bunch of "Welcome Home" balloons to the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer, who was the first Ebola patient in New York City, after Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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