Healthcare workers stage largest strike

Latest protest adds to major US labor unrest that has paralyzed sectors

SACRAMENTO/LOS ANGELES — Holding signs and ringing handbells, tens of thousands of healthcare workers took to the picket lines on Wednesday at hundreds of hospitals across the United States, seeking better pay and benefits through what is called the largest healthcare worker strike in US history.

More than 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente, a leading nonprofit health provider in the country, walked off the job on Wednesday morning after their unions and the healthcare giant failed to reach a new contract agreement on Tuesday.

The strikes will run through Saturday at dozens of locations across the states of California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and Washington, DC.