A judge ruled that an Iowa hospital worker who was fired after repeatedly violating COVID-19 mitigation policies is not entitled to unemployment benefits, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported May 11. 

Citing a desire for the best possible patient care and strong worker protections, physicians in California have been involved in several labor actions this year.

Resident and fellow physicians at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles have voted to unionize with the Committee of Interns and Residents.

Members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West are set to begin a weeklong strike May 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

For years, healthcare systems have grappled with nurse shortages. The pandemic has motivated organizations to take a closer look at the causes of the problem and potential solutions.

After more than seven months of talks, the majority of 1,600 front-line nurses working at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore., have voted to authorize a strike, according to the union that represents them.

Resident and fellow physicians at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care have voted in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, according to a May 3 news release.

Nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., have ratified three-year contracts and will go back to work May 3.

Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract for about 5,000 nurses represented by the union, according to hospital and union statements.

Hundreds of workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles plan to strike May 9, according to the union that represents them.  

The following hospital-union events have been reported in the last two weeks:

The union representing nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., is accusing the hospital of violating the agreement to end a monthslong strike by pursuing a plan to unilaterally impose 12-hour shifts on its members.

Front-line workers at Providence, R.I.-based Women & Infants Hospital protested April 26 over what they described as inaccessible vacation time, according to The Providence Journal.

As a strike continues, the union representing about 5,000 nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., is slated to continue negotiations with hospital management on April 27, according to Stanford's latest negotiations update.

Nurses, mental health specialists and other healthcare professionals at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., voted to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93.

Registered nurses will hold actions April 27 at nine Tenet hospitals in California, according to the union that represents them. 

About 5,000 nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., who are members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, will go on strike April 25, according to the union.

Nurses at Barrett Hospital & HealthCare in Dillon, Mont., have voted to join the Montana Nurses Association, according to hospital and union statements shared with Becker's.

UH Geneva (Ohio) Medical Center, part of Cleveland-based University Hospitals, has reneged on a promise that nurses would receive a COVID-19 appreciation bonus in April, according to the union that represents them.

Registered nurses at Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare's Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., held a speak-out April 21 over concerns about staffing and patient care, according to ABC affiliate WLOS.