A strike organized by National Nurses United that will stop the work of roughly 18,000 nurses at nearly 90 hospitals and clinics in California started Tuesday at 7 a.m.
The strike, which centers around the union wanting stronger Ebola safety precautions in hospitals, was announced in late October. It affects 86 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics, Sutter Tracy (Calif.) Community Hospital and Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital.
Kaiser Permanente's facilities will stay open during the strike, but some elective procedures and regular appointments could be rescheduled, according to a CBS Sacramento report. Temporary nurses will fill in the coverage gap left by the striking nurses.
A California Nurses Association spokeswoman told CBS Sacramento the union is using Ebola "as a rouse" as it is currently in contract negotiations at the hospitals where they are striking.
More nurses at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., will strike Wednesday, and thousands of other nurses at hospitals across the nation will picket for the cause that day as well.