Healthcare workers strike at five California public hospitals

By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Thousands of healthcare workers walked off the job at the University of California’s five medical centers on Tuesday, delaying emergency care, surgeries, diagnostic procedures and other medical treatment throughout the state. The union representing nearly 13,000 vocational nurses, respiratory therapists and radiology technicians said it called the two-day strike to draw attention to staff shortages they said undermine patient care at the hospitals in San Francisco, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego and Irvine. …