Walkouts and strikes hit hospitals in pandemic hot spots

Months of marathon shifts, an onslaught of verbal and even physical abuse from patients and the public, and perennial complaints over low pay and staffing shortages are stirring unrest at a particularly critical moment in the pandemic.

There have been at least 30 strikes of health care workers so far this year, according to a tracker from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. More than a half million health care workers quit in August, the last month for which data is available. That’s the most in a single month in more than 20 years.

The resignations and strikes hit as hospitals are dealing with the Delta variant, an influx of chronically ill patients who postponed care last year and, in many states, bracing for the colder months when Covid cases are expected to rise and flu season grips the nation…

Multiple employees contacted by POLITICO said health care workers feel like they’ve gone from “heroes to zeroes” in the eyes of the public, making it harder to tolerate the underlying stresses of the job.