News of the Month — July 2021

NewsJuly 27, 2021

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Workers at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka reached a tentative agreement with their employer after a three-week strike. Their action called attention forced overtime and so-called suicide shifts, which they said left little time to sleep or see family members.

NUHW voiced support for Governor Newsom’s July 26 order requiring employers to verify the vaccination status of healthcare workers and provide regular COVID-testing for unvaccinated workers. 

More than 18 months after Sutter Health agreed to a tentative settlement in a closely watched antitrust case joined by the California Attorney General’s Office, the judge presiding over the case indicated she would sign off on the terms, Kaiser Health News reported. The nonprofit health care giant, based in Sacramento, stood accused of violating California’s antitrust laws by using its market dominance to drive up prices. The settlement is expected to have nationwide implications on how hospital systems negotiate prices with insurers. 

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported. That estimate far eclipses the previous record of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths, reached the previous year, and amounts to a 29% increase. 

U.S. life expectancy plunged in 2020, especially for Black and Hispanic Americans.