We're back with Season Four of Working People! In this urgent episode, we talk with Dr. Amir Atabeygi, a physician at MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care in Thurston County, Washington. On Monday, November 23, amid a terrifying surge in COVID-19 cases around the country, Dr. Atabeygi will join his fellow physicians, physician assistants, and advanced registered nurse practitioners on the picket line as they strike for the basic safety measures their employer refuses to provide. We talk to Dr. Atabeygi about what he and his coworkers face on the job,  the rise of "retail health" companies like MultiCare Health Systems, and the growing labor consciousness of traditionally non-unionized healthcare workers.

 

Additional links/info below...

• PETITION: Doctors and Patients United for Safer Working Conditions 
• Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) national website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• UAPD Pacific Northwest Twitter page
• Zack Pattin, LaborNotes, "Will Urgent Care Doctors Be Forced to Strike in a Pandemic for the Right to Go Home?"  
• Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), Chinook Observer, "Labor Negotiations Stall Between MultiCare and Indigo Urgent Care Doctors" 
• Eric Topol, The New Yorker, "Why Doctors Should Organize"
• Jason Hanna & Daniel Wolfe, CNN, "These Charts Show How Serious This Fall's Covid-19 Surge Is in the US""

 

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
• Fotos del Otoño, "Doctor McCoy"