Dozens of Kaiser Permanente workers in Vancouver walked off of the job Tuesday, marking the beginning of a five-day labor strike that is projected to be the biggest of the year.

Strikers at Kaiser Permanente’s Cascade Park Medical Office, 12607 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd., formed a picket line starting before the sun rose at 7 a.m. They wore matching red union T-shirts and carried signs that urged Kaiser to “prioritize patients over profits.”

A total of 275 workers planned to picket at the Cascade Park clinic until 6 p.m. Tuesday. They are members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT Local 5017, AFL-CIO , a labor union representing roughly 3,700 Kaiser Permanente employees across Southwest Washington and Oregon.

In a Monday statement emailed to The Columbian, Kai

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