Farida Yavala-Romero

Stone cutters who had lung transplants, as well as multiple doctors, urged the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to prohibit the use of artificial stone.

Hundreds of workers in several states are ill.

31 have died in California in recent years from inhaling toxic silica dust generated by the factory-made material when it's cut.

Board member Derek Irwin.

It could now take months for Kalosha to develop a rule prohibiting the fabrication of artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica.

For NPR News, I'm Farida Yavala-Romero in Oakland, California.

Who's got the power?

We've got the power!

Workers at one of the picket lines in the Bay Area said they want improved staffing and compensation.

This is the union's third strike since September.

Jessica Servin is a nurse anesthetist in San Francisco.

And it feels necessary to be here.

Absolutely necessary.

We're fighting for our livelihoods.

We're fighting for patient care.

And those things are really important.

The nonprofit Kaiser has made billions of dollars in net income from operations and investments in recent years.

But executives at California's largest private employer say they must balance growing payroll costs with keeping care affordable.

For NPR News, I'm Farida Yavala-Romero in Oakland, California.