SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thousands of mental health care workers with Kaiser Permanente hit the picket line for the third day this week, asking for higher pay and more time to focus on patient care tasks outside of therapy sessions.
The strike started on Monday in San Diego and other Southern California locations, but negotiations were set to continue Wednesday.
The workers are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, and their contract expired at the end of September.
The union said it wants workers like psychologists, social workers and therapists to spend seven hours a week on tasks like patient calls, emails and appointments. Those are all tasks related to care that can't be completed during appointments.
Workers are also asking for what they're calling fair pay.
In response, Kaiser Permanente said it's offering an 18% raise over four years, but the union said mental health care workers are being paid substantially less than other non-mental health workers at the company.
Another key issue for the union is restoration of pensions, which Kaiser got rid of about a decade ago.
Grace Caluya, a licensed clinical social worker at Kaiser Permanente, said she's been working for Kaiser for more than 25 years and watched some benefits like pensions disappear.
Caluya and other striking workers said they need higher pay, pensions, and more time on patient-related tasks outside of appointments to retain workers and manage their caseloads.
"To provide good counseling, but also to follow-up with their patients," said Caluya. "That means following up with calls, having the time and space to coordinate social services to supplement their treatments. Those things are important."
Meantime, Kaiser Permanente said the strike is unnecessary and the union's demands go too far. Kaiser argued that spending more time on patient-related tasks like calls and emails would make appointments less accessible for patients.
Workers across both San Diego and Los Angeles plan to hit the picket line each day this week from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
