SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Southern California, including more than 300 workers in San Diego, went on strike Monday morning.
The strike kicked off at 6 a.m. at the Clairemont Mesa location and is expected to go from Monday through Friday, with the exception of Tuesdays when San Diego workers will join the strike in Los Angeles.
Jim Clifford, a therapist at Kaiser’s psychiatry office in Otay Mesa, has worked at Kaiser for 23 years and will be among those on strike. Clifford, a member of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), said this strike aims to secure a contract for Southern California workers similar to the one Northern California workers have.
The union’s contracts expired on Sept. 30, and negotiations are ongoing. Clifford said he hopes Kaiser will offer a package that attracts and retains mental health workers, with a particular focus on restoring the union's pension plan.
“We're basically the only employee group at Kaiser that doesn't have pensions,” Clifford said. “That makes it harder for us to attract and keep people because they see that we're overbooked, and they feel like they can work elsewhere and have a pension.”
While Clifford said more psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine counselors, and marriage and family therapists are needed, Kaiser reported that its mental health workforce has grown by 30% over the last four years.
The union is negotiating for more patient care time, requesting seven hours per week for tasks like patient calls, emails, and appointments. Kaiser countered with six hours, arguing the union's request would take up 40% of the workweek that could be spent with patients.
The union is also pushing for pay raises, claiming that non-mental health workers at Kaiser earn 40% more. Kaiser has proposed an 18% pay increase over a four-year contract.
Another key issue is the restoration of pensions, which were eliminated a decade ago. The union said the lack of pensions has led to increased turnover and weakened Kaiser’s mental health training program.
“Kaiser basically punished us by taking away our pension because we’ve been advocating for mental health and our patients,” Clifford said.
Kaiser officials said in a statement that the health care system is committed to continued negotiations "until this deal is done." But it said the union has been focused on a strike since the beginning of talks, and has been "slow walking the negotiation process, including on the very issues the union has identified as key to reaching a contract."
"It is apparent that their strategy all along has been to move to a strike," according to a Kaiser statement. "They have been threatening to strike since before we began bargaining in July and have operated without a sense of urgency, declining to accept or counter the strong proposals Kaiser Permanente has put on the table. Most concerning, the union presented a proposal that could result in a full-time therapist spending 40% or more of their work week not seeing patients."
According to Kaiser, it has presented the union with an offer that includes an 18% wage increase over four years, and also "enhances the comprehensive benefits our mental health professionals enjoy plus provides therapists more non-patient time for planning and preparation."
"Today, some of the employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) are choosing to walk away from their patients at various Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California to take part in an open-ended strike called by union leaders," Kaiser said in a statement released Monday.
"All Kaiser Permanente members will continue to have timely access to individual therapy appointments during the strike. Patients have the opportunity to be seen by a professional in our extensive network of highly qualified, licensed therapists if their regular provider chooses to take part in the strike. Where necessary, we are contacting patients and offering options that meet their needs."
Kaiser said the strike is "entirely unnecessary and unfortunately not surprising. NUHW leaders have been threatening to strike since before we began bargaining in July. The union has been slow-walking negotiations, despite the strong proposals Kaiser Permanente has put on the table. The union's proposals at the table have been overreaching and unreasonable.
"The union isn't calling for more time to care for patients. It is demanding more money for therapists to spend less time seeing patients. A key issue is how much time the union wants to take therapists away from direct patient care. The union is proposing that full-time therapists increase the amount of time they are not seeing patients to nearly half of their time -- at least 19 hours a week. This is unacceptable and would significantly decrease access to appointments for mental health care for our patients."
City News Service contributed to this report.
