SAN DIEGO — Wednesday morning marked the start of thousands of Kaiser Pemranente employees striking nationwide.
Roughly 4,500 of those employees are in San Diego County.
Strikers took to the streets from La Mesa up to San Marcos, starting as early as 6:00 a.m.
"People are out. They are invested," said Michael Ramey, an ultrasound technician and the President of OPEIU Local 30, the union representing the employees.
The strike comes after Kaiser and the union failed to reach an agreement overnight on Friday.
The demands from employees include higher pay and improvements when it comes to staffing shortages.
Kaiser release a statement early on Wednesday evening stating in-part:,
While we have not reached a contract settlement, we have been able to reach a number of tentative agreements in bargaining.
Those "tentative agreements" include:
- Across-the-board wage increases in all markets over the next four years.
- Updating the Performance Sharing Plan to include a minimum payout opportunity and potential for up to a $3,750 payout.
- Offering minimum wages of $23/hour in California and $21/hour in markets outside of California.
- Continuing and enhancing existing health benefits and retirement income plans.
- Renewing our tuition assistance and training programs, and increasing funding of the education trusts.
In a statement from a coalition spokesperson read in-part:
“Frontline healthcare workers are awaiting a meaningful response from Kaiser executives regarding some of our key priorities including safe staffing, outsourcing protections for incumbent healthcare workers, and fair wages to reduce turnover. Healthcare workers within the coalition remain ready to meet at any time. Currently, the strike continues, and there are no sessions scheduled at this hour.”
Spirits are high for many union members like Charles Eryau, a medical assistant.
Eryau has worked for Kaiser for more than 20 years.
He has a wife and three daughters. They live in Chula Vista and pay roughly $2,500 dollars in rent each month.
“This thing will impact me financially, that’s the most important one. Day to day life, I’m not worried about it. Financially I will be impacted. If this lasts longer, I will be out on the street." said Eryau.
