The two-day solidarity strike with Kaiser Permanente engineers brought tens of thousands of workers out of the office on Thursday, with the potential for even more the following day.
About 40,000 members of three different unions struck on Thursday in support of Kaiser engineers, who have been striking since their contract expired two months ago. The engineers have said Kaiser pays lower than other Bay Area health care providers. An additional 2,000 people are set to join the strike on Friday.
The National Union of Healthcare Workers announced on Thursday afternoon that about 2,000 mental health clinicians will hold picket lines between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday. Psychologists, therapists and social workers will strike outside of six Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California, including four in the Bay Area: Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa.
Striking mental health workers will march on Kaiser's Oakland headquarters at 11 a.m., ahead of a noon rally outside of the building.
With thousands of workers striking in solidarity with Kaiser engineers, the health network had warned of possible disruptions to patient care. We're now getting a fuller picture of just how broad those disruptions are expected to be.
Kaiser confirmed to KCBS Radio that all of its Northern California medical centers have made plans to divert ambulances carrying patients with certain time-sensitive conditions to non-Kaiser hospitals. Two South Bay hospitals, including one in Santa Clara, weren't receiving ambulances on Thursday.
The Santa Clara facility, and others, remained open Thursday, albeit with longer lines. Picketing workers there said the goal wasn't to disrupt service, and Kaiser receptionist David Guereca said he also sees longer wait times for patients on normal days.
"We're seeing, when patients come in that are hurting, they have to wait," Guereca told KCBS Radio from the Santa Clara picket line.
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