Kaiser has been dealing with unrest amongst workers in California throughout the pandemic, and now mental health care clinicians have joined the fray.
Northern California mental health workers authorized a strike this week in response to the healthcare giant denying measures to improve staffing and long wait times for patients seeking mental health treatment.
"We’ve been at the forefront in exposing Kaiser’s greed in underfunding mental health care and forcing patients to wait months between therapy appointments," said Mickey Fitzpatrick, a Kaiser psychologist in a release by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. "Now, we have the opportunity to stand together with other unions and show that Kaiser’s greed is harming patients across California."
Nearly 2,000 clinicians, including psychologists, therapists and social workers in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Sacramento voted to approve the strike, according to the release.
This pending strike is just the latest signal of disarray within Kaiser. Another strike, with Stationary Engineers also in Northern California, has entered its second month, and 36,000 members of another union, the Alliance of Health Care Unions, have also authorized a strike in Southern California.
The crux of the disagreement hinges on the lack of staffing and resources felt by workers. Mental health clinicians have been negotiating for increased staffing, prioritizing hiring more diverse therapists and reducing the backbreaking caseloads that have been causing some therapists to quit altogether.
Kaiser has rejected all these proposals, according to the union.
Particularly concerning is staffing. A new law, SB 221, would require health insurers to guarantee therapy appoints to be scheduled within 10 business days of the one prior, unless a longer wait time is deemed acceptable for the patient.
But right now, many Kaiser patients are only able to secure appointments two months apart.
Contract negotiations will continue into next week, and determine if and when the strike will commence.
Kaiser officials hope a resolution can be found then. "We strongly believe that differences in bargaining are best worked out at the bargaining table," said Arlene Peasnall, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente in a statement to KCBS Radio. "We understand that some union leaders are now calling for a strike, even though our members and communities are continuing to face the challenges of the ongoing pandemic."
"We ask that our employees reject a call to walk away from the patients who need them. Our priority is to continue to provide our members with high-quality, safe care. In the event of any kind of work stoppage, our facilities will be staffed by our physicians along with trained and experienced managers and contingency staff," the statement continued.
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