22 days into their strike, Kaiser Permanente mental health workers were back out on the picket lines in front of Los Angeles Medical Center on Monday.
Kassaundra Gutierrez-Thompson told KNX News’ Emily Valdez they’re so understaffed that some clinicians have developed UTIs due to the lack of bathroom breaks.
“We get a half-hour unpaid lunch that a lot of us work through. We can see 14 to 16 patients in our longest 10-and-a-half-hour day,” she said. “So there's many days where we will go hours without time for a bathroom break, water break.”
Workers says there haven’t been any negotiations happening for the past two weeks and there are currently no negotiations planned.
“We have put a strong offer on the table and are eager to do the hard work needed – at the table – to reach an agreement that benefits both our valued mental health workers and the patients we all serve,” Kaiser officials said in a statement.
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The National Union of Healthcare Workers’ contract with Kaiser expired on Sept. 30. Their ongoing strike is open-ended.
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