Thousands of Kaiser workers plan strike
The health care giant urges people to fill their prescriptions before Nov. 15
By Emily DeRuy
ederuy@bayareanewsgroup.com
Thousands of Kaiser workers are preparing to strike, calling for higher wages and better working conditions.
In a move that could affect Kaiser pharmacies in the Bay Area and beyond, the Guild of Professional Pharmacists warned the health care giant its members planned to go on strike for a week beginning Nov. 15.
Separately, thousands of Kaiser workers in California, Oregon and Washington represented by unions belonging to the Alliance of Health Care Unions have also said they are planning to strike that day as well. The unions, which represent nurses and other health care workers, accused Kaiser of proposing an unfair contract even amid “historic labor shortages” and droves of health care workers fleeing the industry.
Already, Kaiser engineers — who are charged with making sure everything from plumbing and electricity to heating and cooling are working properly — have been on strike for weeks.
In a statement, the pharmacy guild said that after bargaining for five months, “Kaiser took
actions to end negotiations prematurely, engaged in direct dealing with members, imposed unreasonable deadlines for contract ratification together with an exploding offer/regressive bargaining, refused to arbitrate contract grievances, and otherwise interfered with the guild’s right and ability to represent its members.”
Kaiser disagreed. “Kaiser Permanente is indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States,” the health care provider said in a statement. “We have the longest-running and most successful labor management partnership in the nation. As the largest health care union employer in the U.S. — with nearly 75% of our employees working under collective bargaining agreements — we have always strived to work cooperatively and constructively with the unions that represent our employees.”
In an emailed message to members, Kaiser said the pharmacists’ strike — from Nov. 15-22 — would affect all of its Northern California outpatient pharmacies and urged patients to refill prescriptions before the strike.
“Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open, and we have contingency plans in place to ensure you will continue to receive high-quality health care and other services during a work stoppage,” Kaiser said in its email.
The other planned strike involving the three unions, which represent 32,000 Kaiser workers across the three states, would affect Kaiser locations in Southern California, which could mean some elective surgeries and non-urgent appointments need to be rescheduled. The unions have accused the company of suggesting lower wages for future hires in exchange for a small bonus.
“At a time when we should be working together, Kaiser Permanente has recklessly made a proposal that will worsen staffing conditions,” the unions said in a statement.
Again, the health care provider disagreed.
“We strongly believe that differences in bargaining are best worked out at the bargaining table,” Kaiser said in its statement. “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. A strike notice fulfills a legal requirement and does not mean that a strike will occur.”
Kaiser employees are not the only health care workers planning strikes.
The SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West said more than 350 members at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, including emergency room technicians and respiratory therapists, would strike beginning Monday, Nov. 8. The union has accused Sutter of failing to hire enough qualified workers, leading to increased workloads and burnout.
“We are exhausted and overwhelmed, and we feel like Sutter management is ignoring our concerns,” Stefanye Sartain, a respiratory therapist at the medical center, said in a statement. “Our hospital has multiple job openings that haven’t been posted because management feels they don’t need the positions filled. But we are so short-staffed, it’s hard to provide adequate care. Sutter is eroding the staff and it’s not safe for patients or workers.”
Sutter said it has proposed a 13% salary increase over four years.
“We stand by our most recent offer, and the union should too: they negotiated the contract, were confident enough to place it on a ballot, and it was approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system weeks ago,” the health care provider said. “Yet, the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier, distracting from patient care instead of focusing on reaching a fair agreement on behalf of their members.”
