Kaiser mental health workers go on strike Monday in Southern California – Press Enterprise

Nearly 2,400 mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities went on strike Monday amid contract negotiations and allegations of a “broken” care system, while Kaiser officials say the union “progressed slowly” in the bargaining process and planned to strike even before union negotiations. began.

“This is an equity issue for mental health care,” Jessica Rentz, a Kaiser therapist in Fontana, said in a statement released by the National Health Care Workers Union. “We want to be with our patients, not on a picket line, but we cannot continue to work in a system that treats mental health care like an assembly line job and deprives us of the time and resources needed to provide the care we know for our patients. need.”

According to the union, affected workers include psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, substance abuse counselors, licensed clinical counselors and marriage and family therapists who “provide behavioral health care to the 4.8 million members of Kaiser in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices (and) home health facilities from San Diego to Bakersfield.

The union’s contract with Kaiser expired on September 30.

The labor dispute comes a year after Kaiser reached a $50 million settlement with state regulators that said the health care giant’s mental health system lacked adequate staffing, leading to difficulties in access to care for patients.

Kaiser officials said the organization has invested more than $1 billion since 2020 to expand its mental health capabilities in California, including hiring more therapists, adding resources and reducing treatment times. waiting for patients.

The union, however, says shortages persist in Southern California, insisting that Kaiser has about one therapist for every 3,000 Kaiser members, compared to one for every 2,000 in Northern California. This ratio has limited the time therapists have to respond to patient calls and emails, develop treatment plans, and prepare for appointments, leading to burnout and pushing newly hired therapists to quit their jobs. says the union.

The union says a quarter of the 1,508 mental health professionals hired by Kaiser’s Southern California region between January 2021 and September 2024 have already left their positions.

Kaiser officials said in a statement that the health system was committed to continuing negotiations “until this agreement is reached.” But he said the union has been focused on the strike since negotiations began and has “slowed down the bargaining process, including on the very issues the union has identified as essential to reaching a contract.” .

“It is obvious that their strategy has always been to go on strike,” according to a Kaiser press release. “They threatened to strike before negotiations even began in July and acted without a sense of urgency, refusing to accept or counter the strong proposals put on the table by Kaiser Permanente. Most worrying is that the union has presented a proposal that could result in a full-time therapist spending 40% or more of their work week not seeing patients.

According to Kaiser, it presented the union with an offer that includes an 18 percent pay increase over four years, and also “enhances the comprehensive benefits our mental health professionals receive and provides therapists with more non-patient time to planning and preparation.

“Today, some employees represented by the National Union of Health Care Workers (NUHW) are choosing to walk away from their patients at various Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California to participate in an indefinite strike called by union leaders,” Kaiser said. said in a statement released Monday.

“All Kaiser Permanente members will continue to have timely access to individual therapy appointments during the strike. Patients have the opportunity to be seen by a professional from our extensive network of highly trained and licensed therapists if their regular provider chooses to participate in the strike. If necessary, we contact patients and provide them with options that meet their needs.

Kaiser said the strike was “completely unnecessary and unfortunately not surprising.” NUHW leaders threatened strike action well before negotiations began in July. The union has made slow progress in negotiations, despite strong proposals put on the table by Kaiser Permanente. The union’s proposals at the table are excessive and unreasonable.

“The union is not asking for more time to take care of patients. More money is needed so therapists can spend less time seeing patients. A key question is how much time the union wants to take therapists away from direct patient care. The union is proposing that full-time therapists increase the time they don’t see patients to nearly half their time, or at least 19 hours per week. This is unacceptable and would significantly reduce our patients’ access to mental health care appointments.

Union officials said they were seeking a deal similar to the one reached with Kaiser mental health workers in Northern California, who went on strike for 10 weeks two years ago.