More than 120 Kaiser Permanente medical workers in Santa Rosa, including registered nurses, physician assistants and nurse anesthetists, are expected to return to work Tuesday, ending a monthlong strike that was spurred by stalled negotiations.
The union representing the workers, United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professional, said in a statement Monday morning that it had sent Kaiser a “notice of unconditional return to work” after getting talks back on track.
“The strike succeeded in bringing the employer back to serious negotiations, and returning to work allows us to continue closing remaining issues while members get back to caring for patients and serving our communities,” Anjetta Thackeray, a union spokesperson, said in an email.
The strike will formally end at 7 a.m. Tuesday, the union said. Labor and management representatives continue to finalize return-to-work agreements.
“We are continuing to bargain until each agreement is fully complete and ready to be presented to our members,” Thackeray said.
In a statement, Kaiser called the strike “entirely unnecessary” and said it was working on scheduling returning employees over the next few days. Kaiser said the union has backed off its demand for a 63% wage increase over the next four years.
“We have been informed by UNAC/UHCP leadership that they have accepted our offer of across-the-board wage increases of 21.5%. This is good progress and moves us closer to a contract agreement,” Kaiser said.
The four-week strike affected some 31,000 workers at nearly 20 hospitals and 200 clinics in California and Hawaii. In Northern California, the union represents 2,800 workers, including registered nurses, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and acupuncturists.
Negotiations between the union and Kaiser have been stalled since late last year. The union’s contract with Kaiser expired Sept. 30, and the union carried out a five-day strike in October.
Throughout the strike, the union accused Kaiser of prioritizing its financial holdings, private investments and executive pay over staffing shortages and fair pay. For their part, Kaiser officials say they’re proposing a significant boost to already generous employee compensation.
But even though UNAC/UHCP brought its strike to a close, a different Kaiser union announced on Monday that its members have approved a one-day strike against the health care giant.
The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 115 behavioral health workers in Sonoma County, said 92% of its members recently voted in favor of a strike. No strike date has yet been announced.
Kaiser called the one-day strike threat a negotiation tactic and pointed out that a strike authorization vote doesn’t mean a work stoppage will actually take place.
“While this tactic is not constructive, it’s safe to assume the union will continue to try to mischaracterize the work we are doing to help our members, as part of its bargaining campaign,” Kaiser said.
Overall, the union represents about 2,400 mental health therapists, social workers and psychologists in the Bay Area, Central Valley and the Sacramento area.
NUHW said the strike vote stems from an unfair labor practice complaint filed against Kaiser last summer. In the complaint, the union alleges the provider unilaterally overhauled its system for triaging patients seeking mental health services.
According to the complaint, the new triage system “illegally assigns unlicensed and untrained clerical staff to triage Kaiser enrollees with mental health and substance use disorders.”
The union said the new practice exposes thousands of Kaiser members with mental health and substance-use disorders to serious health and safety risks, as well as treatment delays.
Prior to the change, telephone triage assessments were conducted by behavioral health therapists specially trained in triage, the union said.
“Mental health care is about human connection, and Kaiser wants to mechanize it to deliver the least amount of care at the lowest possible cost,” said Harrison Cunningham, a therapist for Kaiser in the Bay Area.
Kaiser said the union’s claims about its intake process are incorrect; triage and intake calls are handled by credentialed, clinical professionals.
“Our proposals for the new NUHW contract are aimed at ensuring our members have timely access to high-quality mental health care, supporting our clinicians to deliver excellent care, and providing them with more discretion to manage their practice,” Kaiser said in a statement.
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.