Marilyn Bechtel at People’s World reports out of Oakland, California that some 2,400 Mental Health Professionals employed at Kaiser Permanente took to the picket line in Northern California and the Central Valley to participate in a one-day Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) Strike aimed at upholding and strengthening patient care safeguards they won in a 10-week strike four years ago – and meeting new challenges posed by technology. The therapists, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), have been without a contract since September. The Union says Kaiser is seeking to roll back improvements the therapists won in 2022, including more time for patient support work and measures to ensure that. After the intake process, patients can receive timely follow-up for ongoing care. The NUHW says the Health Care Giant is also looking to open the door to replacing therapists’ work with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and subcontracting more care to providers outside Kaiser. The Psychologists, Social Workers, Chemical Dependency Counselors and other Mental Health Clinicians were joined on the picket lines by some 23,000 Registered Nurses represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United and by Stationary Engineers represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39. Picket lines were launched in Santa Rosa, Fresno, Sacramento, and Santa Clara – as well as Oakland.
For More On This Labor News Story, Go To: Kaiser mental health therapists strike to uphold patient care – People’s World
Photo Courtesy Of The California Nurses Association Via Facebook.