Nearly 2,400 mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities are in their fourth week of striking amid contract talks and allegations of a “broken” system of care. Hetty Chang reports for NBC4 at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2024.
Kaiser Permanente mental health workers are entering week four of their strike as progress has continued to stall at the bargaining table on both sides.
It’s been 22 days since nearly 2,400 NUHW workers began the strike. They are fighting for what their colleagues in Northern California received after their strike in 2022, which included more time outside of appointments and higher pay.
“Our typical day is back-to-back patients, hour after hour. In my case – 25 to 30 minutes – every patient” said Linda Cortes, a therapist on strike. “We can see eight to 14 patients a day.”
According to the union, the impacted workers include psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine counselors, licensed clinical counselors and marriage and family therapists who serve over 4 million people across Southern California.
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In a statement from Kaiser, the health care provider said it will “remain steadfast in [its] commitment to deliver high-quality mental health care and addiction medicine services,” and that “for months, even before contract bargaining started, NUHW had been threatening to strike.”
The union's contract with Kaiser expired Sept. 30.
Kaiser remains firm it will not reduce therapists’ non-clinical care time to nearly 50%, saying it would reduce the number of appointments by approximately 15,000 a month.
Kaiser also said it already pays 18% above market wages to therapists, and it “will not agree to a new contract that places their pay more than 40% above what their peers make across Southern California.”
Those on the picket lines say they’re also concerned that while they’re out striking, their patients aren’t getting the care they need.
“We don’t want to be out here,” Cortes said. “But we know it's important for patient care, and our working conditions are not adequate to help the people we want to help.”
Kaiser said that’s not the case, and that 60% of patients are receiving care from providers who are not on strike.
No negotiations between the union and Kaiser are currently scheduled.
