Kaiser mental health workers to strike later this month
The strike would last indefinitely until Kaiser and the mental health union reach an agreement.
(Photo via Wikimedia Commons, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
More than 2,000 mental health care workers employed by Kaiser Permanente will go on strike later this month as the union representing the health care workers continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
The strike, set for August 15, will be indefinite and affect Kaiser hospitals throughout California, including two in Solano County.
A spokesperson for the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) said the strike was intended to "persuade Kaiser Permanente to provide real parity for mental health care." Union officials accused Kaiser Permanente of failing to provide adequate behavioral and emotional health care for its members at a time when its workers are seeing an increase in mental health cases.
"Patients are getting ripped off while Kaiser’s coffers are bulging," Sal Rosselli, the president of the union representing Kaiser Permamente's workers, said in a prepared statement. "We don’t take striking lightly, but it’s time to take a stand and make Kaiser spend some of its billions on mental health care."
A spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente told Solano NewsNet that union workers have used strikes as a negotiating tactic every time its employees are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.
"It is especially disappointing that NUHW is asking our dedicated and compassionate employees to walk away from their patients when they need us most," Deb Catsavas, the senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente, told Solano NewsNet by e-mail.
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