Kaiser workers wrap up strike for better pay, staffing with optimism

Kaiser Permanente healthcare care workers hold signs and chant slogans while on strike in front of the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Anatomical Center on Oct in San Diego Photo by Gregory Bull Associated Press More than local healthcare workers and their families lined the sidewalks along Clairemont Mesa Boulevard during statewide strikes Now area sponsorship is continuing on after strikes have ended with both sides agreeing to return to the bargaining table The United Nurses Association of California Union of Physical condition Care Professionals organized and led the five-day strike at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Clinical Center and hundreds of other facilities Across California Oregon and Hawaii selected Kaiser Permanente workers were on strike for a total of five days Workers were attempting to negotiate increased wages to keep up with inflation and a staff that is robust enough to keep up with case demand The coalition expressed optimism about returning to negotiations after The Joint Commission an independent organization that provides oversight and accreditation to vitality facilities and programs circulated new standards on staffings during the strike which will reshape the landscape of contract negotiations moving forward the coalition announced The Joint Commission has completely explained what nurses have known all along Unsafe staffing is unsafe care stated UNAC UHCP President Charmaine S Morales RN in a announcement Employers like Kaiser can no longer treat staffing like a budget line It s now a national individual safety mandate and UNAC UHCP will make sure it s enforced Ashley Serrano a registered nurse at Kaiser was on a frontline of the strike in San Diego She handed out wristbands at registration tables even as rain dampened the evening Serrano is one of numerous nurses pushing for contract negotiations I m here to fight for better staffing of our patients There s just not enough of us anymore she noted I ve been a nurse with Kaiser for years and I ve just kind of been watching it go downhill steadily and it s really reached kind of a peak since COVID Serrano works in labor and delivery a rewarding but fast-paced atmosphere not without dangers With understaffing comes increased risks to recipient outcomes Serrano stresses that when there aren t enough people around to help patients lives are on the line The strike lasted until Sunday but its outcome remains in question Becca Shultz is a charge nurse in a physiological surgical unit at Kaiser Shultz went to the strikes with her husband and the bulk of her unit echoing concerns of similar staffing issues We don t have enough staff Kaiser has whittled away all my tools especially over the last three years the staff is getting burnt out and it s not safe for our patients Shultz commented Initial demands from UNAC UHCP included a wage increase over four years the establishment of a new minimum wage rate in Southern California and Hawaii and changes to benefits The original proposal also highlighted a need to address staffing shortages In the latest offer Kaiser countered with a wage increase over four years but UNAC UHCP has not accepted those terms In a release Kaiser claimed that a wage increase would not be feasible in the current economic weather The seemingly small percentage difference between the proposals in fact means significantly more because it is multiplied across employees and causes related benefit increases over years the report disclosed Their counter translates to a billion addition to payroll over four years Neda Sarijlou Moghaddam has been working for Kaiser as a pharmacist since I think one of the main reasons why we re all here is because four years ago we never got a fair contract because Covid happened Moghaddam commented Everybody was so fatigued and so tried of fighting Pharmacists care for up to patients in eight hours Moghaddam explained I ve seen it all and I know that every single person out here right now gives when they re taking care of their individual and they re giving here to tell the world that we deserve to be treated better by Kaiser UNAC UHCP has expressed that they are not willing to settle until Kaiser offers an acceptable counter