It sure looked and sounded like a strike, but the hundreds of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers holding picket signs Friday morning at the intersection of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Ruffin Road had not walked off the job. In fact, it was their day off.
“We are doing an informational picket. This is totally different from a strike,” said Nikki Avey, a registered nurse who works for Kaiser.
Avey is also a member of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, and she’s on the bargaining committee that’s talking to Kaiser management. She said Kaiser has its priorities in the wrong place.
“They put the budget at the center of the care, whereas we as healthcare professionals put patients at the center of our care every day,” Avey said.
Informational pickets like this were not confined to San Diego. Avey said they happened Friday all over the west, and even at other facilities across the country. Different places, but a similar set of complaints against Kaiser.
“Of course, fair wages, of course all the benefits that we need as healthcare providers, living here in this costly San Diego city, but also just safe staffing; the staff having all the extra help, the resources,” she said.
Avey said Kaiser isn’t even following the current contract. We reached out to Kaiser for reaction. The company declined an interview but sent this statement:
“Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest unionized workforces in the United States. We have a long history of working productively with labor. Today, we work with more than 40 unions representing over 80% of our employees. Kaiser Permanente offers great jobs with competitive wages, industry-leading benefits, and meaningful career development. With an employee turnover rate of just 8%, we’re proud to be an employer of choice in health care.
“We’re negotiating a new, national contract with the Alliance of Health Care Unions, made up of 23 local unions which represent 61,000 professionals in our historic Labor Management Partnership. Both parties are committed to interest-based bargaining focused on shared goals and collaboration.
“As we look toward the future, we know the next few years will be a time of unprecedented change for health care. We’re confident that, together with our Alliance union partners, we’ll address key issues and reach an agreement that supports the financial security of our employees and affordability for our members, and reinforces Kaiser Permanente as a best place to work and receive care.”
The employees on the picket line Friday will be back to work in the coming days. And while this one may have been just informational, they said if there is no new contract by the end of September when their current agreement expires, they’re ready to strike.
