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Injuries on the job. Patient lab results that languish for days. These are some of the concerns that striking Kaiser Permanente workers such as Schanta Wilson face daily.
Pay and benefits are always part of contract negotiations, said Wilson, the co-representative chairwoman of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers, the union of service workers at Kaiser. But deteriorating patient-care conditions, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, are the core reason workers said they are striking, Wilson, who joined the strike outside Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City on Thursday, said.
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers represents vocational nurses, phlebotomists, housekeeping, surgical technicians, medical assistants, nutritionists, IT support and many others in 56 employee classifications, Wilson said. More than 75,000 workers across the state, including workers from other unions supporting the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers, are striking throughout California, according to the union. In the Bay Area, workers from unions IFPTE Local 20 and OPEIU Local 29 approved a sympathy strike, according to SEIU-UHW. They have been on a limited strike that started Oct. 4 and will end after Oct. 6.
"The number one thing we have been asking for is safe staffing," Wilson said. "The pandemic completely wiped us out. We are doing the job of two to three people. It's hard to give quality care to patients with so many people being rushed."
As a medical assistant, she sees 50 to 75 patients a day. She handles phones, walk-in patients, and important messages, but the workload makes it nearly impossible to keep on top of critical communications. The workers are so busy attending to the heavy caseload of patients that it can take days to get messages, some of which contain lab results coming from medical labs and other places with test results that define what course of treatment a patient will receive.
"We can't look at those messages. Some of these patients are people with chronic illnesses, and we can't get to the results until four to five days later. It's really serious," she said.
Staff are also experiencing many injuries due to accidents caused by rushing around. Patients face long wait times while people run around and can't get to patients.
"We need more staffing. I'm here today because it's really bad. People are leaving," she said.
Kaiser Permanente said in statements that it takes patient care seriously. The health giant's website will be updated at kp.org with information about any impacted locations or services.
The organization said it has met its goal of hiring 10,000 new coalition-represented employees by year-end.
"We are committed to addressing every area of staffing that is still challenging," the health care provider said.
Over the past two years, Kaiser Permanente said the hospital system had hired more than 50,000 people.
But six months of bargaining sessions "unfortunately ended without a settlement," Kaiser said.
Kaiser said it had reached a number of tentative agreements, including across-the-board wage increases over the next four years and offering minimum wages of $23/hour in California and $21/hour in markets outside of California; renewing tuition assistance and training programs, and increasing funding of the education trusts.
"We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities," Kaiser said in its statement.
The strike doesn't involve the nurses' union or Kaiser physicians. Hospitals and emergency rooms remain open, and hospital pharmacies for inpatient care and critical infusion services will remain in operation. Kaiser said it will augment staffing with licensed and qualified contract staff.
"We recognize how important any appointment is to a patient, and we are committed to minimizing any disruption a strike can cause. In consultation with our physicians, we may need to reschedule certain non-urgent appointments and procedures, as long as that is appropriate and safe for the patient. We will contact any patient affected by the strike in advance if necessary and work with them to reschedule their appointments – there is no need for patients to call or email their doctor's office at this time," Kaiser said.
On Friday, Kaiser said in an email that the next bargaining session will begin on Thursday, Oct. 12.
"We look forward to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages and benefits, and ensures our high-quality care is affordable and available to meet our members' needs."
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