Kaiser Solano, Napa mental health workers to strike indefinitely starting this month

Nov. 07--More than 1,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians, including those in Solano and Napa counties, are set to walk off the job indefinitely, in protest of what their union representatives say is the health care giant's neglect of its mental health patients and punishment of whistle-blowers.

Union members say they will picket every day the first week of the strike, which is set to begin Nov. 16, and will almost certainly include actions in Vallejo and Vacaville.

Clinicians from 50 Northern California Kaiser facilities will strike until the HMO adequately staffs its psychiatric units and ends retaliation against those who complain, National Union of Healthcare Workers officials said.

Kaiser officials say the threat of a strike is meant to deflect attention from what they say is strictly a money issue. They accuse union officials of playing "power games" and using "tired tactics," but assure patients that services will continue no matter how long the strike lasts.

"Mental health care will be provided for our members by skilled physicians and clinical managers, as well as by contracted high-quality mental health professionals in the community," Kaiser Permanente senior vice president of Human Resources Gay Westfall said by email. "The union knows this strike will be very hard for Kaiser Permanente patients, given the shortage of mental health therapists in the community. That is why it is so indefensible for the NUHW to be calling on its therapists to walk away from their patients."

The strike will impact about 70 therapists in Vallejo, 40 in Vacaville, four in Napa and two in Fairfield, union officials said.

A one-week work stoppage in January didn't result in an agreement.

Union officials say Kaiser has delayed addressing adequate staffing issues, resulting in long waits for appointments and denials of care, which has led "to hardships for patients and families, even suicides, along with a growing number of lawsuits."

Union officials accuse Kaiser of persistent violations of state laws governing mental health care,

and retaliation against the whistle-blowers "who have brought Kaiser's legal and ethical violations to light" -- all accusations Kaiser officials strongly deny.

The strike and picket lines will impact nearly 80 Northern California Kaiser facilities, union officials said. Notice of the strike was filed this week after a Nov. 4 bargaining session failed to yield an agreement, union officials said.

"After bargaining concluded, Kaiser notified clinicians that Kaiser would unilaterally implement the retaliatory benefit cuts that Kaiser has not demanded from any of the 30 or so other unions within Kaiser," union officials said. "If it wasn't clear before it is certainly clear now: Kaiser is punishing its clinicians for advocating for their patients."

Westfall said that this union, created in 2009, has never negotiated a contract with Kaiser, which has reached agreements with more than 30 other unions representing its employees since then. "NUHW stands alone as the only union that has been unwilling or unable to reach a fair agreement concerning a contract covering our employees," he said, accusing union officials of using the threat of a strike to "gain leverage at the bargaining table." The union publicly claims it plans to call for a strike over "patient care" concerns, " Westfall said. "This is not true. They are making this claim because they don't want the public to know that the only remaining issues at the bargaining table are about wages and expectations of accountability. In both of these, the union is on shaky ground. Kaiser Permanente is already offering substantial wage increases and continued benefits that will keep our therapists among the best compensated in their profession." Westfall said Kaiser provides some of the best mental health care in the industry, a claim most recently supported by independent third-party ratings, including the National Business Coalition on Health and the highest possible rating from the State of California Office of the Patient Advocate. Kaiser Permanente is one of California's largest mental health providers, he said adding it has hired the equivalent of 497 therapists since January 2011 and seeks to hire more than 350 more by the end of 2015. "We have embarked on a program to continuously improve our mental health care, which includes expanded hours, additional locations for services, and availability of telephone and video visits," Westfall said. "In addition, we are one of the few providers in the nation that has established tools to measure the effectiveness of our therapy."

Union president Sal Rosselli said he's not buying it. "The problem is simple and so is the solution," Rosselli said. "Kaiser needs to hire enough clinicians to provide timely, appropriate care to the ever-growing number of Kaiser members seeking help and end its retaliation against the caregivers who are courageously standing up for their patients."

Contact Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824.

___

(c)2015 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.)

Visit Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.) at www.timesheraldonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.