On strike for nearly three months

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Kaiser Permanente has been bargaining in good faith with Local 39 IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 Stationary Engineers), the union that represents about 600 Kaiser Permanente operating engineers, for several months. The union decided to call a strike and have kept employees out for nearly three months. Our proposals to Local 39 will keep our engineers among the best compensated in their profession, at an average of more than $180,000 in total wages and benefits. We are not proposing any take-aways. (See related article)

In bargaining with IOUE Local 39, we delivered a comprehensive proposal that offers across-the-board pay increases and cash payments that are similar to our other employees’ and continues to include all our industry-leading benefits. Further, engineers’ retirement benefit would continue to be substantial, with several improvements.

Right now, Local 39’s position is the same as before it went on strike. The union continues to insist it receive much more – in some cases nearly 2 times more – than other union agreements covering Kaiser Permanente employees. It simply is not in line with other employees, nor is it in line with our obligation to continue addressing the affordability of health care for our more than 4.5 million members.

We will continue to bargain in good faith, and we hope that Local 39 leaders will continue to do the same. That means more discussion, fresh ideas, and compromise. At this time, we do not have any further dates scheduled to meet.  We are optimistic that we can resolve the remaining issues with Local 39 at the bargaining table and reach an agreement that continues to reward our employees and supports health care affordability, just as we have with several unions recently.

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Members of both the California Nurses Association and National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) are participating in sympathy strikes on Friday, Nov. 19, at all Kaiser facilities in Northern California in support of the Engineers, Local 39 who have been on strike for 63 days, as of today.

Kaiser Permanente statement about claims made by the California Nurses Association

November 19, 2021

Note: Kaiser Permanente is not in bargaining with the California Nurses Association, whose contract runs through August 2022.

The last 20 months of this pandemic have been an incredibly challenging and stressful time to work on the front lines of health care. We are extremely grateful for our frontline health care workforce, including our nurses, whose commitment to providing care and service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of inspiring.

And while staffing continues to be a challenge across health care, we have hired hundreds of nurses and other care team members in recent months and continue to support our teams and their need for respite by bringing in experienced temporary staff.  In fact, in spite of the acute shortage of nurses in the state, Kaiser Permanente Northern California will have hired an estimated 1,800 experienced nurses by the end of the year, in addition to adding 300 new nurses who will graduate from Kaiser Permanente’s nurse residency program.

We want to thank our nurses, who demonstrate resilience, expertise and compassion every day. We recognize and have worked hard to ease the stresses that this pandemic has caused our people. Since early in the pandemic response, Kaiser Permanente has provided nearly $600 million in employee assistance to ensure that our frontline employees had access to alternate housing, special childcare grants, and additional paid leave for COVID-19 illness and exposure. When it became clear at year-end that our workers’ performance bonuses could be reduced by the effects of the pandemic, we instead chose to guarantee all eligible union-represented employees at least a 100% payout of their performance bonus, amounting to thousands of dollars a person on average.

Kaiser Permanente statement about bargaining with NUHW and claims made by the union

November 19, 2021

Kaiser Permanente and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which represents nearly 2,000 of our mental health professionals in Northern California, began bargaining in late July. While the union is issuing press statements about staffing, the real issue at the table is how much therapists are paid. 

This strike is a bargaining tactic this union has used every time it is bargaining for a new contract with Kaiser Permanente, over the past 11 years of its existence. We are still bargaining and are committed to resolving the issues and reaching an agreement.  

There is a national shortage of mental health clinicians that was already a challenge before the pandemic, and over the past year-and-a-half the demand for care has increased everywhere. We have been taking action to address the shortage of caregivers and to ensure care is available to our members. Over the past five years we have added hundreds of new mental health clinicians to our workforce; we currently have more than 300 open positions. We’ve worked hard to expand the number of therapists in California and are investing $30 million to build a pipeline to educate and train new mental health professionals across the state, with an emphasis on expanding the number of bilingual and diverse students entering the mental health field.

We have significantly expanded our ability to provide virtual care to patients who want it, increasing convenience and access, even though NUHW initially objected to this effort. We also continue to scale up our collaborative care programs that have proven to effectively treat patients with anxiety and depression diagnoses. 

As a result of these efforts and more, Kaiser Permanente offers timely access to initial and return appointments that meets all state standards and is above the average of other California providers. While this is an accomplishment during this time of caregiver shortage and increased demand, we are not finished. We know that every appointment is important and matters to each patient, every person’s needs are unique and every Kaiser Permanente member who needs care deserves timely access to that care. 

We have the greatest respect and gratitude for our mental health professionals and we are dedicated to supporting them in their important work. In addition to working with us to improve access to high quality mental health care, we are asking NUHW to work constructively to help address future costs to ensure we continue to be affordable for our members. 

At the heart of the issues in bargaining is this: Health care is increasingly unaffordable, and escalating wages are half of our costs. Kaiser Permanente is indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States. We are committed to remaining an employer of choice for mental health professionals, and to continuing to offer our employees market-leading wages and benefits. But we cannot continue to allow costs to grow beyond what our members can afford.  

The wages our mental health care professionals receive are significantly higher than average in some markets. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, licensed marriage family therapists at Kaiser Permanente earn more than $126,000 on average, which is more than $21,000 higher than market average wages, and licensed clinical social workers make more than $128,000, which is more than $16,000 higher than the market average. The same trend is true in the other parts of Northern California. In Sacramento, licensed clinical social workers earn an average of more than $127,000 in wages, which is $24,000 more than the market average. In addition, we provide among the most generous benefits available. 

The challenge we are trying to address is that if we continue to increase costs so high above the marketplace, our members will not be able to afford to get the care they need. We have to work together to address this challenge in a way that honors and rewards our employees and recognizes the increasing difficulty our members and customers face in paying for care. 

NUHW leadership has called for strikes every time we are in bargaining. It is a key part of their bargaining strategy, and it is especially disappointing that they are asking our dedicated and compassionate employees to walk away from their patients when they need us most. We take seriously any threat to disrupt care. We urge our employees to reject any call for a strike, continue to focus on providing care, and work with us through the bargaining process to finalize a new agreement.

On day 63 of strike by Engineers, Local 39

Taking over where the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, OPEIU Local 29 and IFPTE Local 20 m members left off, Kaiser nurses are holding a 24-hour sympathy strike in solidarity with IUOE Stationary Engineers, Local 39. It started at 7 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 19 and will last until 7 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, the California Nurses Association (CNA) announced. The strikes are being held at all Kaiser facilities in Northern California including both Antioch and Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County. Friday marks the 63rd day the Kaiser engineers have been on strike. (See related article)

“An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us, so nurses will be standing in solidarity with our engineer colleagues as they go on strike this month,” said CNA President Cathy Kennedy, a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville. “It’s so important for working people to stand together, and we hope that with the nurses by their side, Kaiser engineers will win meaningful change for working people, and for safe patient care conditions.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser Permanente has made $13 billion in profits. However, rather than spend that money on increasing core staffing, Kaiser has proposed to float engineers among facilities. This model would institutionalize the staffing shortages that have already hurt patients and workers. Rather than accept this takeaway, engineers have been on strike for nearly two months.

“Nurses know the devastating impact that short staffing has on our community’s health and well-being,” said Kennedy. “We also know that in order to provide the safe patient care our communities need and deserve, we must be able to count on our coworkers and they must be able to count on us. So, we are standing with the Kaiser engineers in their righteous fight for a safe and just workplace.”

CNA registered nurses will be holding sympathy strikes at locations including:

• Antioch Medical Center, 4501 Sand Creek Rd, Antioch, CA 94531
• Walnut Creek Medical Center, 1425 S Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
• Fremont Medical Center, 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538
• Fresno Medical Center, 7300 N Fresno Street, Fresno, CA 93720
• Manteca Medical Center, 1777 W. Yosemite Avenue, Manteca, CA 95337
• Modesto Medical Center, 4601 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356
• Oakland Medical Center, 3600 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611
• Redwood City Medical Center, 1100 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063
• Richmond Medical Center, 901 Nevin Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801
• Roseville Medical Center, 1600 Eureka Road, Roseville, CA 95661
• Sacramento Medical Center, 2025 Morse Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95825
• San Francisco Medical Center, 2425 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115
• San Leandro Medical Center, 2500 Merced Street, San Leandro, CA 94577
• San Rafael Medical Center, 99 Montecillo Road, San Rafael, CA 94903
• Santa Clara Medical Center, 700 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051
• Santa Rosa Medical Center, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
• San Jose Medical Center, 250 Hospital Parkway, San Jose, CA 95119
• South San Francisco Medical Center, 1200 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA 94080
• South Sacramento Medical Center, 6600 Bruceville Road, Sacramento, CA 95823
• Vacaville Medical Center, 1 Quality Drive, Vacaville, CA 95688
• Vallejo Medical Center, 975 Sereno Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 175,000 RNs nationwide.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

 

Including Antioch Kaiser workers; to continue Friday with different unions

Engineers on strike for 62 days, so far

By Renée Saldaña, Press Secretary, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West

Thousands of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) members have been joined by OPEIU Local 29, IFPTE Local 20 in a sympathy strike to demand that Kaiser stop its economic bullying and agree to a fair contract with the Local 39 Operating Engineers. Workers walked off the job and onto the strike line at 7 a.m., today, Thursday, November 18 until 7:00 a.m. Friday, Nov. 19 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Antioch and at various facilities across Northern California.

More than 40,000 workers from SEIU-UHW, OPEIU Local 29, and IFPTE Local 20 were prepared to walk out in support of the Local 39 engineers, making it the largest sympathy strike in the country.

“They’ve been out here all this time without a fair contract” said lifelong Antioch resident Kim Weiss, AMC Rep Chair for SEIU at Kaiser Antioch about the engineers. She works with cardiac and diabetes patients at the medical center. “We’re sympathy striking in solidarity. A total of 620 SEIU workers have been on strike at Antioch Kaiser, today.”

Healthcare workers wearing their uniforms planned to walk out onto the strike line, march, give speeches, distribute leaflets to passersby, hold signs and blow whistles in support of Kaiser engineers from Local 39.

“We are sympathy striking because Kaiser has lost its way and is putting its drive for profits over people, hurting our patients and union co-workers. The Local 39 engineers play a critical role in maintaining our facilities and the equipment we use to take care of patients,” said Ethan Ruskin, a health educator at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Jose. “Kaiser needs to put patients first and deliver a fair contract to the engineers.”

Earlier this week, healthcare workers representing SEIU-UHW’s 36,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California voted by a 97% margin to authorize a one-day sympathy strike in solidarity with Kaiser engineers from Local 39 who have been on strike for two months.

Jobs affected by the sympathy strike vote include optometrists, clinical laboratory scientists, respiratory and x-ray technicians, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, surgical technicians, pharmacy technicians, phlebotomists, medical assistants, and housekeepers, among other positions.

Engineers on Strike for 62 Days So Far

According to those on strike in Antioch, 800 engineers in Northern California including 13 stationary engineers and six or seven clinical engineers at the Antioch Kaiser have been on strike for 62 days, as of Thursday.

They fix all the piping and all the medical equipment, from the life support systems to anything else mechanical.

Asked about the large blow-up rat on display at the Antioch Kaiser strike, one of the union members said it referred to the Kaiser management and the “scab” workers doing their jobs while they’re on strike.

“They’ve brought in guys from out of state who have no training and paying them three times what they pay us,” said one of the strikers.

“Think of the risk at which they’re placing the patients with the equipment that’s not being maintained for over two months,” said Mark Morucci, Chief Engineer at Kaiser Antioch.

Sympathy strikes are taking place at the following locations starting at 7 a.m. on November 18:

• ANTIOCH: Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center, 4501 Sand Creek Rd, Antioch CA 94531
• WALNUT CREEK: Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center, 1425 S Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
• FREMONT: Kaiser Permanente Fremont Medical Center, 39400 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538
• FRESNO: Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center, 7300 N Fresno St, Fresno, CA 93720
• MANTECA: Kaiser Permanente Manteca Medical Center, 1777 W. Yosemite Avenue, Manteca, 95337
• MODESTO: Kaiser Permanente Modesto Medical Center, 4601 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356
• OAKLAND: Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, 3600 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611
• REDWOOD CITY: Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center, 1150 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063
• RICHMOND: Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center, 901 Nevin Ave., Richmond, CA 94801
• ROSEVILLE: Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, 1600 Eureka Rd, Roseville, CA 95661
• SACRAMENTO: Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center, 2025 Morse Ave, Sacramento, 95825
• SOUTH SACRAMENTO: Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center, 6600 Bruceville Road, Sacramento, CA 95823
• SAN FRANCISCO: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, 2425 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA
• SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO: Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center, 1200 El Camino Real, S. San Francisco, CA 94080
• SAN JOSE: Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, 250 Hospital Parkway, San Jose, CA 95119
• SAN LEANDRO: Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Medical Center, 2500 Merced St, San Leandro, CA 94577
• SANTA CLARA: Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, 710 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara CA 95051
• SANTA ROSA: Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, 95403
• STOCKTON: Kaiser Permanente Stockton Medical Center, 7373 West Lane, Stockton CA 95210
• VACAVILLE: Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center, 1 Quality Dr, Vacaville, CA 95688
• VALLEJO: Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center, 975 Sereno Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589

Another sympathy strike will take place on Friday by the NUHW and the California Nurses Association.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

In response to the planned healthcare worker strikes beginning today and tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 18 and 19, Kaiser Permanente issued the following statement:

We are extremely grateful for all our frontline health care workforce, whose commitment to providing care and service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of inspiring. We recently reached successful agreements with dozens of unions that represent more than 60,000 Kaiser Permanente employees that demonstrate our commitment to providing excellent wages and benefits for all employees while meeting our commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable care for our members and patients. These are market-leading contracts, reached through constructive and reasonable bargaining.

Bargaining with Local 39 IUOE

Kaiser Permanente has been bargaining in good faith with Local 39 IUOE, the union that represents about 600 Kaiser Permanente operating engineers, for several months. The union decided to call a strike and have kept employees out for more than two months. We are offering Local 39 employees wages that are similar to our other employees’ and that, on top of Local 39’s generous medical and the richest retirement benefits, will keep our engineers among the best compensated in their profession, at an average of more than $180,000 in total wages and benefits. We are not proposing any take-aways and our proposals do not differentiate between current and future employees. But union leadership wants more, asking for unreasonable increases far beyond any other union at Kaiser Permanente.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, after many hours bargaining on Tuesday and Wednesday, there is no movement in negotiations with Local 39. The union insists it receive much more – in some cases nearly two times more – than other union agreements covering Kaiser Permanente employees.

Michelle Gaskill-Hames, Senior Vice President, Hospital and Health Plan Operations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California spoke via video about the workers and patient care during the strike.

We are optimistic that we can resolve the remaining issues with Local 39 at the bargaining table and reach an agreement that continues to reward our employees and supports health care affordability, just as we have with several unions this week.

Sympathy strikes

As one of the largest health care union employers in the United States — with nearly 75% of our employees working under collective bargaining agreements — we fully understand solidarity among unions. But given the demands of Local 39, on top of the already market-leading compensation and highest retirement benefit of any represented employee in our organization, we believe that sympathy strikes are not appropriate in this case. We are asking our staff to choose to be there for our patients, and to come to work.

We question why leaders of other unions are asking their members to walk out on patients on Nov. 18 and 19 in sympathy for Local 39. This will not bring us closer to an agreement and most important, it is unfair to our members and patients to disrupt their care when they most need our employees to be there for them.

Several unions have submitted sympathy strike notices: SEIU-UHW, Local 20, and Local 29 on Thursday, November 18 and the California Nurses Association, Friday, November 19. Kaiser Permanente is not in bargaining with these unions, and each has a current contract. In fact, we have informed SEIU-UHW, Local 20, and Local 29 union leaders that we believe in accordance with their contracts, these sympathy strikes are not protected by law.

We are also in bargaining with NUHW, the union that represents our mental health professionals. NUHW has announced a one-day strike for Friday, November 19.

We have taken steps to ensure that our members and patients will continue to receive high-quality, safe care and service should these strikes occur.

We have prepared thoroughly to care for our patients in the event of a strike and are working diligently to reduce the impact.

• During the strike, care will be provided by physicians and experienced clinical managers and staff, with the support of trained and qualified contingency staff.
• Some non-urgent medical appointments or procedures may be affected, and we will reach out to patients to reschedule or convert appointments to phone or video if that is appropriate. We will not postpone any urgent or emergency care, or critical medical appointments.
• We encourage members to schedule an appointment should they need lab, optometry, or radiology services this week as some of our locations will be temporarily closed or operating with reduced hours. If a member has an urgent need for services, they should call the Appointment and Advice Call Center, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Some outpatient pharmacies will be temporarily closed from Nov. 18 and 19.  If a member does not need their refill right away, any closed pharmacies will reopen on Saturday, Nov. 20. Our Mail Delivery pharmacy will remain open during the strike to order refills at kp.org or by phone.
• In the event an urgent prescription is needed and the outpatient pharmacy is closed, Kaiser Permanente staff will provide members with direction on how to fill their prescription at an open Kaiser Permanente pharmacy or at a retail pharmacy. Hospital pharmacies for inpatient care and critical infusion services will remain in operation.
• All our hospitals and emergency departments will continue to be open during a strike and remain safe places to receive care.

As this is an evolving situation, we will continue to communicate directly with our members and post updates on kp.org as they are available.

We are very sorry for any disruption members may experience as we take steps to ensure that we continue to provide high-quality, safe care during this union strike.

Kaiser Permanente is indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States.

Our history and our future are deeply connected to organized labor. Labor unions have always played an important role in our efforts to provide more people with access to high-quality care and to make care more affordable.

It’s unconscionable that union leaders would ask health care workers to walk away from the patients who need them and deliberately disrupt their care.

Statement from Kaiser Permanente

November 15, 2021

By Deniene Erickson, Issues Manager, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

We are very pleased to announce that at about 1:00 a.m. this morning, Kaiser Permanente and the Guild for Professional Pharmacists reached a tentative agreement for a new 3-year contract for pharmacists in our Northern California region. The tentative agreement reflects our respect for Kaiser Permanente pharmacy professionals and the exceptional care they provide and provides industry-leading wage and benefit packages. The agreement is aligned with our commitment to high quality, affordable health care and to being the best place to work in health care, and includes the following:

• Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through the duration of the three year contract
• Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low copays for prescriptions and office visits
• Retirement benefits: Maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical.
• Bonus opportunities: Higher incentive bonus opportunities
• Agreement on important operational matters

In light of this, the Guild for Professional Pharmacists has canceled the strike that was expected to begin November 15 and our pharmacies will return to normal operations later today.

This agreement comes on the heels of Saturday’s landmark tentative agreement between Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions, affecting nearly 50,000 Kaiser Permanente employees across the enterprise.

We are continuing to bargain in good faith with Local 39 Operating Engineers and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and are confident we will reach agreements with these unions very soon. At this time there is no change in the Local 39 Operating Engineers strike. Other unions have not yet rescinded their one-day sympathy strike notices for Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19. NUHW, the union that represents our mental health professionals has also announced a one-day strike for Friday, November 19, which remains in effect.

As always, our first priority is our members and patients and we have taken steps to ensure they will continue to receive high-quality, safe care and service should these strikes take place.

Starting today, Monday, November 8, 2021; Congressmen DeSaulnier and McNerney urge Sutter to come to an agreement with workers over safe staffing

Sutter Delta will remain staffed and open

“they negotiated the contract…and it was approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system weeks ago… the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier” – Sutter Health spokesperson

By Renée Saldaña, Media Relations, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West

After Sutter Health refused to bargain in good faith and canceled mediation, more than 350 healthcare workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch will strike for a second time starting Monday, November 8th. Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say massive understaffing, difficult working conditions, and a series of unfair labor practices prompted the vote to strike for a second time.

On November 7, after management at Sutter Delta canceled the bargaining session which had been scheduled with federal mediation, U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier and Jerry McNerney sent a letter to Sutter Health CEO Sarah Krevans, urging the healthcare company to reach an agreement with workers in writing on unsafe staffing.

“We understand that finding trained and qualified health care workers is a challenge right now, not just for Sutter Delta, but across the country,” wrote U.S. Reps. DeSaulnier and McNerney. “It is our understanding that this hospital has not seen a significant drop in patients over the last few years, but dozens of workers have resigned their positions during this time and have not been replaced, which has greatly increased the workload on those who remain… For the health and safety of the people of Antioch and surrounding communities, this issue must be resolved.”

The letter is available to view here: SEIU-UHW-Sutter-Delta-Letter

Employees at Sutter Delta Medical Center say conditions are dire for caregivers and patients inside their facility as management ignores concerns about understaffing and working conditions. Workers are worried about patient and staff safety and say they’ve been pushed to the limit by their employer.

“We voted to strike because we want to put a stop to Sutter’s unfair labor practices and because we care about patient safety, and we want safe staffing levels. We are exhausted and overwhelmed, and we feel like Sutter management is ignoring our concerns,” said Stefanye Sartain, a respiratory therapist at Sutter Delta Medical Center. “Our hospital has multiple job openings that haven’t been posted because management feels they don’t need the positions filled. But we are so short-staffed, it’s hard to provide adequate care. Sutter is eroding the staff and it’s not safe for patients or workers.”

Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say staffing shortages predate the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result of years of poor staffing and management decisions by Sutter, the hospital already didn’t meet adequate staffing for average patient levels. Frontline caregivers say COVID exacerbated this already strained infrastructure, and their employer’s response to the pandemic has only worsened the preexisting crisis.

The strike consists of a variety of job classes at the hospital in Antioch, including emergency room technicians, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, transporters, and licensed vocational nurses.

Today, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, caregivers in their uniforms will walk off the job at  Sutter Delta Medical Center, 3901 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, and will be joined by their coworkers and supporters. Later, caregivers in their uniforms and scrubs will form picket lines, hold signs, chant, and give speeches.

Sutter Health Claims Contract Approved By All Others, Sutter Delta Union Only Holdout

In response, a Sutter Health spokesperson wrote, “We are disappointed that minutes after our second mediated negotiation session, the union decided to give notice of another strike and walk away from patients who need them. After that, we had no choice but to turn our focus to our top priority – meeting the needs of our patients by securing qualified workers to replace the staff who decide to walk off the job instead of caring for patients. Because of this focus, Sutter Delta Medical Center will remain open, continuing to provide, safe, high-quality care for the people of Antioch and surrounding communities – just as it did during last month’s strike.

“We stand by our most recent offer, and the union should too: they negotiated the contract, were confident enough to place it on a ballot, and it was approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system weeks ago. Yet, the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier, distracting from patient care instead of focusing on reaching a fair agreement on behalf of their members.

“The union talks freely about the staffing and patient care needs of the hospital, but when push comes to shove, it’s the union that is asking employees to walk out on their patients. We’ll deal with the strike, and when it’s over, we’ll be able to return our attention to resolving this.

Our proposed contract guarantees pay and benefits that are as good or better than others in the area. The current offer includes 13% salary increase over four years (3% yearly salary increases each year for three years and a 4% increase in year four) and 100% employer paid health coverage for employees and their families.”

Questions About Cancelled Mediation

Asked about their claim that Sutter Health canceled mediation, Saldaña of said, “Over the weekend there was a bargaining session with federal mediation. But that was cancelled by Sutter Delta management staff.”

Asked why Sutter Delta workers were the lone holdouts on the contract she replied, “For the workers at Sutter Delta it’s more about patient care and the workers’ safety. They’re feeling severely understaffed.”

Asked if Sutter Delta management staff canceled mediation as the union is claiming and why, a Sutter Health spokesperson responded, “both parties agreed to mediation but then the union immediately issued a strike notice. Which meant, as mentioned in our (previous) statement, we had to turn our attention from negotiating to securing qualified replacement workers to keep the hospital open and able to provide, safe, high-quality care for the community.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

 

Beginning early Monday morning; “We’re drowning. There’s just not enough staff…” – Sutter Delta ER technician; “We stand by our offer, and SEIU should too: they negotiated this contract” – Sutter Health spokesperson

ANTIOCH, Calif. – Citing massive understaffing, difficult working conditions, and a series of unfair labor practices, more than 350 healthcare workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch will strike next week. Workers will walk off the job and onto the strike picket line at 5 a.m. on Monday, October 4th.

Employees at Sutter Delta Medical Center say conditions are dire for caregivers and patients inside their facility as management ignores concerns about understaffing and working conditions. Workers are worried about patient and staff safety and say they’ve been pushed to the limit by their employer.

“We’re drowning. There’s just not enough staff,” said Jennifer Stone, an emergency room technician at Sutter Delta Medical Center. “We’re wearing too many hats – we’re talking down angry COVID patients, then we’re rushing to a code, then we’re talking to family members who just lost a loved one. We can’t give adequate care. We feel like management is ignoring our concerns and is leaving us to fend for ourselves. We can’t do it all anymore.”

Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say staffing shortages predate the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result of years of poor staffing and management decisions by Sutter, the hospital already didn’t meet adequate staffing for average patient levels. Frontline caregivers say COVID exacerbated this already strained infrastructure, and their employer’s response to the pandemic has only worsened the preexisting crisis.

WHAT:          Caregivers in their uniforms will walk off the job joined by their coworkers and supporters, including SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan. Later, caregivers in their uniforms and scrubs will form picket lines, hold signs, chant, and give speeches.

WHEN:          MONDAY, October 4     5 a.m. Walkout    11 a.m. Speaking program

WHERE:       Sutter Delta Medical Center, 3901 Lone Tree Way (main entrance), Antioch

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.

Sutter Health Responds

Sutter Delta Medical Center received a strike notice from SEIU in late September. In response a Sutter spokesperson issued the following statement.

“We received notice that SEIU intends to strike for five days at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch beginning October 4. We are disappointed union leaders have chosen to distract from patient care by taking this action, especially at a time when we should be focusing our attention on caring for our community.

The union has proved its disregard for our patients and communities by engaging in a strike while refusing to make a good faith effort to reach a deal. In fact, Sutter Delta negotiators twice offered to work with a neutral federal mediator and the union refused –twice. It’s a clear statement that the union is more interested in flexing its political power than reaching a fair agreement on behalf of its members.

We stand by our offer, and SEIU should too: they negotiated this contract, were confident enough to place it on a ballot, and it was recently approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system.

We value our caregivers and their continued commitment to compassionate patient care in the face of an unprecedented health crisis, which is why our proposed contract guaranteed pay and benefits that are as good or better than others in the area:

o   13% salary increase over four years: 3% yearly salary increases each year for 3 years and a 4% increase in year 4

o   100% employer paid health coverage for employees and their families.

o   Funding to support access for our employees to education, credentialing and growth opportunities and creates a pipeline for new hires.

We will continue to focus on our patients, as always, despite the union’s strike. Regardless of the union’s actions, our commitment to providing our patients with high-quality, safe patient care remains unchanged.”