Kaiser Employees to Stage One-Day Strike

Bay City News Service--Kaiser Permanente workers throughout Northern California said Monday that they will stage a one-day strike on Tuesday in a dispute over a new contract for mental health and optical employees.

The dispute involves 4,000 members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, who have been bargaining for a new contract since 2010.

Two other unions have agreed to walk out on Tuesday in a sympathy strike. They are the California Nurses Association, which represents 17,000 nurses, and Stationary Engineers Local 39, which represents 650 building and equipment workers. The one-day strike could consequently involve a total of about 22,000 Kaiser employees across the region.

The nurses' union said they will support the mental health and optical employees, who include technicians, clinical psychologists, licensed social workers and opticians.

The dispute involves wages, health care coverage, retirement benefits, patient care and staffing levels.

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