Thousands Of Kaiser Nurses Set To Strike In NorCal Wednesday

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — More than 23,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses across Northern California will hold a one-day, 24-hour strike Wednesday in solidarity with the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the California Nurses Association announced.

CNA nurses will picket in front of five hospitals in Northern California from 6 a.m. March 18 to 6 a.m. March 19 as part of a sympathy strike with NUHW mental health therapists, who are currently negotiating a new contract with Kaiser, with concerns including the use of artificial intelligence in patient care. Nurses are scheduled to picket in the following locations:

Oakland Medical Center
3600 Broadway, Oakland, Calif.
Picketing 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sacramento Medical Center
2025 Morse Ave., Sacramento, Calif.
Picketing 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fresno Medical Center
7300 N. Fresno St., Fresno, Calif.
Picketing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Santa Clara Medical Center
700 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, Calif.
Picketing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Santa Rosa Medical Center
401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Picketing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kaiser said that hospitals will remain open and it has “robust plans in place to ensure continued care,” though some non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries will need to be postponed.

Kaiser mental health therapists have been without a contract since September, lwith union leaders raising concerns that artificial intelligence could be used to replace or reduce the role of therapists.

“An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us, so nurses will be standing in solidarity with our mental health therapy colleagues as they go on strike,” CNA President Michelle Gutierrez Vo, said in a statement. “We know working people have to stand together, and we’re proud to stand alongside Kaiser therapists as they fight for meaningful, commonsense protections for our patients and for working people.”

Kaiser said in a page devoted to the negotiations that it does not believe that AI can replace human assessment, and that it has increased its number of licensed mental health clinicians by 25% over the past five years and doubled them over the past 10 years. It also cited training programs and a Mental Health Workforce Accelerator program to remove financial barriers to licensure and help more clinicians enter the workforce.

“The need for mental health clinicians is only increasing — and we are looking for ways to support you, not replace you, while we meet rapidly growing demand and the changing expectations of the members and communities we serve,” Kaiser said in a statement to employees. “Our proposals allow us the flexibility to continually evolve our integrated model of care so you can help your patients achieve the best possible outcomes.”

On Feb. 23, thousands of unionized nurses and health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities across California and Hawaii ended a nearly month-long strike, which ended with a 21.5% across-the-board-wage increase, among other gains.

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