More than 23,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses plan to hold a 24-hour sympathy strike March 18 in solidarity with Kaiser mental health workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, according to a March 16 news release from the California Nurses Association.
About 2,400 Kaiser mental health therapists, social workers and psychologists are planning a one-day strike the same day across Northern California. Picket lines are expected outside medical centers in Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Santa Rosa and Santa Clara.
Stationary engineers represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 also plan to hold a sympathy strike March 18 in support of the mental health workers, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
The sympathy strike will run from 6 a.m. March 18 to 6 a.m. March 19, CNA said.
“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, RN, said in the release. “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.”
NUHW authorized the strike in February. The union also alleges Kaiser unilaterally overhauled its mental health triage system and proposed contract changes the union says would weaken patient care safeguards and allow greater use of artificial intelligence and outsourcing in care delivery.
CNA said concerns about artificial intelligence in care delivery were also a factor in the nurses’ decision to join the sympathy strike.
NUHW also cited recent state and federal settlements related to Kaiser’s mental health services.
In a statement shared with Becker’s, Lionel Sims, senior vice president of human resources for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said the organization is “disappointed that NUHW leadership has chosen to call on their members and the California Nurses Association to walk away from patients for a day” while it is still at the bargaining table with NUHW.
Mr. Sims said Kaiser has contingency plans in place to ensure the one-day work stoppage does not disrupt care and that the organization is contacting patients whose appointments may need to be rescheduled.
He also rejected claims that Kaiser plans to replace clinicians with artificial intelligence.
“At Kaiser Permanente, AI does not replace human assessment, and it does not make care decisions,” Mr. Sims said. “Our care teams are always at the center of decision-making with our patients.”
Mr. Sims said Kaiser’s contract proposals are intended to improve timely access to high-quality mental health care, support clinicians and address operational needs tied to patient demand. He added that AI tools could help clinicians spend more time focused on patient care.
Kaiser is not currently in contract bargaining with CNA, Mr. Sims said, adding that sympathy strikes will not bring the organization closer to an agreement with NUHW.
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