Kaiser health workers in Modesto protest staff shortages as contract negotiations continue
Front-line health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in the region are holding pickets in Modesto and at dozens of other facilities across the state, as negotiations for a new labor contract continue.
The workers including housekeeping staff, respiratory therapists and other employees are protesting staffing shortages and seeking pay increases. The workers are represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions including about 85,000 workers in seven states and the District of Columbia.
A current labor agreement, in place since 2019, will expire Sept. 30. The union has pushed for a minimum wage of $25 per hour for healthcare workers in cities around California.
“We are understaffed, overworked, and stretched so thin during our shifts,” said Lori Pimentel, an operating room scheduler for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, who was quoted in a Coalition news release.
The Coalition said Oakland-based Kaiser has made billions in profits over a five-year period, but hasn’t been investing substantially to retain caregivers at their facilities.
The Kaiser employees walked picket lines Tuesday in Manteca and Stockton. A picket is scheduled at the Kaiser Modesto medical center on Dale Road from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Kaiser Permanente said, in a statement, that both parties are in the negotiation process. The protests outside Kaiser facilities are not about raising the issue of staffing but are more about creating leverage at the bargaining table, Kaiser’s statement said.
“The staffing challenges mentioned by the Coalition have been happening all across health care, driven by the pandemic and its lasting effects,” the statement said. “While Kaiser Permanente has experienced the same pressures, the organization has weathered these challenges better than the broader market.”
Kaiser said its staff turnover is around 8.5% while the turnover rate is more than 21% in the health care industry in the United States.
Kaiser said it has filled more than 6,500 positions toward a goal, established in the labor negotiations, to hire 10,000 workers for jobs represented by the Coalition.
This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 1:54 PM.
