SEIU-UHW pickets planned for Kaiser Permanente, decrying workload, lack of bonus pay

The pandemic is over but the frenzied workload continues for Kaiser Permanente staff in Sonoma County and elsewhere, according to health care workers planning to picket Wednesday in front of Kaiser medical offices in Santa Rosa.

Though not actually a strike or work stoppage, the one-day protest aims to draw attention to staffing shortages and lack of fair compensation, said DJ Manchester, a field organizer for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

“We want to tell Kaiser to invest in frontline workers,” Manchester said. “The current staffing crisis has everyone at a breaking point emotionally, physically and financially.”

The extreme workloads during the COVID-19 pandemic have been normalized, despite federal, state and local governments ending the public health emergency, said Manchester, a medical assistant who is taking a year off to work as a union representative.

“The pandemic is really what exhausted all of us,” Manchester said. “Kaiser workers were super resilient, worked tirelessly. It became an expectation to carry the heavy workload — it never stopped, it just became an expectation.”

SEIU-UHW represents roughly 1,850 Kaiser Permanente workers in Sonoma County, including 150 in Petaluma and 1,700 in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park. The union also represents 200 employees in Napa, 1,500 in Vallejo, 75 in Novato, 880 in San Rafael and 650 in Richmond.

Other North Bay pickets have been scheduled outside Kaiser facilities in Vacaville on Tuesday, Vallejo on Wednesday and San Rafael on Thursday.

Manchester said the union represents a wide variety of health care workers, including licensed vocational nurses, medical assistants, front desk clerical staff, lab technicians, housekeeping workers, imaging staff, emergency department technicians and health care staff that assist nurses and walk, feed and bathe patients.

The picketing in Santa Rosa is part of a larger protest waged against Kaiser Permanente by SEIU and other members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The coalition also includes the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20 in Northern California, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 in Oregon and multiple locals of the Office of Professional Employees International Union in several states.

Altogether, the coalition represents more than 85,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia and Washington.

In a statement released July 21, Kaiser Permanente said the picketing comes amid ongoing contract negotiations and that, “it’s clear the picketing by the coalition isn’t about drawing attention to new issues, but rather an attempt to create bargaining leverage.”

The health care giant said its “priority is to reach an agreement that ensures we can continue to provide market-competitive pay and outstanding benefits.” It added that in some of the regions where it operates, it pays coalition-represented workers up to 28% above the market average wage rates.

The provider said that staffing challenges have plagued the entire health care industry, though less so at Kaiser Permanente. The staff turnover rate in the health care industry is 21.4%, compared to 8.5% as of June, the Kaiser statement said.

The union said the workers’ current four-year contract expires after Sept. 30 and the two sides have been in bargaining negotiations for several months, with discussion sessions lasting several days.

Manchester said there have been four bargaining sessions to date and the next ones are scheduled for Aug. 1, 2 and 3.

One particular sore point, she said, is Kaiser’s decision to withhold profit-sharing bonuses. “A lot of employees rely on that bonus,” she added.

The picketing in Santa Rosa will take place at Kaiser Permanente’s medical complex on Bicentennial Way from noon to 1:30 p.m. Kaiser Permanente said the demonstration is not a strike and medical facilities will remain open.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.