The union representing almost half of Kaiser Permanente’s workers in Colorado reported no progress on a new contract on the first day of its three-day strike, raising the possibility of another walkout by health care workers in the coming months.
About 3,000 licensed practical nurses, technicians, office workers and others walked off the job Wednesday and were expected to continue striking Thursday and Friday.
The Colorado walkout, over wages and staffing shortages, is part of a nationwide labor action involving 75,000 Kaiser workers in multiple states after their contracts expired Saturday.
Kaiser said all of its medical offices and urgent care departments will remain open during the strike, staffed by physicians, managers and trained staff. But some services are being curtailed, with Kaiser reporting that, in Colorado, 11 of its pharmacies and 21 labs would close during the strike, and 24 medical imaging departments would be off-limits for routine X-rays. (See for the full list of closures.)
The health care provider also warned members that some “nonurgent appointments and procedures” may be canceled. Patients will be informed of any cancelations or postponements and don’t need to call about their appointments, Kaiser said.
Stephanie Felix-Sowy, president of Service Employees International Union Local 105, which represents the workers on strike in Colorado, said there had been no progress since Friday on the issues of greatest importance to the union: a wage increase and measures to address staffing shortages.
The coalition of unions opted for only a three-day strike in Colorado and several other states, but if they can’t reach a deal, they could choose to strike again, she said. Legally, they must offer 10 days of notice before going on strike.
“It does seem like Kaiser executives have not come to a consensus on how to come to the bargaining table,” she said.
Kaiser Permanente Colorado, which is both a health care provider and a nonprofit insurance company took a different view of negotiations. In a statement Wednesday morning, it said there had been significant progress and that the sides had agreed on several items Tuesday.
“Both Kaiser Permanente management and Coalition union representatives are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement,” the statement said. “We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities. ”
Kaiser Permanente Colorado employs about 6,800 people, operates 33 medical offices and has about 500,000 members.
The striking Kaiser employees in Colorado plan to return to work beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the union’s . The coalition of Kaiser unions also announced members were striking in California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The health system didn’t comment Wednesday on whether there had been any disruptions to patient care. Andrew Sorensen, spokesman for Kaiser Permanente Colorado, said Tuesday that its offices attempted to see more patients ahead of the threatened strike, and would bring in short-term staff to fill the gaps.
“I don’t blame them”
Carmen Espinoza, who was watching one of the picket lines outside Kaiser’s Franklin Medical Offices in Denver while waiting for a ride Wednesday morning, said she had a longer wait than usual for her appointment. She said the doctors and nurses seemed overworked without their usual support staff, but understood why some workers decided to strike.
“I don’t blame them, because, my goodness, the prices,” she said.
Jim Stewart, who was waiting for a ride with his wife Mary, said her appointment went smoothly, and the only difference he saw was that people with unfamiliar badges were walking around. Stewart said he was a union member for much of his career and supports the right to strike, but worries that higher wages could mean more costs passed on to patients.
“I get a little concerned about what’s going to happen,” he said.
Angela Callum, who said she has worked at Kaiser Permanente for about 10 years, said she was out picketing Wednesday because the system wasn’t giving workers the support they need to properly serve patients. Her job involves mixing chemotherapy drugs to be given to patients, and she’s often expected to work late or go without a lunch break because the pharmacy is short-staffed, she said.
“If we’re not doing good, we’re not going to be able to take care of our patients,” she said.
Competing wage proposals
Lance Copeland, an X-ray technician, said he also thought staffing wasn’t keeping up with the demand for care. Also, the 3% wage increase Kaiser Permanente offered for each of the next four years isn’t enough to keep up with rising costs, he said.
“They’re squeezing the life out of people,” he said.
The union’s proposal included a 6.5% wage increase in each of the next two years, and a 5.75% increase in the following two years.
Kaiser Permanente Colorado said its pay and benefits were above average for the market, and that the Kaiser divisions already had reached an agreement with the unions to hire about 10,000 more workers nationwide. The health care provider said it was willing to raise its minimum wage and keep pay above-average in all of the markets where it operates.
“Itap our responsibility to continue to balance taking care of our employees and being more affordable to our patients, members, and communities. Wages and benefits make up about half the cost of health care in America, so we all need to work together on that critical goal,” Kaiser Permanente Colorado said in a statement.
Union leaders said in a news release Wednesday morning that Kaiser health care workers in Colorado were striking to protest what they termed “Kaiser executives’ bad faith bargaining.”
“Kaiser executives refuse to acknowledge how much patient care has deteriorated or how much the frontline health care workforce and patients are suffering because of the Kaiser short-staffing crisis. We’re taking action because we can’t let this staffing crisis continue,” Charmaine Arellano, a medical assistant at Kaiser’s Lakewood facility, said in the news release.
In late August, union members voted to authorize a strike for up to two weeks, saying their compensation hadn’t kept up with the cost of living and that they felt understaffing was harming patients. About 99% of those who took part voted in favor of a strike.
In late September, SEIU Local 105 delivered a notice that it could strike for three days, rather than the maximum of two weeks.
Callum, the pharmacy worker, said she was optimistic the strike would be effective because health care providers and managers would see how much work their staff did.
“I think that over the next three days, they’ll miss us,” she said.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox.
