In a powerful display of strength and solidarity, more than 100 of us from across Southern California — along with allies from other unions across the country who were invited to the event — stopped Kaiser from hosting a successful party for major healthcare purchasers last night at Petco Park in San Diego.
The Kaiser event was supposed to be the capstone of a four-day conference for the boards of major healthcare purchasers, which include unions and trusts that have union and management representatives. But when the union attendees made the short walk from the convention center to the ballpark, they honored our picket line, and many of them grabbed picket signs and joined it, in addition to hundreds of them refusing to cross our picket line.
Stadium officials were angry, but we didn’t let them move us away from the sidewalk outside the stadium. When the event was over, we saw only about 20 people actually leaving what Kaiser thought would be a big party.
Here is a compilation video from last night:
Unions that joined us on the picket line included the Teamsters, OPEIU, AFT, UFCW, and IBEW. The local Fox station, which had visited our picket line in the morning, came back to also cover our ballpark picket.
Scroll Down to read one attendee’s account of our action.
Long Beach Action
Today in Long Beach, several of us leafleted a forum sponsored by CalMatters, the state’s leading nonprofit newsroom, about whether California’s parity law is working. At the beginning of the panel, the moderator mentioned our strike as an example that the law is not being properly enforced.
The session was attended by about 30 people including reporters, legislative staffers and mental health advocates. We talked to reporters and chatted with participants, encouraging them to make donations to our hardship funds and visit picket lines.
Upcoming Actions
This Thursday, everyone is encouraged to join together on the Fontana picket line to enjoy some homemade spicy guacamole in honor of National Spicy Guacamole Day. The location is 9961 Sierra Avenue in Fontana.
- On Wednesday, November 20, we’ll be handing out new strike t-shirts to everyone on the picket line. Don’t miss out on the chance to get your regular NUHW shirt laundered!
- On Thursday, November 21, we’ll be holding simultaneous 12 p.m. rallies with local leaders outside Kaiser headquarters in Pasadena and Oakland. While we gather outside Kaiser’s Southern California headquarters at 393 E. Walnut Street in Pasadena, Kaiser mental health workers in Northern California will gather outside Kaiser’s corporate headquarters in Oakland to rally in support of the strike and a fair contract in Southern California.
Hardship Fund info and other resources
Applications for the fund are now due Fridays at 5pm for disbursement for the following Friday. Available funds are based solely on funds received through the crowdfunding campaign. You can find the official rules for disbursement here and the application form here.
Petco Park Report from AFT’s Robin Watkins
Check out this account of last night’s action in San Diego and the lasting impact it will have on how Kaiser is perceived by unions across the country.
Brothers and Sisters at NUHW last night was absolutely amazing.
What it was…Kaiser rented out Petco Park for a customer appreciation event. They are a platinum sponsor at the conference in the convention center. The event at Petco was a minimum of $25,000 to rent. There was an open bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres along with entertainment. It was a very expensive event.
Who was invited … the conference had 5,600 attendees. Roughly 80% were labor leaders from all over the country. We are talking old school labor: Pipefitters, Firefighters out of Pittsburg, New York and Chicago. These folks have generational union blood coursing through their veins. We had spent the evening on Sunday and two full days getting our Continuing Education credits. It is rigorous, and as we are fiduciaries, we can not skip or miss sessions. Our badges are scanned at every session. If we do not receive our certificate of completion, we have to pay our funds for the conference and any travel payments made on our behalf. We very much look forward to joining our fellow brothers and sisters at the end to party with our hosting partners as well as our board members.
What you did … while you were beautifully chanting and marching, we were covering every entrance, handing out fliers and letting everyone who approached know that Kaiser had been in a labor dispute with their mental health workers for the last 3 weeks … with no end in sight. The invitees were frustrated, hungry, thirsty and now pissed at Kaiser admin … our supposed partner in healthcare and labor. Most turned around, many not only said, “fuck this” but yelled down the street to people coming up, “It’s a Kaiser strike — turn around!” Some came in, grabbed a sign and marched with you. Almost all of them called their fellow trustees to report what was going on. These people knew the shame of crossing a picket. Did some people go in? Very few. Those that did go in I am almost certain were the plan administrators, actuaries and the fund attorneys. Any labor members in there would feel shame if they went in.
What impact did you make … hundreds of your labor brothers and sisters from all over country did not attend this event. They went back to their trusts and pointed out Kaiser Management’s deplorable behavior. We talked to members from Northern California, Hawaii, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, New Jersey and more … this will affect union funds that have Kaiser all over the country. Kaiser prides itself on being a labor partner … these people expect them to walk that talk. It also sent a clear message to Kaiser that it’s not business as usual here when you attack labor. What do we do when labor is under attack? We stand up and fight back. They sure heard that last night!
Thank you for doing what you did last night and what you continue to do. Fight the fight!
Robin Watkins
AFT local 1931 Treasurer and California Schools Labor Chair
Grocert support
The LA federation of unions will be bringing grocery boxes to the picket line on Friday. Join us at LAMC to pick up a food box.
Picket line photos
See the gallery of photos below, and see more on NUHW’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
