We had an extra good week in San Diego, where several workers were special guests at the Labor Council’s holiday party on Wednesday. They spoke about the strike and got several dozen participants to sign our support petition.
On Thursday, strikers started leafleting outside clinics. They had a lot of good conversations with patients at the Bostonia clinic, and when Kaiser’s HR representative incorrectly claimed that it was illegal to leaflet outside the clinic, they told him he was wrong and kept on doing it.
In Orange County we had a little surprise for mental health managers that Kaiser was treating to a fancy lunch party at the Hotel Zessa. We found out about the shindig and offered a not-so-warm welcome at the hotel. You can see the managers approaching in the photos at the bottom of this post.
The barriers have been broken
Breaking Through Day was a big success in Downey and a fun time in Fontana. On Tuesday, Downey strikers breached plastic orange barricades (even a cute three-legged hopped right through) that had prevented them from marching near the medical center entrance. On Thursday, Kaiser decided to do away with the barrier altogether rather than risk another breach.
In Fontana, strikers put their spin on the theme, taking turns breaking through a “brick” wall they designed for the occasion.
New Complaint
On Thursday, we filed a new complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care citing the case of one patient who was made to wait 52 days between her Rula therapist’s request for an evaluation with a Kaiser psychiatrist and the actual appointment date.
The incident underscores how Kaiser is violating state law during the strike by referring high-acuity patients to Rula, which then must send them back to Kaiser, forcing the patients into long waits for care while Kaiser can falsely claim compliance with timely access laws. Kaiser’s use of Rula to violate state mental health laws is nothing new. The LA Times covered a complaint we filed against Kaiser back in April.
Fresh media coverage
KPBS in San Diego published online, radio and television news stories about the challenges patients are facing getting appropriate care during the strike. The article quotes Christina Jones, who attends an outpatient program saying, “When they left, the type of care that we received after it was so subpar and raggedy.”
Jones added: “I let the person know I was having an emergency, and they told me, ‘You don’t sound like you are.’ So it’s this whole performance and telling your story to stranger after stranger in this system that says that it cares.”
Town Hall
Check your email to make sure you got the link to the Town Hall meeting this Sunday at 10 a.m. The meeting will take place over Zoom. All participants will get an update on the strike and be able to get their questions answered.
RSVP for our Tuesday event in Pasadena
We’re planning a late morning holiday gift and food distribution event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, December 10 in Pasadena. The event will include a rally with remarks from allies and patients. Final details will be available Monday, but you can RSVP now.
Hardship funds
We continue to receive hardship fund donations. This week, UFCW, Local 770 donated $5,000. Hardship fund applications are due by Friday at 11:59 p.m. for disbursement on the following Friday. You can find the official rules for disbursement here and the application form here.
Be sure to share the donation links with your extended networks to ensure we have adequate funds for disbursement. Please be patient as the committee works out our workflow and challenges with distributing such large amounts of money.
Picket line photos
See the gallery of photos below, and see more on NUHW’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
