Our eight fellow workers ended their hunger strike this evening with colleagues and clergy by their side. Over the past five days, they have demonstrated their resolve to make Kaiser finally treat behavioral health care – and those who provide and receive it – with dignity and respect. They’ve been visited by fellow Kaiser workers, patients and local officials, including Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who visited early this afternoon.
KTLA returned to interview hunger strikers today, and NPR is putting the finishing touches on a story about the hunger strike and our larger fight for mental health parity at Kaiser. Here’s a video from Rage Against the Machine Guitarist Tom Morello’s visit earlier this week.
Mental Health Revolution
On Wednesday, we staged a spirited picket outside the Health Evolution Summit, where Kaiser CEO Greg Adams spoke at a luxury cliffside resort in Dana Point. During the event, strikers unveiled a very long crocheted banner that read “Mental Health Revolution.” Check out this commentary on Medium to learn more about the banner, which several strikers worked on together for nearly a month.
After protesting the Health Evolution Summit, whose key discussion topics included, “Leading through the AI Revolution” and “Future-Proofing the Workforce,” strikers leafleted the neighborhood near one of Adams’ homes in nearby Laguna Beach.
Taking our message to Kaiser Board Members
We’ve also started leafleting about Kaiser board members. In San Diego today, several strikers handed out leaflets outside Rothy’s, a shoe store chain run by Kaiser Board Member Jenny Ming, whose previous clothing store company purchased garments made in a Los Angeles factory that the California labor commissioner described as using “sweatshop practices.”
Ming is paid $248,772 per year to sit on Kaiser’s Board of Directors. During her two different tenures on the Board, Kaiser has been fined $54 million for mental health violations.
Saturday: Invite to Bernie Sanders/Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rally
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are bringing their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to Los Angeles this Saturday. Kaiser strikers will be invited on stage, and two strikers will make brief remarks to the crowd. RSVP here to attend. Doors open at 9 a.m. and the speaking portion begins at 1 p.m. at Gloria Molina Grand Park, 137 N Broadway, Los Angeles.
Picket line sign-ups
Use our picket shift sign-up form to sign up for picket line shifts this week.
Picket line photos
See the gallery of photos below, and see more on NUHW’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
