Yesterday, during our fourth day of bargaining, we agreed on basic ground rules for bargaining and also reached a Tentative Agreement on Educational Leave and Tuition Reimbursement, increasing the amount of reimbursement funds that can be used for travel expenses from $750 to $1,000.
The employer also rejected our proposals:
- To have seniority apply to office space selection
- To allow former employees who are rehired within two years of leaving to maintain their previous pay and benefit accrual rates
- To designate a half hour of LPPC feedback meetings as “union only”
The employer also proposed some benefit enhancement that they have already made for other unions:
- To allow active employees to carry over to the following year a portion of any credits they have in their Benefits by Design bank
- To allow eligible retirees to use their medical coverage subsidy towards any available KP Senior Advantage Plan, not just the least expensive plan
We told them we would include their language when we give them our more comprehensive proposals on Health and Welfare benefits and Retiree benefits.
We gave the Employer a counter proposal on Job Postings and Transfers and a new proposal related to timely access to appropriate care. Our proposal is drawn heavily from existing parity regulations (such as SB 855), the October 2023 Settlement Agreement between KP and the DMHC, and the associated August 2024 Corrective Action Work Plan
Our proposal reinforces the primacy of each provider’s autonomy to exercise clinical judgment in determining and administering the appropriate medically necessary treatment of each and every patient’s mental health or substance use disorder. This proposal would also hold KP accountable to following all existing parity laws.
Kaiser still owes us responses on several proposals, most notably our proposal to improve after hours coverage in the Emergency Department and eliminate involuntary call.
