We made some limited progress in bargaining yesterday as we reached two tentative agreements:
- Retiree Health & Welfare: Effective January 1, 2026, Employer contribution to HRA account increases from $2000 to $2500 for year of service, and one time payment at age 85 increases from $10,000 to $15,000; for those eligible for medical premium subsidy, the subsidy can now be applied to any KP Senior Advantage plan, not just the least expensive plan.
- Letter of Understanding re: Best Practice Committees: Provides for the establishment of ad hoc Best Practice committees consisting of 5 union and 5 management representatives to work collaboratively regarding implementation of evidence-based best practices in specific areas.
The Employer also gave us a proposal on Health & Welfare Benefits for Active Employees which showed some movement but lacks improvements we are seeking in dental coverage. They also introduced a new proposal on Per Diem Work Commitment which we are considering but told them we would first need to see their response to our proposal on After Hours Cover which we gave them way back in July.
On our part, we gave them a revised proposal on seniority issues related to job postings/ transfers and reduction in force.
We ended the day by letting management know how their new marketing campaign, touting integrated care, does not jibe with the proposals they have given us in bargaining that allow them the “flexibility” to increase outsourcing by laying off therapists or to replace therapists with AI at some point in the future. Their response was to point out that they have never laid anyone off in our bargaining unit in the past and that they are investing millions in efforts to grow the behavioral health workforce. However, this begs the question of why they would even make the proposals they have.
