Kaiser management in Southern California has created a separate system of care that leaves us earning less money with less time to do our work than our counterparts throughout the Kaiser system. We demand that Kaiser restore equity to its system for the benefit of mental health professionals and our patients.
The Psych-Social Bargaining Committee identified the following goals as top priorities for contract negotiations with Kaiser based on the bargaining survey that more than 87 percent of our colleagues completed.
EQUITY FOR WORKERS
Kaiser pays us less and provides us with lesser benefits than it provides to other professionals. That must end with this contract.
Fair Pay
- Wage increases that reflect equitable pay with our counterparts in Northern California and reflect recent wages provided to other professionals in Southern California.
- Increase bilingual differential.
- Fair Incentive Plan with metrics and goals jointly set by us and management.
Improved Benefits
- Extend Defined Benefit Plan (pension) for all employees, equal to our NorCal counterparts
- Increase employer contribution to Defined Contribution Plans (401-k, 403-b)
- Improve Earned Time Off to help reduce burnout and retain workers.
- Improve Retiree Health Benefits
EQUITY FOR PATIENTS
Patient care won’t improve when Kaiser keeps us understaffed and underpaid, and refuses to allow us enough time to do our jobs.
- Establish an enforceable mechanism to ensure workload is manageable and staffing levels for all classifications are adequate to provide clinically appropriate care.
- Secure more time to perform all patient care and administrative duties, comparable to what Kaiser already provides NUHW members in Northern California.
- Attain flexible work schedules, including hybrid schedules for more classifications, as Kaiser permits in Northern California to help recruit and retain more staff.
- Emphasize racial and cultural diversity in employee recruitment and retention to help
