Enthusiasm ran high again today, with lots of chants, dancing, music, and food. Turnout was strong on a day when we also had bargaining, but it can always be stronger. Our presence on the picket line is the best way to show our determination to win this strike, so come join the fun and bring some colleagues. Sign up for picket shifts here for next week and moving forward.
Today marked our first picket lines in Downey and Lancaster and our second day of picketing in Fontana and San Diego, where we received news coverage from ABC-10 and Courthouse News. We had more elected leaders join us for rallies and continued support on the picket lines from members of other unions, including the Teamsters, Steelworkers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and SEIU-UHW.
Maurice Turman of San Diego and Kassaundra Gutierrez Thompson of Los Angeles talked about the lack of time for quality care and why we’re on strike.
Bargaining update
Our NUHW Bargaining Committee met with Kaiser today. You can read the bargaining update here.
Halloween in West L.A.
Let’s spend Halloween together in West L.A. We are hoping to have as many of us as possible in one place to have some fun and enjoy each other’s company. Fill out this form to let us know if you would take a shuttle bus from your picket location to the West L.A. Medical Center for a spooky good time.
NASW statement
Yesterday, we shared a portion of a statement that the National Association of Social Workers sent to its members in support of our strike. By popular demand, you can read the entire statement below.
Email from NASW-CA to its members:
Dear NASW-CA Members and Colleagues,
The National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (NASW CA), one of the country’s largest and most influential social work organizations, expresses profound concern over the urgent and escalating mental health crisis affecting individuals worldwide after COVID-19. This crisis has underscored clinicians’ harsh realities: overwhelming workloads, inadequate compensation, and unhealthy working conditions.
Social workers and clinical practitioners are essential to delivering critical mental health care and interventions. Today, we stand united with Kaiser Permanente mental health providers who are currently on strike, demanding better working conditions and fair pay. It is unacceptable that social workers report severe stress, lack of pensions, and insufficient salaries, all of which directly impair patient care. Patients deserve continuity, consistency, and timely access to mental health support. It is disingenuous to expect high-quality, trauma-informed care when providers are experiencing burnout and feel undervalued.
Kaiser Permanente must return to the negotiation table and address these critical issues. As a professional social work association, we are heartfelt in our commitment to standing with our Southern California colleagues who courageously advocate for change.
Kimberly Warmsley, Executive Director of the California NASW Chapter, MSW, LCSW, states, “The time is now to ensure realistic working conditions and provide equitable pay and recognition for professionals who deliver essential services. Social workers and therapists were on the frontlines during the pandemic; we are trusted partners and advocates for our communities. Kaiser must exemplify the commitment to providing resources, support, and fair compensation for dedicated social workers who strive to protect vulnerable populations”.
We applaud the unwavering dedication of every social worker at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California who is standing up so boldly against a broken mental health system that forces patients to wait months for therapy appointments, violating state laws.
We call on the community to support the striking clinicians at Kaiser by contributing to the hardship relief fund organized by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Every donation will directly support them.
Learn more about the strike at kaiserdontdeny.org.
Donate to the Kaiser Southern California Strikers’ Hardship Fund: https://lnkd.in/gKUGh-5x
Together, let’s stand up for the fair treatment of our mental health providers and the patients they serve. It’s not just a call to action, it’s a necessity to ensure that our communities receive high-quality care that they rightfully deserve.
