A social worker at Children’s Hospital Oakland, Crowe is determined to keep her union and her full paycheck.

Less than 48 hours after NUHW members in Southern California reached an agreement to settle a 196-day strike against Kaiser Permanente, the giant HMO was facing withering criticism during an Assembly hearing on its mental health system.

The new contract for nearly 2,400 Kaiser Permanente workers includes important gains but does not establish full equity for behavioral health within the Kaiser system.

With NUHW sponsoring two mental health parity bills, more than fifty members converged on Sacramento for face-to-face meetings with state lawmakers.

Workers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland are heading to San Francisco this week to urge the University of California Board of Regents to stop UCSF Health from cancelling their union contracts, and forcing them into UC unions.

Psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and other NUHW members will hold a public gathering with elected officials outside the State Capitol on Mental Health Matters Day.

After 196-day strike in Southern California, the new contract includes several improvements, including a defined benefit pension, but does not establish full equity for behavioral health within the Kaiser system.

NUHW will review the tentative agreement with its members. NUHW expects to complete the ratification vote by May 8. If ratified, the agreement will have immediate effect.

We were honored for our strike today at Los Angeles City Hall. About a dozen strikers were on hand to accept a special May Day Award from Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez. 

Workers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland are preparing to go on strike to stop UCSF’s plan to integrate the hospital into UCSF Health — a move that would cost workers their union and at least $7,000 per year in take-home pay.

The Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday voted 12-1 to advance AB 1429, (Bains, D-Delano) that would make it much easier for Kaiser patients to get fully reimbursed for out-of pocket mental health expenses.

The Assembly Health Committee will hear AB 1429, which would require Kaiser to provide full reimbursement for patients paying out-of-pocket for behavioral health services that Kaiser should be providing.