About 250 Hawaiʻi health care workers affiliated with Kaiser Permanente have begun an unfair labor practice strike over contract negotiations.
They began sign-waving Monday to patients and passing drivers at Kaiser’s Moanalua location on Oʻahu.
Understaffing and inadequate benefits are impacting workers and patient care, according to striking members. They belong to the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals and are joining about 31,000 Kaiser staff in California, also on strike over contract negotiations.
“Workers say persistent staffing shortages are driving burnout and turnover, delaying care, increasing workloads, and leaving fewer experienced caregivers at the bedside and in the clinic,” UNAC/UHCP said in a news release.
Marisa Kaluhiokalani, a Kaiser pharmacist, said the provider's offer to union members would actually reduce their benefits.
“I'm asking Kaiser to stop trying to take away things from the staff in their day-to-day, doing everything we can to take care of their members and our members,” she said. “Stop slashing pensions, stop trying to decrease pay.”
She also said that Kaiser is trying to take away “education days” for health care professionals, who use those days to “keep abreast on the millions of changes that happen in medicine day-to-day.”
Back to negotiations
The strike will end once both sides reach a contract agreement, according to union leaders.
Negotiations have stalled at times. The union said that Kaiser had refused to come to the table since Dec. 15.
Talks did continue on Friday, but union leaders said Kaiser didn’t bargain “in good faith” because Kaiser offered the same proposal it had prior to the stalled talks.
Kaiser confirmed Monday that both sides have agreed to resume discussions.
For some staff, the strike is a new experience.
While some positions have been unionized for years, Troy Holser and other certified registered nurse anesthetists have just recently become part of a union.
“This is our first contract, so this is definitely new for all of us. But we are definitely fighting to try to increase our staffing levels,” Holser said.
“We have eight travelers that are filling positions because we can't hire anyone. No one wants to come with a high cost of living, with inflation, and the wages that they're providing. So the goal is to be able to staff our hospitals properly with people from here.”
As part of the strike, the union has released a report accusing Kaiser of amassing a $66 billion surplus and prioritizing profits over timely health care.
The report said Kaiser is investing in private prisons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, fracking and other efforts that the union said conflict with its health care mission.
In a Monday news release, Kaiser said it’s offering wage increases of up to 21.5%.
In a video statement, Dionicia Lagapa, a Kaiser senior director in Hawaiʻi, said that services will continue for its members.
“All of our clinics will remain open throughout the state. This includes Moanalua Medical Center. We will continue to provide safe, high-quality care that our members rely on us for,” she said.
