KP-NUHW Bargaining Update, May 13, 2022
Last Friday, May 13th, in bargaining between Kaiser Permanente and NUHW, conversation continued on the topic of job duties and workload distribution. We let the union’s bargaining team know we are taking into consideration the extensive information they provided at our last session.
We care about all our therapists, and about supporting them in the vital work they do every day to provide exceptional mental health care for our patients. Workload distribution is a complex issue, with many important variables that impact our ability to provide essential care for our patients. We discussed therapists’ desire to have increased indirect patient care time, and how this balances with issues of patient access for new and return appointments. We acknowledged that hiring is an important factor and shared that we are recruiting for hundreds of open therapist positions across the region. We remain committed to finding solutions that are good for our patients and for our therapists.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17. We will continue to keep you informed and hope to reach agreement as quickly as possible.