Notices received for NUHW strike, CNA and Local 39 sympathy strikes

On Thursday, Nov. 29, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), the union that represents the therapists who provide mental health and wellness care for our members and patients, issued a 10-day notice of its intent to conduct a 5-day strike beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10 and ending at 6 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15.

In addition, the California Nurses Association (CNA) and Local 39 engineers have issued notices for sympathy strikes over the same time period. We are disappointed to receive these unions’ sympathy strike notices, considering that earlier this year we achieved generous contracts with them both.

After 16 bargaining sessions over 5 months negotiating to renew the contract that expired Sept. 30, and with no take-aways introduced by Kaiser Permanente at the bargaining table, we are disappointed that NUHW leadership has made a decision to conduct a strike. We encourage union leaders to use the bargaining table as the place to address their proposals.

The safety of our members and ensuring access and service availability are our primary concerns. We have a regional operational team and extensive planning in place to ensure we maintain operations, access, and services and we will be implementing our work stoppage plans immediately.

Our next bargaining session with NUHW is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 6. We are committed to continuing to negotiate to reach an agreement that supports our ability to provide high-quality, affordable mental health care for our members and an excellent work environment for our therapists.