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Why Is Kaiser Pharmacy Going On Strike?

• Tony Dean
• 29.08.2022
• 0
• 123

On November 15, hundreds of nurses and other health care employees at Kaiser Permanente hospitals will go on strike, citing poor salaries and less-than-ideal working conditions. This will have a direct impact on the ability of Kaiser outpatient pharmacies in Northern California to refill prescriptions.

1. After receiving an overwhelming majority of votes in support of the collective action, it was revealed the previous month that over 24,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente intended to participate in a strike during the month of November.
2. Officials from the health care organization said on Friday that the strike that will begin on November 15 and go until November 22 would also have a significant impact on the outpatient pharmacies that are operated by Kaiser Permanente in the Northern California region.

According to the Chronicle, representatives of the Guild for Professional Pharmacists, which is the labor union that represents the majority of those who plan to go on strike later this month, have issued a warning notice to Kaiser officials about the impending strike, and how it may impact a patient’s ability to fill their prescription drugs.

The notice was issued because the Guild for Professional Pharmacists is the labor union that represents the majority of those who plan to go on strike later this month. Patients who are unable to do so or who are still in need of refilling their medications are being recommended to use Kaiser’s free mail-order delivery service “to avoid refill delays,” which could cost someone their life.

Those who were notified by Kaiser officials have since urged people who use their pharmacy services to refill their prescriptions before the strike begins. On the other hand, it would appear that the hospitals and emergency rooms run by Kaiser Permanente won’t be as severely impacted, and they will continue to operate as usual despite the anticipated shortage of employees.

• “Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open, and we have contingency plans in place to ensure that you will continue to receive high-quality health care and other services during a work stoppage,” Kaiser officials said in a statement that was obtained by the newspaper.
• The statement was made in reference to the fact that the hospitals and emergency departments would remain open.

Earlier this week, Kaiser expressed its optimism that it might reach a deal with them to prevent a strike. Kaiser has also noted that even if the strike goes forward as planned, there would still be on-site physicians and management available to care for patients.

• And more specifically, what are those desires? 4% raises for each of the next three years, as well as a direct commitment to employ more nurses in order to relieve staffing shortages and alleviate medical staff burnout among employees.
• This latter issue has ballooned over the course of the pandemic, causing a wave of mental health problems among physicians.

As of right now, Kaiser has only promised wage increases of 1% every year, with extra lump amounts to be paid out during the year, and the company maintains that it still has to minimize labor expenses in order to stay competitive. Because a financial rivalry that limits a person’s capacity to keep another human being alive is precisely what we need to be aiming for in the privatized healthcare system that our country has.

Is Keiser on strike?

Dive Brief: – After months of difficult talks, more than 50,000 union members for Kaiser Permanente have voted to approve a four-year contract, narrowly avoiding a big strike in the process. Employees belonging to 22 different unions that are represented by the Alliance of Health Care Unions will be impacted by the accord, which ensures salary increases for all workers until the year 2025 and introduces additional wording about safe staffing levels.

Why Kaiser strike Northern California?

The CBS/Bay City News Service will release the following at 10:38 AM on August 22, 2022: Clinicians working in mental health for Kaiser are on strike because of concerns over the quality of service. Clinicians working in mental health for Kaiser are on strike because of concerns over the quality of service.01:03 OAKLAND – Mental health professionals employed by Kaiser Permanente are planning to begin their second week of picketing at a variety of venues around Northern California and the Central Valley on Monday.

According to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, more than 2,000 therapists, psychologists, social workers, and chemical dependence counselors are calling on Kaiser to enhance staffing and put a stop to their patients having to wait an excessive amount of time for their appointments. On August 15, a “open-ended strike” began after the union claimed that negotiations with Kaiser had broken down.

According to the union, clinicians approved a compensation offer made by management, but Kaiser turned down a plan that contained provisions for expanded staffing and lower appointment wait times. The union claims that patients of Kaiser must frequently wait anywhere from four to eight weeks between therapy visits, and that the massive health care provider neglected to expand personnel levels in response to an increase in demand brought on by the epidemic.

• A request for a remark that was submitted to officials of Kaiser on Monday morning was not immediately returned.
• Last week, executives from Kaiser stated that the strike was having an effect on patients and contradicted assertions made by the union regarding the provision of medical treatment.
• On Friday, the senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Deb Catsavas, stated that “this strike and this interruption to patient care does not need to happen.” “The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) asserts that it is working for greater access to treatment; nonetheless, its major demand is that union members spend less time with patients.

A plan that would dramatically cut down on the amount of time available to care for our patients and their mental health requirements is not something that our patients can afford.” The clinicians intend to walk picket lines at Kaiser facilities in the Bay Area on Monday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

1. These facilities are located in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Vallejo, and Walnut Creek.
2. A number of elected officials, including the state treasurer of California, Betty Yee, the lieutenant governor of California, Eleni Kounalakis, the president of the state senate, Toni Atkins, and the speaker of the assembly, Anthony Rendon, have all issued statements of support for the striking clinicians.

According to Sal Rosselli, president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, “Mental health therapists have been blowing the whistle on Kaiser for over a decade, and elected officials are hearing them loud and clear.” In: strike Mental Health Kaiser Permanente We appreciate that you’ve been reading CBS News. Create an account for free or sign in to access other features. Please enter email address to proceed Please enter valid email address to proceed

Are the engineers still on strike at Kaiser?

By the 20th of December in 2021 California, South San Francisco December 20, 2021 On Friday, December 17, 2021, engineers affiliated with Local 39 in Northern California brought an end to their strike lines. After being on strike for a period of ninety days, the Local 39 Union issued an unrestricted offer to return to work even in the absence of a new contract.

Is Kaiser on strike in Northern California?

Northern California is expected to experience a walkout involving thousands of doctors employed by Kaiser Mental Health.

Why are people on strike at Kaiser?

Attempt to save article was unsuccessful. Please try saving it again. Workers at Kaiser’s mental health care system are on their second day of an indefinite strike as of Tuesday, August 16, 2022. They are holding signs on the picket line outside of one of the health care giant’s sites in Oakland on this day.

1. Those who took part in the discussion stated that “dangerous” wait times for patients seeking treatment have resulted from a lack of available staff as well as unjust remuneration.
2. (Lesley McClurg/KQED) On the third day of an ongoing strike, thousands of mental health care workers maintained picket lines in front of Kaiser Permanente facilities in the Bay Area and Central Valley on Wednesday.

The workers are demanding that the health care giant increase the number of staff members working in mental health care as well as their wages. “This strike is a long time coming,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, one of a rising number of state legislative officials backing the employees.

“This strike is a long time coming,” he added. “There have been major issues at Kaiser in terms of providing people with timely access or any access to mental health and addiction treatment,” and “the workers have been advocating for years to have more staffing and compliance with the law, and that hasn’t happened.” “There have been major issues at Kaiser in terms of providing people with any access to mental health and addiction treatment.” On Tuesday, a large group of people demonstrated in front of a Kaiser facility in Oakland, California.

Among them was a therapist who specializes in providing addiction therapy for adolescents named Jason Lechner “What do we want? Patient care. When do we want it? Now!” According to Lechner, Kaiser does not provide him with sufficient time to carry out essential tasks such as answering phone calls and emails or referring patients to other specialists.

• As a result, Lechner and his colleagues are required to consistently work additional hours in order to complete essential administrative tasks.
• It was remarked by him, “Where’s my time to do that if I need to contact with your primary care physician about what chemicals you’re abusing?” The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents Kaiser psychologists, therapists, social workers, and chemical dependency counselors in Northern California, is in the thick of negotiating a new contract with Kaiser and is demanding the company hire more mental health workers to ease the burden placed on current staff.

These negotiations are taking place in Northern California. According to the union, discussions with management over the weekend broke down without producing a satisfactory outcome. According to the union, management at Kaiser rejected the union’s “proposals to expand personnel and halt dangerously lengthy waits for mental health therapy appointments.” Not only as a health care worker, but also as a Kaiser member who has tried to access mental health services for herself, Nicole Riddle, who is a labor and delivery nurse, said that she has experienced the consequences of staffing shortages.

1. Riddle said that she has experienced these consequences both as a health care worker and as a Kaiser member.
2. She said, “I’ve had my own experiences, both trying to advocate for myself throughout really traumatic birth experiences and postpartum depression and then for my own child.” “I’ve had my own experiences, both trying to advocate for myself during really traumatic birth experiences and postpartum depression.” “And I get the impression that Kaiser is betting that individuals are exhausted to the point where they won’t continue to escalate the situation and advocate for themselves.

Then there are others who have the financial means to pay for it out of their own pockets.” She continued by saying, “We deserve a better condition.” Deb Catsavas, the regional senior vice president of human resources for Kaiser, said in a statement that the Oakland-based company has “the deepest appreciation and gratitude for our mental health professionals and the extraordinary care they provide to our members.” This was said in a statement that was released on Sunday, after negotiations came to a stalemate.

1. However, she pointed out that “there are not enough mental health care experts to fulfill the rising demand for care,” and that this problem exists on a local as well as a national scale.
2. According to Catsavas, the organization has initiated a $500,000 campaign to recruit additional mental health practitioners and has employed “almost 200 new physicians” since January 2021.

“Despite the union’s damaging methods, we are dedicated to bargaining in good faith in order to obtain a fair and equitable deal that is beneficial for both our therapists and our patients,” she said. “We want an agreement that is good for both our therapists and our patients.” During discussions, the union agreed to accept Kaiser’s offer of a salary raise; but, it maintained its demand that administrative work be given nine hours per week, which would be an increase from the present allotment of six hours.

That demand was, however, turned down by Kaiser on the grounds that the company would not have enough time to meet patients under those circumstances. Its counteroffer, which included an additional 1.2 hours of work time, was categorically turned down. Even during labor strikes, health care providers like Kaiser are required by law in California to continue providing timely care to patients.

State authorities have stated that they are closely monitoring customer complaints regarding the company’s compliance with this requirement. Kaiser has stated that it will give priority to urgent mental health issues, although it is possible that some continuing visits will need to be rescheduled.

1. On Tuesday, Oakland workers joined members of the Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb on the picket line.
2. Kalb stated that mental health treatment has been underestimated for far too much of recent history.
3. “Care for the mental health is care for the whole person.
4. And the health insurance industry has to stop treating it like the neglected younger sibling, “Kalb pointed to the long-standing need for services, which, since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, has only further intensified.

“Because they do not pay their mental health care clinicians a fair rate and do not staff up to provide the necessary level of mental health treatment, Kaiser should be ashamed of themselves. It is very unacceptable.” To “make sure that there are enough health care workers everywhere to meet the needs that people have,” Kalb urged “unanimous support” for mental health workers, not only at Kaiser but in every other health care setting as well.

Why are Kaiser workers striking?

Kaiser Permanente pharmacist strike looms

Dive Brief: – According to a release from the California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, one thousand nurses are participating in a one-day strike at the Los Angeles Medical Center of Kaiser Permanente on Thursday. The nurses are upset that they were unable to reach an agreement with the health care system regarding new contracts.

Why are the Kaiser Engineers striking?

The health care behemoth Kaiser is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of employees at its medical centers in Northern California would go on strike on Thursday and Friday. This comes only days after the company negotiated a deal with its pharmacists to avert a walkout earlier this week.

• The unions that represent Kaiser’s nurses, mental health professionals, and other healthcare workers have said that their members are willing to go on strike in solidarity with the company’s engineers, who have been picketing for almost two months in order to demand higher pay.
• Although Kaiser concedes that some member services would be impacted by the strike, the company has said that hospitals will continue to operate normally and that urgent care will be accessible.

If Kaiser and Local 39, which represents hundreds of engineers responsible for keeping the health care provider’s buildings running smoothly, are unable to reach an agreement by the early hours of Thursday morning, approximately 40,000 members of three unions representing X-ray technicians, optometrists, phlebotomists, housekeepers, and other employees are prepared to go on strike for a day.

According to Ethan Ruskin, a health educator at Kaiser San Jose and a member of the SEIU-UHW, which is on strike, “We are striking out of sympathy because Kaiser has lost its way and is placing its desire for money before people, affecting our patients and union co-workers.” It is thanks to the efforts of the engineers from Local 39 that we are able to keep our buildings and the medical equipment that we use in good working order.

The Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers East claims that it would be the greatest sympathy strike in the country in recent memory. As the epidemic approaches its second winter and medical facilities prepare for yet another increase of COVID-19 patients, the confrontation arises at a time when health care providers across the Bay Area and their employees are fighting over work demands, salaries, and staffing shortages.

• More than 20,000 registered nurses working for Kaiser who are members of the California Nurses Association are planning to go on strike on Friday morning, along with approximately 2,000 mental health professionals who are members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
• The strike is expected to last for 24 hours.

It is anticipated that the strike will have an impact on Kaiser’s medical centers located across the Bay Area, extending out to Sacramento and down into the Central Valley. According to Kaiser, there is a possibility that the strike will disrupt certain non-emergency medical appointments or procedures.

• Additionally, services like as radiography, optometry, and laboratories can be discontinued or scaled back.
• Additionally, there will be temporary closures of several outpatient pharmacies on both days.
• “During the strike, treatment will be delivered by physicians and experienced clinical managers and staff, with the help of trained and certified contingency employees,” Kaiser stated.

“During the strike, care will be provided by physicians and experienced clinical managers and staff.” “During a strike, all of our hospitals and emergency departments will continue to operate normally and will continue to be secure locations to obtain medical care,” In a statement sent out to members on Wednesday evening, Kaiser stated that the company anticipated considerable wait times and wrote, “Emergency Departments at other, non-Kaiser Permanente hospitals may have shorter waiting times during this period.” The engineers claim that they are going on strike because the wages that Kaiser has offered them are far lower than the wages that other large health care providers are prepared to pay.

• However, according to Kaiser, the engineers make around $180,000 annually when salary, benefits, and retirement benefits are taken into account.
• This places them among the top paid engineers in the industry.
• In a statement released in the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday, Kaiser noted that the engineers were “seeking for outrageous raises much above any other unions within Kaiser Permanente.” Kaiser announced on Tuesday that it had resumed bargaining talks with the union.

The company stated that it “is committed to bargaining as long as it takes to reach an agreement that continues to reward our employees and supports the affordability of health care,” just as it has with several other unions this week. In addition, Kaiser advised the unions that were planning to stage a solidarity strike to instead go to work.

1. “We question why leaders of other unions are asking their members to walk out on patients on November 18 and 19 in sympathy for Local 39,” the Oakland-based health care provider said in a statement.
2. “We question why other unions are asking their members to walk out on patients in support of Local 39.” “This will not put us any closer to coming to an agreement, and most importantly, it is unjust to our members and patients to disrupt their care when they most require our personnel to be there for them.” Engineers from Kaiser are not the only workers currently attempting to negotiate a contract at this time.

Personnel in the field of mental health, who are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, are also working without an active contract. These employees include psychologists, social professionals, marriage and family therapists, and workers in addiction medicine.

• The union is putting pressure on Kaiser to recruit more people to work in the field of mental health because, according to the union, the company is not able to offer the necessary therapy in a sufficient length of time with the staffing levels that are now in place.
• Kaiser has portrayed itself as “indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations” in the United States, but the company has criticized union officials for encouraging employees to demonstrate sympathy to the engineers by going on strike.

On the other hand, members of the union who are considering going on strike do not see it that way. “We’re embarrassed that Kaiser has dragged the engineers strike on for 8 weeks,” said Kundra Vaughn, a pharmacy technician at Kaiser Oakland and a member of OPEIU Local 29, which is striking.

Who is on strike at Kaiser Permanente?

On Monday, thousands of mental health workers employed by Kaiser Permanente in Northern California are participating in a walkout around the region. After failed discussions to improve the quality of patient care, around 2,000 health care professionals affiliated with the National Union of Healthcare Workers have decided to go on strike indefinitely.

Is Kaiser nurses going on strike?

Mention your worries on the paucity of goods as well as the absence of workers – A strike is scheduled to take place on June 23, 2022, and nurses at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles (LAMC) have given a notice that will go into effect in ten days.

1. According to the announcement made by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), the nurses have stated that they feel obligated to go on strike since Kaiser has refused to address their significant issues over patient care and safe staffing.
2. “In the last four months, we have seen 50 nurses leave our hospital due to the poor working conditions that put patient care in jeopardy,” said Tinny Abogado, a registered nurse with 26 years of experience, 20 of those years at LAMC.

“We have seen 50 nurses leave our hospital due to the poor working conditions that put patient care in jeopardy.” “Twenty years of my life have been dedicated to serving the people of this town at this hospital. When I see experienced nurses leaving our hospital, it makes my heart hurt.

1. They carry with them, when they leave the building, information and skill that is essential to the care that we provide for our patients.
2. The lack of breaks during nurses’ 12-hour shifts is a major factor in their decision to leave their jobs.
3. They make an effort to get the supplies, but they are just not there.

As a result of Kaiser’s 8.1 billion dollars in earnings from the previous year, the company has the funds to guarantee that we will always have access to syringes when we require them, auxiliary personnel to assist with the care of our patients, and relief nurses to offer RNs with meal breaks.” What: Registered Nurses at the LAMC will go on strike for one day.

• When: starting at 7 a.m.
• on June 23, 2022, and ending at 6:59 a.m.
• on June 24, 2022, with picketing taking place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• and a rally taking place at noon: Where: Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, 4867 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, Calif.
• According to the data kept by the hospital, there is a recurring issue in which nurses working 12.5-hour shifts are unable to take their lunch breaks because there is no other nurse available to replace them.

An increase in the number of adverse events and medical mistakes has been linked by a number of studies to weariness among workers in the health care industry. When nurses are asked to care for an excessive number of extremely ill patients without assistance from ancillary staff members and to work without breaks, patient care is inevitably impaired.

According to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Registered Nurse named Bryan Telfort, “In the ICU, we are caring for patients who are really unwell, and there is a significant lot of problem solving that goes into monitoring their progress or deterioration continuously.” “Because we put our entire selves into providing care for our patients, this line of work can be stressful on all aspects of our beings, including our bodies, our brains, and our emotions.

We need and deserve to be able to take a break for a meal without interruption, which will give us the opportunity to unwind and refocus our energies so that we can deliver the highest possible level of care.” The nurses have seen that there is a developing problem with a scarcity of supplies, and they are concerned about it.

• In some of the units, there is a shortage of syringes, the kits required to begin an intravenous line, and several other supplies.
• When nurses have to leave their patients in order to retrieve these necessary supplies, it creates a gap in the care that they are providing for those patients.
• In addition, it is not unusual for a member of the medical staff to reach for a piece of equipment such as an IV pump and discover that it is broken.

The fact that Kaiser has not hired a sufficient number of auxiliary staff members who could provide assistance to nurses with patient care difficulties makes the situation much more challenging. “Kaiser has not provided us with enough ancillary staff, so it is not uncommon for us to be doing the job of a nurse and the job of a certified nursing assistant or a food service worker or a housekeeper,” said Violet Galinato, an RN.

“It is not uncommon for us to be doing the job of a nurse and the job of a food service worker or a housekeeper,” said Galinato. It would not be fair to our patients if we took precious time away from providing treatment for them. Since September 2021, LAMC nurses have been negotiating for a new contract, but there has been little to no progress on the areas that are most important to them.

The Registered Nurses are requesting that Kaiser invest in the auxiliary staff, as well as the nursing staff, as well as ensuring that every unit and every shift has the proper supplies. Abogado explained that the reason she and her colleagues chose to become nurses was so that they could be available for their patients whenever they required assistance.

• “However, there are days when it seems impossible to keep going because Kaiser is making it so difficult for us to care for our patients in the manner in which we would want to care for our own family members.
• When we are compelled to care for a patient without having the opportunity to educate them or provide them with emotional support because we are doing too many duties or we are running about seeking for supplies, we suffer a significant moral harm and a great deal of emotional suffering.

Our patients are deserving of the very best, and we will do all in our power to ensure that they receive it.” At LAMC, there are 1,000 registered nurses, and the California Nurses Association represents them. More than 175,000 registered nurses work across the country, making the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States.

Where are Kaiser nurses striking?

Diver’s Eye View: – In the wake of contentious contract talks and staffing issues brought on by the epidemic, nurses working for Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles have joined the ranks of other healthcare workers in the state who have lately vowed to go on strike.

1. In the month of April, nurses at Sutter and Stanford hospitals in Northern California went on strike, with the latter group totaling around 8,000 nurses.
2. Stanford had two facilities.
3. During the month of May, hundreds of employees at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles went on strike for five days.

These employees included certified nursing assistants, technologists, environmental service workers, and food service workers. Residents and interns in the field of medicine at Los Angeles County Hospitals had considered going on strike, but they were able to come to an agreement with the hospital system on June 5, one day before the planned walkout.

• It comes at a time when hospitals all around the country are struggling with personnel shortages more than two years into the outbreak caused by the coronavirus.
• As more contracts are allowed to expire, employees in the healthcare industry are gaining the confidence to make demands for provisions that they believe would improve their working circumstances.

The nurses working at Kaiser’s LAMC are requesting changes that they believe would improve staffing circumstances. Specifically, the nurses want additional auxiliary staff hired so that they may take proper breaks for meals and rest in addition to the breaks they are already allowed to take.

• According to the statement made by the union in the release, it is common for nurses to be unable to take food breaks during their 12.5-hour shifts since there are not enough other nurses available to relieve them.
• Another issue that the nurses want addressed is a deficiency in sufficient supplies.
• According to the organization, shortages of syringes and other equipment to start intravenous therapy force nurses to take time away from the bedsides of their patients in order to locate necessary supplies.

According to the nurses’ union, increasing the number of auxiliary staff members might help assist nurses with these concerns. During the negotiations for new contracts that took place last year at Kaiser, as many as 28,400 employees from around Southern California threatened to go on strike.

What union is striking at Kaiser?

Workers at Kaiser Mental Health in California have signaled their intention to go on strike, according to CalMatters. Defend the nonprofit status of your state’s news organization.