Kaiser Permanente mental health workers begin open-ended strike in Southern California

More than 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers in Southern California began a strike this morning and established picket lines at locations from Los Angeles to San Diego, marking the second strike among Kaiser therapists in a little more than two years.

Mental health workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers prepared for the strike over the weekend after declining Kaiser’s terms on Friday.

Kaiser in a written statement said it is notifying patients whose appointments could be affected by the strike. “Patients will have the opportunity to be seen by another professional in our extensive network of highly qualified, licensed therapists, if their regular provider is engaged in a strike,” the statement read.

The previous strike in 2022 among mental health clinicians in Northern California lasted 10 weeks and led to a commitment from Kaiser to hire more therapists and to give employees specific work hours away from face-to-face patient care.

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Southern California Kaiser workers now are asking for more time in between appointments to prepare for patients. They also want a wage increase and a pension benefit that the company provides to its Northern California clinicians.

“It’s pretty simple,” said psychological social worker William Johnson, a union steward who serves on the bargaining committee. “We’re looking for the same three top priorities that Kaiser already said ‘Yes’ to for our Northern California mental healthcare workers.”

Johnson said his current workload includes seeing 32 to 35 patients a week in one-hour sessions.

Kaiser released a statement in response to the union’s plans to strike, saying, “unfortunately this comes as no surprise, as this seems to have been their intention all along.”

The company has offered wage increases amounting to 18% over four years and a number of other perks, according to the statement. Kaiser representatives said they have invested more than a billion dollars expanding mental health capabilities in California and increased the number of licensed mental health clinicians in Southern California by 30% over the past four years.

But union members say turnover has been a problem, with a quarter of therapists hired between January 2021 and August 2024 leaving their jobs.

“Kaiser leadership has consistently been dismissive whenever we voice our concerns or experiences,” said Johnson. “They like to tell us things like, ‘We get that it’s not ideal,’ and they also add, ‘But it works for us.’”

Jared Garcia, another union steward on the bargaining committee, said he’s hoping the strike lasts less than a month, but he’s prepared to see it go on as long as it takes.

“Scabs aren’t going to work,” said Garcia. “Kaiser knows the limitations of finding mental health professionals – let alone to replace 2,400 of our union members at this time.”

A year ago, Kaiser entered into a $200 million settlement agreement with the state of California, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine and invest another $150 million over five years to address delays in behavioral health appointments.