UPDATE: Kaiser Walnut Creek Headed For One-Day Strike Sept. 22

UPDATE

Apparently there will be a variety of employees on the picket lines in front of Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center Thursday, Sept. 22, for a one-day strike.

At 21 Kaiser facilities around the state, union members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers will strike to protest a Kaiser proposal to cut the union's health and retirement benefits. At Kaiser Walnut Creek, the larger unit of nurses, almost 800 strong, will join in a one-day sympathy strike for their NUHW colleagues, confirmed Beckie Seitz, chief nurse rep for the California Nurses Association.

"Some won't be out on picket line," said Seitz. "We're going over numbers right now. The support at Walnut Creek is huge." The strike is scheduled for 7 a.m. Sept. 22 to 7 a.m. Sept. 23. Nurses will be on the picket line from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 23, Seitz said.

What is unknown is how the job action will affect hospital service Sept. 22. 

"We do want our members and patients to know that in the event of a strike or a sympathy strike, Kaiser Permanente is well prepared to continue providing high quality health care and service," said Gay Westfall, senior vice president of Human Resources for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan in an email.

"We believe the bargaining table is the best place to resolve differences," said Westfall. "We are bargaining in good faith and will continue to meet with NUHW over the next few weeks, with the goal to reach an agreement soon."

Kaiser officials told the San Francisco Business Times they were disappointed that the NUHW strike notice took place at an early stage of negotiations.

NUHW represents psychologists, social workers, optical workers, health educators, dietitians and other hospital professionals. Statewide,  NUHW gave notice on behalf of 4,000 union members of their intent to strike. They expect to be joined by 17,000 nurses through the CNA. See the NUHW press release here.

At Kaiser Walnut Creek, an administration plan to reduce nursing positions and reassign nurses in a "float pool" serving diverse departments.

Seitz said the next bargaining session is scheduled for Sept. 26. "We're still running short-staffed with nurses working overtime," she said.

Westfall said, "It is our position that a CNA-sanctioned work stoppage is inconsistent with the CNA contract that just went into effect on Sept. 1. In fact, Kaiser Permanente and CNA negotiated this contract earlier this year with the mutual goal of labor peace ...

"The contract provides nurses with a 2 percent wage increase twice a year, plus a 1 percent annual lump sum payment, and no changes to benefits, for each year of three years. Simply put, Kaiser Permanente is not in contract negotiations with CNA – and our bargaining with NUHW does not affect CNA."