Unions Due For Thursday Morning Picket Line at Kaiser

Not long after the sun rises Thursday, commuters on the south side of Walnut Creek will blink and realize there are a host of pickets on the sidewalk in front of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

Thursday is a one-day strike for the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Standing with them is a more numerous unit, the Walnut Creek chapter of the California Nurses Association.

"We have anticipated this work stoppage and are fully prepared," said Kaiser spokeswoman Deniene Erickson in an email. "We continue to provide our patients and members with high-quality health care and service from a fully staffed team. All Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical offices throughout Northern California will remain open during this one-day strike."

The NUHW is expecting 150 union members picketing at Kaiser Walnut Creek, said union spokesman Paul Delehanty. That includes mental health professionals and optical workers at Kaiser Walnut Creek as well as union members who work in clinics around Walnut Creek and in the Tri-Valley area.

NUHW is objecting to Kaiser's call for employee givebacks in health care and retirement benefits. 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.

Hundreds of Kaiser Walnut Creek nurses stand with NUHW, said Beckie Seitz, chief nurse rep for the California Nurses Association in Walnut Creek.

"As nurses, we want NUHW members as well as every American to have a fair working wage, access to health care and the ability to retire with dignity," wrote Seitz in an email. "Kaiser has remained highly profitable despite the downturn in our economy and these cuts are just not justified."

"CNA has set up an Patient Care Task Force that will be available on the picket line through the duration of the strike," said Seitz. These volunteer nurses will be available to give care should there be a need for their assistance.