Kaiser workers promise ‘civil disobedience’ at Labor Day protest
Gabriel Montoya leads a protest outside Kaiser Permanente earlier this year. Photo by Alex Dominguez
DOWNEY – More than 1,000 healthcare workers and their allies will mark Labor Day at 10:30 a.m. Monday by marching from Independence Park to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center to protest the corporation’s plans to outsource and relocate employees.
March organizers also promised “civil disobedience” by workers participating in the rally.
“Kaiser Permanente is raking in money but acting like it has no choice but to outsource employees and relocate others to areas where they would be paid far less,” said Steve Allman, a 16-year Kaiser Permanente employee who said his job at a Downey warehouse may be outsourced.
“Families like mine will have the legs cut out from under us and patients will suffer. We take pride in the work we do to make sure Kaiser facilities have the medications millions of patients need, accurately and on time. You just can’t outsource the kind of efficiency, expertise and pride that me and my co-workers put into our jobs.”
A similar protest will be held Sept. 3 in Oakland, where an additional 1,000 Kaiser Permanente employees and allies will march on Kaiser Oakland Medical Center "and also engage in civil disobedience."
According to march organizers, Kaiser plans several job cuts, including:
Outsourcing 70 pharmacy warehouse workers in Downey;
Outsourcing 34 couriers at a laboratory in North Hollywood;
Moving 742 jobs from call centers in Hollywood, Baldwin Park and Woodland Hills to other areas of the state where workers will earn $2 per hour less;
Outsourcing 96 pharmacy warehouse workers in Oakland and Livermore;
Outsourcing 43 licensed vocational nurses in San Francisco, Oakland, San Leandro, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek;
Shutting down a skilled nursing facility in Manteca and throwing the families of 18 workers and patients into chaos effective Oct. 31, 2018; and
Outsourcing 16 parking attendants and shuttle drivers in San Francisco.
More than 55,000 Kaiser Permanente employees in California are members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW).
They along with 30,000 other Kaiser employees nationwide comprise the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, whose national agreement with Kaiser expires Sept. 30, 2018.
Kaiser workers at a Downey City Council meeting in April. Photo by Alex Dominguez
Kaiser Permanente officials disputed the union’s version of events, insisting they are adding jobs and share “a strong commitment to labor.”
“It’s important for our members and patients to know that this informational picketing is not a strike and it does not impact our care delivery or operations,” said John Nelson, vice president of communications for Kaiser Permanente
“While this union is staging picketing, the physicians and employees of Kaiser Permanente will remain focused on the important work of delivering high-quality, affordable care to our members and improving the health of the communities we serve.”
“The truth is Kaiser Permanente is growing and adding jobs. As one of the largest private employers in California with more than 149,000 employees and 16,000 physicians, we have added more than 13,000 jobs in the state since 2015. We have more than 12,000 open staff positions and will continue to add many kinds of jobs, including blue collar jobs.
“The number of our employees represented by SEIU-UHW has grown by more than 8,000 over the same period.
“We are disappointed that the current leadership of SEIU-UHW has chosen to mischaracterize Kaiser Permanente’s strong commitment to labor and to pursue an adversarial, destructive approach to its relationships with several California health care systems.
“In fact, SEIU-UHW’s approach stands in stark contrast to the productive, progressive relationships we have maintained with the other unions representing our employees.”