Opinion: We have hope returning to the bargaining table will end this strike

As therapists at Kaiser Permanente, my colleagues and I come to work each day with a clear purpose: to provide exceptional mental health care to our patients. Although the work can be demanding, we are united by our dedication to ing our and their overall well-being.

As you are well aware, there is a mental health crisis in America, and demand for the excellent care that we continue to provide is soaring. We believe that everyone should be able to access quality mental health care when they need it, and we are doing something about it. At Kaiser Permanente, we employ 2,400 mental health care professionals here in Southern California, and we have built a robust network of more than 13,000 community-based mental health care providers, to ensure we deliver timely, affordable, high-quality mental health care.

We have expanded our mental health care in California and invested more than $1 billion since 2020 in new care facilities and expanded capacity for in-person visits. Despite a national workforce crisis, we’ve grown our mental health workforce in California by 22%. Through these actions and many more, we have been improving mental health care in the state, and meeting our patients’ needs for timely, high-quality care.

Unfortunately, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which represents much of our mental health care workforce, very often uses strikes as a bargaining tool. We have been negotiating a new contract with the union since this summer, and it once again called on our mental health professionals to go on strike. Despite this unnecessary disruption, we have ensured that everyone who needs an appointment can get one. Patients in crisis get care 24/7, those with urgent needs can get appointments within 48 hours, and patients seeking nonurgent care are seen on average within six days, which is better than the state’s requirement.

Through careful planning and the expansion of our therapist network, we continue to deliver care meeting or exceeding our plans. We know the strike is hard, appreciate that more than 45% of National Union of Healthcare Workers represented therapists have now returned to work, ensuring that anyone who needs timely care can get it.

Despite the union’s claims about care, the real issues in bargaining are the union’s demands for much higher pay, less time spent seeing patients, and benefits. But the union’s proposals simply don’t make sense. The union is demanding that therapists should spend up to 50% of their time in non-patient care. This would result in 15,000 clinical appointments per month not being staffed.

At the same time, National Union of Healthcare Workers is demanding a salary increase that would place the pay of Kaiser Permanente therapists more than 40% above what others make in the market. This also doesn’t make sense. Kaiser Permanente’s philosophy is to pay our employees at or up to 10% above the market. Our therapists are already paid an average of 18% above the market, and we are offering more.

National Union of Healthcare Workers is falsely claiming that therapists do not receive a pension. Our therapists have a generous defined contribution pension plan, which Kaiser Permanente matches up to 9%, almost double the national average contribution.

Kaiser Permanente has presented a strong offer, which includes significant increases in benefits and wages. Our offer also provides up to 25% of therapists’ time set aside for activities such as planning, preparation and coordination, meetings and istrative work.

I’m a therapist myself, and I know how hard my colleagues work. But I also know how important mental health care is to our patients. Let me assure you: Regardless of the strike’s duration, Kaiser Permanente will continue to meet our patients’ needs.

I am cautiously optimistic in hearing that National Union of Healthcare Workers has decided to return to the bargaining table on Jan. 9. However, I can only hope it is in the spirit of reaching an agreement that is reasonable. We are ready to engage in constructive negotiations aimed at reaching a mutually beneficial and reasonable agreement. We hope that National Union of Healthcare Workers has that same willingness.

Until then, and as always, our priority remains providing high-quality, affordable care.

Chabran is vice president, Behavioral Health & Wellness, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Southern California & Hawaii, and a licensed therapist who lives in Los Angeles.