Oakland, Calif. – Healthcare workers at 29 Kaiser Permanente facilities across the state will hold protests demanding recognition and additional support during the pandemic, weeks after the healthcare giant slashed performance sharing bonuses, despite posting $6.4 billion in profits during the last year.
“There’s a disconnect between the thinking of Kaiser executives and the experience of frontline workers,” says Donna Norton, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Vacaville. “Workplace exposures have kept us home, as has the traumatic toll of working through this pandemic. So many caregivers have been physically exhausted from taking on extra shifts week after week and are mentally worn down. We need extra support from our employer right now, not less.”
As many caregivers report feelings of emotional fatigue and burnout after working through a year of the pandemic, employees at Kaiser Permanente are asking their employer to incentivize people to stay in their positions and provide additional support to employees. Workers are also asking Kaiser to recognize their sacrifices by supporting AB 650, the Health Care Worker Recognition and Retention Act, a bill that will require employers across the healthcare industry to pay dividends to all non-executive employees who worked during the pandemic.
“This feels like a slap in the face,” said Kaiser Downey Emergency Room Technician Gabriel Montoya, who got sick with COVID-19 earlier in the year in an exposure he believes happened at work. “From Kaiser not filling open positions, to limiting the distribution of masks and other PPE, to being forced to care for our patients without enough staff, we have been pushed to the brink. We were on board with improving attendance before the pandemic, but we’ve gotten exposed and sick from COVID because we came to work. Some workers were hospitalized and even died. And for that, they’re going to cut our bonus? It’s unbelievable.”
WHAT: Protests by healthcare workers ask Kaiser Permanente to recognize their sacrifices and provide additional support to frontline caregivers through the pandemic.
WHERE:
March 16
Walnut Creek Medical Center
March 17
Santa Clara Medical Center
Woodland Hills Medical Center
March 18
Roseville Medical Center
Baldwin Park Medical Center
March 19
Fresno Medical Center
March 23
Stockton Medical Center
March 24
Oakland Medical Center
Anaheim Medical Center
March 25
South San Francisco Medical Center
South Bay Medical Center
March 26
South Sacramento Medical Center
March 30
Vallejo Medical Center
Downey Medical Center
April 2
Fremont Medical Center
April 6
Antioch Medical Center
April 7
Sacramento Medical Center
West Los Angeles Medical Center
April 8
Los Angeles Medical Center
San Leandro Medical Center
April 9
Vacaville Medical Center
April 13
Redwood City Medical Center
April 14
Santa Rosa Medical Offices
April 15
San Francisco Medical Center
Panorama City Medical Center
April 16
Manteca Medical Offices
April 20
San Rafael Medical Center
April 21
San Jose Medical Center
April 22
Richmond Medical Center
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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is one of the largest unions of hospital workers in the United States, with more than 100,000 members. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.