Kaiser, Union Dispute Impact as Strike Opens

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees took to picket lines Monday, kicking off a strike against the nation’s oldest and largest health maintenance organization that will affect patients and health facilities in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.

Kaiser officials said there were no disruptions in medical care at the seven hospitals and more than 40 clinics affected by the walkout. Officials said they had been preparing contingency plans for a work stoppage since January, when contract negotiations began.

“There’s no large crisis; things have gone pretty much as planned,” said Jack Davis, director of Kaiser’s Southern California regional hospital services.

Hospital supervisors and workers from unaffected Kaiser facilities stepped in to fill jobs vacated by nearly 10,000 striking technicians, maintenance workers and licensed vocational nurses who went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Monday after rejecting Kaiser’s offer of a three-year, $44-million contract.

Kaiser’s Davis said that outpatient services were operating normally and that about 150 patients had been transferred over the weekend to community hospitals and Kaiser facilities unaffected by the strike. The overall number of patients in facilities affected by the strike has been reduced to about 50% of normal, and officials said the lower patient load could be handled by supervisors and substitute workers. Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Anaheim, Bellflower, Harbor City, Panorama City, Woodland Hills, West Los Angeles and Los Angeles were affected by the walkout, but no Kaiser facilities have been forced to close, officials said.

Union officials, however, said the strike was having an impact, deterring many patients who would otherwise seek treatment at a Kaiser facility.

“Picketers are all reporting that walk-in traffic at the hospitals is much lighter than before the strike,” said union Vice President David Stilwell. “Everyone realizes that the hospital staffs are not going to be there. Those (who) do come in for treatment are finding the wait is worse than usual.”

Meanwhile, Kaiser personnel manned a control center at the health organization’s Pasadena corporate offices, directing more than 1,000 non-union employees sent from throughout the state to fill in at strike-affected facilities.

“There’s a lot of management people who are wielding brooms,” Kaiser spokeswoman Janice Seib said. “A lot of the people who are filling in are management people, and they’ll work for as long as they have to.”

Though a union negotiating team recommended its approval, members of the Service Employees International Union Local 399 voted 2 to 1 to reject a contract offer that would have guaranteed 5% raises during the first year and 3% raises each of the following two years, according to officials.

The striking workers represent about 90% of the 11,000 who are union members, Stilwell said. And both sides said it is up to the other to bring the contract dispute back to the bargaining table.

“There are no further plans to negotiate with Kaiser,” Stilwell said. “Management knows at this point what is expected and they feel they can’t meet it. We are obviously ready to meet, if Kaiser decides they have something new to offer.”

Union officials contend that their members have had to do without adequate wage increases since the early 1980s, when the number of companies belonging to Kaiser’s medical plan fell and employees were told that they would have to endure small or no wage increases until the hospitals regained a stable membership.

Though Stilwell declined to give specific union demands, he said that “a double-digit raise in the first year (of a contract) would more than likely settle it.”

But Seib said that Kaiser’s offer still stands. “Our feeling is it’s really up to the union to make the next move.”

Outside hospitals and clinics throughout Southern California, striking workers and their supporters carried picket signs and chanted for more money.

“We’re not getting enough money,” said Hattie Tatum, a 17-year Kaiser employee who walked a picket line in front of Kaiser’s largest Southern California hospital on Sunset Boulevard. “We have a lot of new patients and it’s not getting easier, it’s getting worse. . . . We’re taking on the jobs of two or three people and not getting paid enough.”

At the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Anaheim Hills, ultrasound technician Dawn White said: “New hires are getting paid almost as much as I am, and I’ve been here 19 years. The (company) should be rewarding us for our service.”

Janette Mondy, a 10-year Kaiser employee, said the strikers will not stop until they get what they believe is their due. “If it rains, if it snows, or if we have an earthquake, I’m going to be right here.”

Times staff writers John Johnson, Wendy Paulson and Shari Roan contributed to this story.

KAISER PERMANENTE STRIKE AT A GLANCE Who is on strike: Nearly 10,000 Kaiser technicians, maintenance workers and licensed vocational nurses who belong to Service Employees International Union Local 399. What the union is asking for: Increased wages of an unspecified amount. What Kaiser is offering: A three-year, $44-million contract that would guarantee 5% raises in its first year to 11,000 Kaiser employees, and 3% raises in each of the two following years. Area and number of subscribers affected: Kaiser has more than 1.5 million subscribers in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, the areas affected by the strike. So far, approximately 150 patients have been transferred to community hospitals and other Kaiser facilities. Facilities affected: Seven hospitals in Bellflower, Anaheim, Harbor City, Panorama City, Woodland Hills, West Los Angeles and Los Angeles, and more than 40 outpatient clinics in the three counties.