Kaiser Permanente pharmacists and technicians at medical facilities in Southern California voted Wednesday, Oct. 15 to authorize a strike, citing unfair labor practices.
No date has been set for a strike, which would affect some 3,000 union members and dozens of pharmacies.
The vote came during a five-day strike by 31,000 Kaiser nurses and healthcare workers that began Tuesday, Oct. 14 at facilities in California, Oregon and Hawaii. The Oakland-based healthcare organization hired up to 7,600 nurses, clinicians and other staff to replace union workers during the strike, the majority of whom have worked at Kaiser previously. More than 1,000 of Kaiser’s current workforce also volunteered to be reassigned to work in strike locations.
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By law, healthcare unions must give employers at least 10 days notice before a strike in order to ensure continuity of patient care and allow hospitals to prepare.
United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 324 and 770 represent Kaiser pharmacy assistants, technicians, clinical lab scientists, medical lab technicians and clinical and administrative healthcare workers throughout Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Gerard Maderazo, who sits on the bargaining committee for Local 770, said Wednesday night that Kaiser would be forced to temporarily shutter most pharmacies if a strike involving its pharmacists and technicians moves forward.
The union’s four-year contract expires Oct. 31.
Maderazo said the unfair labor allegation relates to the union’s contention that Kaiser is denying access to employee representatives when they request support, and that it’s failing to provide information necessary for bargaining, and intimidating and interrogating workers.
“They are keeping me from talking to our members,” said Mederazo, who has made his rounds to many of the pharmacies in the region. “They are keeping our members in the dark.”
The union is seeking better pay, benefits and staffing in its next contract, he said.
In a statement, the UFCW locals vowed “a second wave of strikes” following the nurses’ strike, which is set to end at 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 19.
A Kaiser spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Kaiser and the United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents registered nurses and healthcare professionals, are negotiating to replace a five-year contract that expired Sept. 30. The union is striking for higher wages and benefits and hiring more employees to fill staffing shortages. It initially sought a 38% pay hike over four years and is now seeking a 25% raise. Kaiser has offered a 21.5%.
