CCTA partners with Choice in Aging, Mobility Matters to provide free, door-through-door services for senior residents.
By Federal Glover, Chair, Board of Directors, Contra Costa Transportation Authority
Last week, on National Senior Citizens Day, we were reminded of the barriers that exist for our older community members. While we celebrated our elder citizens’ incredible contributions to society, we reflected on our responsibility to bolster resources that support independence as people age. One resource in particular, transportation, is a crucial component to enhancing our senior citizens’ quality of life and local governments have a responsibility to address the challenges to utilizing essential services.
Throughout California, there are public health and human resources that stay true to the theme of boundless potential in aging, but an element that often gets overlooked is transportation. Transportation, which has a uniquely human element in carrying people through life, has not been designed with senior citizens in mind. Instead, seniors often face countless institutional barriers that prevent them from taking trips to medical appointments or the grocery store – simple trips that are important for people’s independence.
At CCTA, we believe in equitable access for transportation and our “Mobility for All” model doesn’t just address cars, bikes, buses, or trains–but also the mobility needs of our veterans, people with disabilities, and seniors.
There is a gap in accessible transportation for seniors and it is critical to design transportation systems to meet the unique needs that come with aging.
CCTA’s job is to create transportation that all residents can access. Most importantly, we have a responsibility to understand the human element of transportation – to understand how people use our services beyond moving from “Point A” to “Point B”. Whether your destination is a doctor’s appointment, a family dinner, or a book club, transportation is necessary to bring you to and from the places that matter to you.
CCTA has engaged with community members to understand how residents are using our service and what changes or needs they have. Since 2021, we have used the Accessible Transportation Strategic Plan (ATSP), which has given us direct insights into these community needs. The ATSP was born from the 2017 Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP). One of our goals of this strategic plan is to become a one-stop-shop for residents, to consolidate our resources so that residents can easily navigate services, and to understand the gaps in those services so that we can best serve our community.
CCTA partners with Choice in Aging, as well as Mobility Matters, which provides free, door-through-door services for senior residents. This system is fueled by over 160 volunteer drivers in the County. We are proud that this program has helped deliver 69,015 rides since 2005. We also support our transit partners’ para transit One Seat One Ride program. Our goal is for seniors and disabled individuals to have “one seat” journeys–so that a trip across the County does not have to involve multiple transfers between trains and buses.
CCTA is constantly looking at ways to use innovation to improve and expand services to older adults. To improve mobility in the Rossmoor Senior Community, early next year CCTA will launch an autonomous shuttle service. These shuttles will keep senior residents connected by bringing them to essential services and goods within their community.
CCTA is committed to continuing our efforts to improve transportation for our senior population. We encourage community feedback to best understand how to fulfill your needs.
We’ve made remarkable strides but recognize that there is always more we can do to implement the vision of “Mobility for All”. We will continue to knock down barriers so that aging is not seen as a limitation– but rather boundless potential.
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Delta Veterans Group to serve homeless and other military veterans, members of the public
By J.R. Wilson, Founder/ President, Delta Veterans Group
The next Stand Down on the Delta will be held in September 8-11, 2023, at the Contra Costa Event Park (fairgrounds) located in Antioch, CA presented by Delta Veterans Group (DVG).
DVG was proud to bring the first homeless and at-risk of becoming homeless veteran “Stand Down on the Delta” of its kind to Contra Costa County in September 2015. Stand Down on the Delta was a four-day, three-night event in which veterans were provided full medical treatments, court and legal services, DMV, chaplain services, housing, addiction and mental health counseling, employment and a myriad of other community services. During the event, veterans were also provided with clothing, meals, showers, sleeping tents, live entertainment and a safe place to “stand down” for the duration.
We will do the same for our veterans, this year as well.
Volunteers are needed to help serve our military veterans because VETERANS SERVED THEIR COUNTRY AND VETERANS SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES!
Most services on Saturday, Sept. 9 will be open to the general public. You do not need to be a veteran to receive services that day.
Veterans and volunteers can register and obtain more information by visiting www.deltaveteransgroup.org.
Delta Veterans Group is comprised of both veteran and civilian volunteers who wish to serve veterans in their community. We strive to bring our veterans the four pillars of success – Housing, Employment, Health and Education – one which will not work without the other three. Through the four pillars of success as a veteran myself, I was able to find peace and balance in my life, and a chance to bring about positive changes for veterans in our community. Our goal is simple – to bring together all of the Veteran Service Organizations in our communities and champion support for our nation’s finest men and women veterans.
Delta Veterans Group 501(c)3 was founded in Contra Costa County in 2012 by Army veteran J.R. Wilson, DVG has now grown to provide services to surrounding Northern California areas including Alameda, Monterey, Napa, San Joaquin, San Francisco, and Solano counties.
Read MoreAn Evening with David Arkenstone & Friends with stops in Weaverville, Lakeport, Cloverdale, Sonoma and Berkeley on the Pacific Northwest Tour 2023
“David Arkenstone & Friends was one of the best shows of the year!” WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon
From his first Grammy® nomination in 1992 through his latest Grammy® nomination in 2022, David Arkenstone’s music has become the soundtrack to our lives with unforgettable NBC Sports themes such as The Kentucky Derby to epic gaming music for World of Warcraft and Emperor: Battle for Dune, from Music Inspired by Middle Earth to area music as you stroll through Epcot at DisneyWorld. His September-October tour brings a lively candlelit evening of music blending neo-classical piano, new age, Celtic, progressive rock, orchestral, and world music to Northern California. With over 100 million Spotify streams and 60+ CDs, David’s music holds something for everyone, taking concertgoers on a wondrous musical journey from first note to last. (See his discography)
Joined on stage by virtuoso musicians Kimberly Zaleski (flute), Laurann Angel (violin), Cecilia Caughman (cello), and Josh Gilgoff (percussion), David has plenty of surprises in store and will debut songs from his newest release. Since his first album in 1987, the acclaimed Valley in the Clouds, this musical visionary continues to create distinctive tracks that inspire the imagination. David enjoys touring and meeting his fans from around the world.
“I think the attraction to come to one of my shows is the amount of different kinds of music you will hear and the high caliber of talent you will be presented with. There’s something for everybody. People have told me that it looks like we’re having the best time of our lives during the concert. It spills over the stage into the audience. After the show to be able to meet the people that have shared the music, I’m so grateful,” said David.
A musical storyteller, he is passionate about taking listeners on a journey, creating sonic tapestries that evoke every emotion. His music has been described as “soundtracks for the imagination”.
“I envision a place where I would like to go, or an adventure I would like to take, and let my imagination run free,” he shared. “I’ve gotten countless messages from listeners who love to take these journeys with me. I’m sometimes surprised by how powerfully people in so many age groups respond to my music.”
According to his Wikipedia page, “After moving from Chicago to California at the age of ten, David was involved in various high school bands playing guitars and keyboards, playing baseball in his spare time. He studied music in college and started a progressive rock band named after himself, but he soon discovered his own musical voice in the instrumental genre.” Listen to samples of his music on David’s YouTube Channel.
Tickets are on sale now for An Evening with David Arkenstone & Friends! The tour will include the following stops:
9/22 Monroe WA – Wagner Performing Arts Center
9/23 Victoria BC – Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria School of Music
9/24 Victoria BC – First Unitarian Church of Victoria
9/26 Maple Ridge BC – ACT Arts Centre
9/27 Vancouver BC – The York
9/28 Tacoma WA – McMenamins Elks Temple w/Special Guest Pinniped
9/29 Portland OR – Stage 722 w/Special Guest Chasing Ebenezer
9/30 Eugene OR – WOW Hall
10/1 Roseburg OR – The SunnySide Theatre
10/3 Coos Bay OR – The Dolphin Playhouse
10/4 Ashland OR – Jackson WellSprings
10/5 Weaverville CA – Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center
10/6 Lakeport CA – Soper Reese Community Theatre
10/7 Cloverdale CA – Cloverdale Performing Arts Center
10/8 Sonoma CA – Sebastiani Theatre
10/10 Berkeley CA – Freight & Salvage (live concert and live stream)
Tickets are on sale now for the Pacific Northwest Tour 2023 of An Evening with David Arkenstone & Friends at davidarkenstone.com or linktr.ee/davidarkenstone.
Read MoreThe California 2023 Maternity Care Honor Roll recognizes hospitals that met or surpassed the statewide target to reduce births via cesarean section in first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies
Sutter Delta Medical Center, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center also make list
By Antonia Ehlers, PR & Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center is one of 107 hospitals named to the California 2023 Maternity Care Honor Roll for meeting the statewide target of cesarean sections for low-risk births leading to improved health outcomes for mothers and their newborns.
Childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization in the U.S., according to the California Health Care Foundation. Overuse of C-sections can lead to serious health complications for both mother and baby and unnecessary C-sections are also considered a health equity issue since rates are higher among people of color.
Kaiser Permanente Northern California is a leader in innovative approaches to maternal care and is working to improve equity in maternal health. Our hospitals are among the best in the country for meeting rigorous standards for maternity care, including low C-section rates, elective early deliveries, and for following important protocols to safely protect new mothers and their babies.
As part of our comprehensive prenatal care, our care teams work closely with our patients to deliver high-quality maternity care and reduce the risk of complications. If pregnant patients have a high-risk pregnancy or a chronic condition such as high blood pressure, we tailor their care to reduce risks. And mothers who choose to breastfeed get the support they need to be successful.
Last year, 43,177 babies were delivered at Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals.
“Kaiser Permanente is a leader in providing exceptional maternity care that provides new families with the support they need,” said Pam Galley, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo service area. “We are committed to providing our members and patients with high-quality, equitable maternal health care.”
The 107 hospitals on the honor roll represent half of all 211 California hospitals that offer maternity services and participate in the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative’s Maternal Data Center.
Reducing C-section rates starts with the culture of the hospital, involving changes to physician practice patterns, education of nurses, support staff and families, and implementation of new policies within the facility, according to Cal Hospital Compare, which publishes the maternity care honor roll.
“Our Kaiser Permanente clinicians are committed to providing the best outcomes for our families as they entrust us with their care,” said Sharon Mowat, MD, physician in chief at Kaiser Permanente’s Antioch Medical Center. “We strive every day to provide the support these new families need as they begin this life-changing journey.”
In 2015, the California Health and Human Services Agency began recognizing hospitals that meet the 23.9% statewide target of C-sections for low-risk births through its Maternity Honor Roll. Beginning this year, CHC changed the C-section rate threshold for honor roll hospitals from 23.9% to 23.6% to align with the Healthy People 2030 goals. This year’s award reflects calendar year 2022 hospital discharge and birth certificate data.
Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch and the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez also made the 2023 Honor Roll list For more information on the California 2023 Maternity Care Honor Roll visit https://calhospitalcompare.org/programs/maternity-care-honor-roll/
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
By Kelly Kalfsbeek, PIO, Contra Costa County Public Works
Contra Costa County Public Works will be performing geotechnical borings in preparation for the Alhambra Valley Road Slope Failure Repairs Project. Work will take place on Alhambra Valley Road at three locations between Castro Ranch Road and Bear Creek Road located 1-mile, 1.3-miles, and 1.6-miles east of the intersection with Castro Ranch Road. Work will occur on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, and Wednesday, August 30, 2023, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm., barring unforeseen circumstances. Drivers should expect delays up to 30 minutes during construction and are encouraged to use alternate routes.
For more information visit: www.contracosta.ca.gov/AlhambraValleyRoadRepair
About Contra Costa County Public Works Department:
Contra Costa County Public Works Department (CCCPWD) maintains over 660 miles of roads, 150 miles of streams, channels, and other drainage and over 150 County buildings throughout Contra Costa County. CCCPWD provides services such as Parks and Recreation, Sandbag Distribution and Flood Control throughout unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County. CCCPWD operates two airports, Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, and Byron Airport in Byron. For more information about CCCPWD, please visit us at: www.cccpublicworks.org
For Construction and Project status contact, Xiuwei Tang, 925.313.2105
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By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office
On Saturday, August 26, 2023, at about 10:34 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call on the 100 block of Rodeo Avenue in Rodeo. At about the same time, dispatch received several calls of shots being fired in the area.
Deputies arrived and located a person who was suffering from a gunshot wound. The fire department responded and began life-saving measures. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene and is not being identified at this time.
According to a KTVU FOX2 report, the victim was a mother with an eight-year-old son.
This is an active investigation. Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreBy CHP – Golden Gate Division
A 16-year-old male is in custody after fleeing from a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Deputy and striking a California Highway Patrol (CHP) canine.
On Friday, August 25, 2023, at approximately 3:20 p.m., officers assigned to the CHP’s Oakland Area Office were advised of a white Infinity sedan that had fled from CCSO Deputies. The deputy had attempted to stop the vehicle on Hwy 4 in Hercules for a vehicle code violation, but the driver refused to stop and fled from the deputy. After a brief pursuit, a CCSO helicopter arrived overhead, and the deputy discontinued his pursuit. Despite having no law enforcement pursuing him, the suspect continued driving recklessly, now traveling westbound on I-80 toward Oakland. After crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the suspect exited into San Francisco and began driving recklessly on city streets.
A CHP helicopter arrived overhead shortly after the vehicle entered San Francisco and was able to provide updates to officers in the area. At one point, the Infinity collided with other vehicles and came to a stop. CHP officers nearby were on scene soon after and believed the suspect was now boxed in. Believing the suspect might run from officers, a CHP officer retrieved his canine partner, Champ, from his vehicle. As the officer prepared Champ for deployment, the suspect drove toward them, striking Champ and another vehicle.
The suspect re-entered the SFOBB and began traveling eastbound on I-80 toward Oakland. Two CHP officers briefly attempted to stop the suspect vehicle as it traveled across the bridge but discontinued due to the suspect’s reckless disregard for the safety of others on the roadway. A CHP helicopter continued following the suspect as he traveled into Richmond and eventually abandoned his vehicle near Booker T. Anderson Jr. Park. The suspect ran into a nearby apartment complex where he hid from pursuing officers.
Law enforcement from the CHP, CCSO, and the Richmond Police Department (RPD) quickly responded to the scene and formed a perimeter around the building. Law enforcement initially provided numerous commands for the suspect to surrender, however he refused to come out. Shortly after 9 p.m., officers utilized vehicle loud speakers to call out for the suspect to surrender or they would begin entering apartments to locate him. Soon after, the suspect emerged from the apartment and surrendered. The suspect, a 16-year-old male, was taken into custody without incident. Following his arrest, the juvenile was booked into a local juvenile hall on numerous misdemeanor and felony charges.
After being struck by the suspect on city streets in San Francisco, K9 Champ was transported to an emergency vet where he received excellent care. We are pleased to say that Champ sustained no major injuries and is expected to recover. We would like to thank the incredible staff who made sure Champ was well taken care of after this incident. Even though he doesn’t want to, Champ will be taking a little time off to recover and make sure he’s back to 100% before he’s back out on the streets doing what he does best (the last photo shows Champ recovering at home today).
We would like to thank our law enforcement partners from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and Richmond Police Department as well as the Richmond Fire Department for their assistance in bringing this incident to a successful and uneventful conclusion. We would also like to thank the residents who were evacuated from their homes for their patience as we did everything we could to bring this incident to a peaceful resolution.
The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.
Read MoreBy Antonia Ehlers, PR & Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Kaiser Permanente is the largest union-represented health care employer in the U.S. – with nearly 75 percent of our employees represented by unions. We are currently bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents about 88,000 employees in a variety of roles. The Coalition is part of our historic, 26-year-long Labor Management Partnership, the longest-lasting partnership of its kind in the country.
Kaiser Permanente is fully committed to reaching an agreement with the unions affiliated with the Coalition just as we have done in every national bargaining since 1999. Our priority is to reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial and ensures we can continue to offer our people market-competitive pay and outstanding benefits. We are confident that we will reach an agreement that achieves that goal, before the contract expires on September 30. And we are confident that our new agreement will strengthen our position as a best place to work and ensure the high-quality care our members expect from us remains affordable and easy to access.
Strike Authorization Vote
Strike authorizations are a common bargaining pressure tactic that give union leaders the ability to call for a strike in the future. Throughout our negotiations we have seen Coalition leaders attempt to rally their unions’ members to threaten a strike despite important progress made through negotiations.
This tactic does not reflect any breakdown in bargaining, nor does it indicate a strike is imminent or will happen at all. It is a disappointing action considering our progress at the bargaining table. It does not reflect our commitment to reaching an agreement that ensures we can continue to provide market-competitive pay and outstanding benefits.
We urge our employees to reject any call for a strike and continue to focus on providing care and service to the patients who need them. We take any threat to disrupt care for our members seriously and have plans to ensure continued access to health care by our members, patients, and the communities we serve, should any union call for a strike. Our members, patients, and our communities need us to be there for them.
Allegations of Unfair Labor Practices
From the start, we have bargained in good faith to come to an agreement, working diligently in partnership to address the many complex issues at the table. This week, over the course of our sixth formal negotiation session since national bargaining began in April, we offered proposals on important issues including improvements to the performance sharing bonus plan (PSP) and an enterprise-wide guaranteed minimum wage for our Coalition-represented employees. In addition, committees met on staffing, operational savings, and local bargaining agreements.
As always, one of the key issues in this bargaining involves compensation and Kaiser Permanente has made clear we are standing by our proven commitment to provide market-competitive wages and excellent benefits. In fact, as a leading employer, our philosophy is to pay our employees above the local market, to attract and retain the best employees.
Bargaining is dynamic and involves give-and-take. Accusations from union leaders that Kaiser Permanente has not bargained in good faith are unfounded and counterproductive.
We take bargaining seriously and believe that our employees deserve market competitive wages and excellent benefits. We are hopeful union leaders will set aside the counterproductive tactics of this week, so we can focus on working together to deliver an agreement. We remain committed to bargaining with our Coalition unions in good faith and in the spirit of partnership. We will focus our energy on frank and productive discussions that lead to an agreement, and to doing our part to ensure there are no disruptions to the high-quality care we provide.
Staffing
We, like all health care organizations, have experienced staffing challenges driven by the pandemic and its lasting effects. For healthcare systems this has been made worse by the backlog in care and the increase in needs and acuity we’re seeing across the country.
While Kaiser Permanente has experienced the same pressures, through diligent work and an unwavering commitment to our people, we have weathered these staffing challenges better than most health care organizations. Kaiser Permanente’s average employee turnover rate of 8.5 percent, as of June 2023, is significantly lower than the rate of 21.4 percent across health care. Talented people who recognize the value of our current wage and benefit offerings want to work at Kaiser Permanente, which is why about 96 percent of candidates for Coalition-represented positions accept our employment offers—significantly above the industry average.
Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition have agreed to work together to accelerate hiring, and we set a joint goal in bargaining of hiring 10,000 new people for Coalition-represented jobs in 2023. Kaiser Permanente’s efforts to date have resulted in more than 6,500 positions filled, and we are aggressively recruiting to fill more.
Our staffing approach reflects our shared commitment to ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care, every time and in every place.
Wages and Benefits
We are leaders in employee wages and benefits, and we have reiterated our commitment in bargaining to continuing to provide market-competitive wages and outstanding benefits. In fact, our philosophy is to deliver compensation that provides wages above the local market (up to 10 percent above market) to attract and retain the best employees.
Kaiser Permanente also offers employees opportunities to learn new skills and grow their careers, and we’re committed to providing a safe and equitable work environment. In addition, we want to ensure that we help our employees build long-term economic security with low-cost health insurance, industry-leading retirement plans, and other benefit programs to support their health and well-being.
It’s also worth remembering that during the pandemic, we took extraordinary steps to support and protect our workforce, and to support their mental as well as physical health. We provided $800 million in employee assistance to ensure that front-line employees had access to alternate housing options, special child care grants, and additional paid leave for COVID-19 illness and exposure.
The unions’ current negotiating position is that wage increases should not be market-based. This prevents us from addressing wage disparities that exist in in many of Kaiser Permanente’s markets where, for some jobs, wages are significantly higher than our targeted wage level, and in other cases our employees’ wages are below other competitors in the market, impacting our ability to attract and retain the best people.
While being a best-in-class employer is a fundamental part of who we are, we cannot continue a national approach for determining wages and ignore local market conditions. We also have a responsibility to make health care more affordable for our patients, members, and customers, including government agencies. For many families and businesses, health care costs are increasingly unaffordable, and growing. Wages and benefits make up about half the cost of health care, across the country. We must work together with unions on the critical goal of ensuring that health care remains affordable.
We are committed to our philosophy of providing market-competitive pay and excellent benefits, and we’ve made that clear in bargaining. We are committed to addressing areas where staffing is challenging, and we are making great progress. And we are committed to doing all this while striving to help health care be more affordable.
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85,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers to hold strike authorization vote Monday over what they claim are unfair labor practices, say chronic under-staffing is driving a growing patient care crisis
By Renée Saldaña, Press Secretary, SEUI – United Healthcare Workers West
A strike may be looming at one of the nation’s largest employers.
On Monday August 28, Kaiser workers in California, including Antioch, will start to vote to authorize a strike over unfair labor practices. The voting ends September 12th. The unions will strike dates soon after we get the results of the vote. The contract expires for a large bulk of the Kaiser workers in the coalition (58,000) on September 30th, so a strike could potentially start as early as October 1.
We are expecting a majority of the workers to vote in favor of a strike. We will keep you posted on any other developments.
On Thursday, August 24, healthcare workers employed by Kaiser Permanente announced details of a potential strike authorization vote at a hybrid in-person and virtual press conference.
Following the UPS labor settlement with the Teamsters, the labor negotiations covering 85,000 Kaiser healthcare workers – represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions – have now become the largest single-employer labor negotiations occurring in the United States. The Coalition unites healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.
At issue, healthcare workers say, are a series of unfair labor practices related to contract bargaining, along with simmering staff concerns related to unsafe staffing levels that can lead to dangerously long wait times, mistaken diagnosis, and neglect.
If Kaiser executives don’t take swift action to rectify the unfair labor practices that detailed at the press conference, workers say they’ll have no choice but to strike. Workers also say the company needs to immediately and substantively address the growing care crisis at its hospitals and clinics.
Barring a breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations including a resolution of the unfair labor practices in question, the healthcare workers announced the strike authorization vote date and plans.
“Kaiser cannot keep bargaining in bad faith and committing unfair labor practices. Kaiser is facing chronic under-staffing because workers can’t afford to live in LA on the low wages they pay us,” said Miriam de la Paz, a unit secretary at Kaiser Permanente in Downey, California. “If Kaiser’s millionaire executives won’t work with us on a plan to hire more people so we can give every patient the attention they deserve, we’re prepared to vote for an unfair labor practice strike.”
“We want Kaiser to stop committing unfair labor practices, and bargain in good faith. It’s heartbreaking to see our patients suffer from long wait times for the care they need, all because Kaiser won’t put patient and worker safety first,” said Paula Coleman, a clinical laboratory assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Englewood, Colorado. “We will have no choice but to vote to strike if Kaiser won’t let us give patients the quality care they deserve.”
“Our patients expect more from a healthcare system that reported $3 billion in profits in the first half of this year alone, and so do we,” said Nahid Bokaee, a Pharmacist in Sterling, Virginia. “Kaiser can afford to end this dangerous understaffing, but they choose not to. For the sake of our patients and our colleagues, we’re prepared to authorize a strike because Kaiser cannot keep bargaining in bad faith and committing unfair labor practices.”
BACKGROUND
The Kaiser healthcare workers are members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents more than 85,000 healthcare workers in seven states and the District of Columbia. In April, the Coalition began its national bargaining process. The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente last negotiated a contract in 2019, before healthcare workers found themselves on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic that has worsened working conditions and exacerbated a healthcare staffing crisis.
Tensions have been rising as the workers’ contract expiration looms. Earlier this month tens of thousands of healthcare workers picketed Kaiser hospitals across the U.S. to protest the company’s growing care crisis.
Workers say that Kaiser is committing unfair labor practices and also that under-staffing is boosting Kaiser’s profits but hurting patients. In a recent survey of 33,000 employees, two-thirds of workers said they’d seen care delayed or denied due to short staffing. After three years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.
Even as some frontline healthcare heroes live in their cars and patients wait longer for care, Kaiser released new financials this month indicating they made $3 billion in profit in just the first six months of this year. Despite being a non-profit organization – which means it pays no income taxes on its earnings and extremely limited property taxes – Kaiser has reported more than $24 billion in profit over the last five years. Kaiser’s CEO was compensated more than $16 million in 2021, and forty-nine executives at Kaiser are compensated more than $1 million annually. Kaiser Permanente has investments of $113 billion in the US and abroad, including in fossil fuels, casinos, for-profit prisons, alcohol companies, military weapons and more.
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