MESSAGE TO OUR
EMPLOYEES
Additional sessions in December were confirmed.
This message was sent on behalf of Lionel Sims, interim senior vice president, Human Resources, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals; and Priya Smith, chief employee human resources officer, The Permanente Medical Group; to Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California mental health and addiction medicine professionals on Friday, November 7.
To our mental health and addiction medicine professionals,
On Wednesday, November 5, we again met with the National Union of Healthcare Workers bargaining team to negotiate a new contract for our Northern California mental health and addiction medicine employees.
As with all prior sessions, we approached the 19th bargaining session ready to negotiate an agreement in good faith that supports our members, patients, and employees.
Kaiser Permanente and the NUHW bargaining team reached a new tentative agreement on Grievance and Arbitration Procedures.
In addition, we shared with the union that we are standing on our previous proposals for Seniority (Article 9), Posting and Filling Positions (Article 10), and Health and Welfare for Active Employees (Article 22).
The union shared 2 counterproposals: Professional Hours (Article 15) and Retirement Plans (Article 25), which are under consideration.
We will meet again Monday, November 10 and Thursday, November 13. We have also confirmed 2 of the 4 December bargaining dates proposed by NUHW (December 8 and 16) and reiterated that we are open to additional dates as needed. We remain focused on reaching an agreement that enables the delivery of high-quality, accessible mental health care, while also providing a supportive workplace for our employees.
Mental health and well-being are essential to an individual's total health, and we appreciate the role you play in caring for our members and patients every day.
For more information, visit kp.org/nuhwbargaining.