Roughly 250 Orange County Kaiser Permanente employees walked off the job Wednesday as part of a contract dispute, but company officials said patient services were not disrupted.
Scott Kelly, a Kaiser spokesman, said the HMO employs 5,600 workers in Orange County as well as 850 doctors. He said some routine appointments with social workers and behavioral health therapists were rescheduled, but physician appointments, lab operations and hospital services were unaffected.
Kaiser Permanente employees picket Wednesday in Los Angeles over a contract dispute.
COURTESY OF NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS
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Kaiser employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers formed a picket line outside of Kaiser's Los Angeles Medical Center early Wednesday. The union ? which represents nurses, psychologists and speech pathologists ? says patients lack access to timely services because of inadequate staffing. Employees also object to proposed cuts to their health and retirement benefits, said union spokesman Leighton Woodhouse.
Woodhouse said he had no way of knowing how many of the 250 Orange County union members made the trip to Los Angeles, but he said employees came from as far away as Bakersfield and San Diego.
Steve McCord, a marriage family therapist who works in addiction medicine at a Kaiser medical office in Orange, rode the train to join the picket line.
"In many clinics, patient wait times can be five or six weeks long," he said. "People that are really hurting need patient care."
Kelly declined to comment on specific issues raised by the union.
"We will reserve our comments on specific issues raised by the striking workers for the bargaining table," he said in an e-mail. "We will continue to bargain in good faith and hope to achieve a contract that is fair and equitable to all involved."
Contact the writer: 714-796-3686 or cperkes@ocregister.com
Article
Roughly 250 Orange County Kaiser Permanente employees walked off the job Wednesday as part of a contract dispute, but company officials said patient services were not disrupted.
Scott Kelly, a Kaiser spokesman, said the HMO employs 5,600 workers in Orange County as well as 850 doctors. He said some routine appointments with social workers and behavioral health therapists were rescheduled, but physician appointments, lab operations and hospital services were unaffected.
Kaiser employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers formed a picket line outside of Kaiser's Los Angeles Medical Center early Wednesday. The union ? which represents nurses, psychologists and speech pathologists ? says patients lack access to timely services because of inadequate staffing. Employees also object to proposed cuts to their health and retirement benefits, said union spokesman Leighton Woodhouse.
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kaiser-301075-employees-union.html
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