Portland, OR-area Kaiser Permanente employees plan pickets for safe staffing
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Next week, healthcare workers at three Portland-area Kaiser Permanente facilities will picket to encourage hospital management to adopt safe staffing measures.
Labor union SEIU Local 49 says employees at Kaiser Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, Kaiser Sunnyside in Clackamas, and Kaiser Interstate in Portland are joining Kaiser employees nationwide in their fight for better working conditions.
According to the labor union, the informational picket is scheduled less than three months before the employees’ contract is set to expire on Sept. 30.
“Kaiser Permanente management claims caregivers are overpaid while continuing to demand more from us without providing the staff levels we need and our patients deserve,” Don Arndt, a lab tech assistant at the hospital, said in a statement. “Those of us putting our lives on the line deserve great jobs so we can recruit and retain quality staff to give great care to our patients.”
According to Arndt, the healthcare company has billions of dollars in profits that could be allocated toward the workforce.
SEIU Local 49 added that understaffing in hospitals can affect employees’ ability to serve patients and cause extended wait times or incorrect medical diagnoses.
A Kaiser spokesperson told KOIN 6 News that the company is disappointed in the choice to picket, but they recognize it as a negotiating tactic for bargaining leverage.
“Our priority is to reach an agreement that ensures we can continue to provide market-competitive pay and outstanding benefits while addressing the significant challenges that Kaiser Permanente and all health care organizations face today on the heels of the global pandemic and in today’s economy,” the company said.
Here’s when employees at each Portland medical facility are planning to picket.
Kaiser Westside Medical Center: Monday, July 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m
Kaiser Interstate medical Center: Wednesday, July 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center: Friday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Additionally, Kaiser Permanente advised the public that the pickets are not strikes, and therefore won’t disrupt patient care.
Source: KOIN.com
