Kaiser readies for pharmacy, lab worker strike as nurse walkout continues

By Deena Beasley

Feb 3 (Reuters) – Kaiser Permanente urged members on Tuesday to get laboratory tests done this week after unions representing pharmacy and lab workers filed to begin striking in Southern  California on Monday and an ongoing strike by thousands of nurses and other health workers continued into a second week.

The non-profit healthcare system said the United Food and Commercial Workers union notified it of a planned strike by about 3,000 members starting February 9. The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents more than 31,000 Kaiser employees, began its open-ended strike in California and Hawaii on January 26.

Kaiser, a health maintenance organization combining insurance coverage with medical care, notified members on its website to complete any urgent lab tests by Saturday and to postpone routine testing until after  the strike.

It said  some outpatient lab services, including routine blood draw locations, may be temporarily closed starting on Monday and results for certain non-urgent tests may be delayed.  “ Priority will be given to patients who are hospitalized, in the Emergency Department, or require urgent care services,” Kaiser said.

It said hospitals and medical offices remain open, but some pharmacies and clinics operated at Target stores have been temporarily closed. It encouraged members to use a mail-in option for non-urgent prescriptions. Some appointments would be shifted to virtual care and some elective procedures may be rescheduled. 

During the current strike, Kaiser said its facilities will be staffed by physicians, managers and trained staff, with  licensed contract professionals added as needed.

The UFCW Southern California locals said members, including pharmacy technicians and clinical lab scientists, will begin striking on Monday “after Kaiser stalled bargaining and violated federal labor law.”

The UFCW, as well as the UNAC/UHCP, said that Kaiser unlawfully walked away from an agreed-upon national bargaining process.

Kaiser, which has around 250,000 non-physician employees, said in a statement that it has been negotiating in good faith to reach  agreement on a new set of national and local contracts.   

Kaiser provides medical care for around 12.6 million members in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. 

In New York, more than 15,000 nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association have been on strike for more than three weeks at private hospitals including Presbyterian, Mt. Sinai and Montefiore hospitals.

(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Mark Porter)