I am sitting here in the Sacramento City Hall conference hall, with the Mayor of Sacramento, my union colleagues from our union bargaining committee and Kaiser executives from their bargaining committee.
What does all this mean? It means that I have been working with my union, as a bargaining committee member since July of 2021. It has been one of the most challenging, stressful, enlightening and brain stretching experiences in many years. As a union steward, I felt I wanted to represent those who in the behemoth Kaiser system need support when Kaiser is not upholding our contract. As a bargaining committee member, I wanted to have a seat at the table for those who are not the majority of clinicians (generalists in mental health), to make sure our needs are met. I knew Kaiser did not care about patient care, that the bottom line of profits and good public image what their main priority. What I did not know was that they cared so little and were so unconcerned with our issues that they would drag out bargaining for a year, until we went on an open ended strike on August 15th, 2022.
Myself and my colleagues thought it might last 2-3 weeks. What we did not expect was for Kaiser to try to wait us out, stalling a return to the bargaining committee for 4 weeks, leaving a majority of the 2060 therapists on the strike line, without pay and left with a deepening understanding of how little Kaiser cares for mental health and their therapists.
The crux of this long fight is that patient access for mental health patients. They have waited up to 8 weeks for return appointments. The other issue is that that therapists do not have enough time to do their work. We have direct patient care and in-direct patient care. There is not enough in-direct patient care. Kaiser has not wanted to budge on our proposal to improve this condition. They are instead focused on the new law, SB221, which our union helped pass. Essentially, the law dedicates that a clinic must be seen within ten business days if the clinician finds it medically necessary. Another law we just helped pass, SB 858, increased violation fines from $2500 to $2500. If the Department of Managed Health enforced this, it would mean significant shift in Kaiser's precious bottom line (which was $8 billion in profit last year, along with $50+ billion in reserves). During one of our last bargaining meetings, Kaiser told me directly that "you passed SB221, you dug your own graves and we are not going forward." That confirmed my long standing belief that Kaiser was punishing us and that they really don't care about patient care. As health providers and health insurers, they are about providing as little care as possible for maximum profit. They have a non-profit branch but they also have a for profit branch.
Having been part of this process, seeing all of this, it has triggered a deep introspection on what I do and who I want to work for. It has reminded me that these corporate giants are functioning on egos that are deeply wounded are trying to fill their wound with power, money, sex, food, etc. In this case, it is image, money, power. The huge ego of this corporation is evident of a seriously flawed system that is run by individuals trying to fill their wounds, the holes with this power and money. And this is NEVER the best way to run mental health clinics, where we are supporting the healing process of human hearts, souls and minds.
To say that this experience has changed me, shifted how I life, impacted my family, those in my life, is an understatement. Even now, a month after I started this post, I find it hard to finish it and to post it. We settled the contract, after 10 long weeks but our brothers and sisters in Hawai'i remain on strike, with no end in site. The agreements we made with Kaiser have being delayed with obvious stall tactics. I returned to a clinic with the same access issues, with patients waiting up to and longer than 6 months to do an intake. But my voice is more solid. My confidence not as wobblily. My commitment to do the right thing remains steadfast and I am doing what I can to ensure patient's get the care they need/deserve and pay more along with steering them in the direction on how to self-advocate. This process, working in this system, has shown me that this is they was capitalism, that health care and profits should not go in the same sentence and how reminded me just how spiritually bankrupt we are as a culture.
Not only did I and my colleagues, along with thousands of patients pay the price of being out for 10 weeks, my family and the families of my colleagues suffered as well. The sacrifice I made to bargain, to run a hardship fund, to answer texts and calls, to educate, redirect and reframe the narrative of the truth of what was going on, all this and more, it made an impact on my family. I told my girls repeatedly, that sometimes we have to stand up for what is right, and this case, mental health parity was/is an issue for our time. We have all done something so much bigger than ourselves but we have paid a hefty price, figuratively and literally. I was exhausted, mentally, physically and emotionally by the end. Spiritually, I felt I was tapping into Source more, which was supportive. But it was a huge battle, one that we won, sort of and truth be told, one that is on-going and may be for some time to come.
I sincerely hope that my children's witnessing of something like this so up close as they did, that it planted seeds inside of them that will grow; seeds of standing up for what is right; to speak up for what is wrong; to fight only for what you feel called to fight for; to lay down your sword when it is time; to not let ego and pride get in the way of your cause and in fighting for your cause.
