Kaiser Members: Victories, August Week 4

Dole Workers Lead Campaign to Get Vacation

Since 2012, pharmacy workers at ARC, WPO, and HON clinics who were lower in seniority could not take more than 2 days of vacation consecutively, despite the fact that they earned 2 weeks vacation per year. Last week, Dole workers led a Delegation to Roxanne Tejada, Kaiser’s HR Manager, and delivered a petition that caught the attention of management. Kaiser has told the union that it is working on a viable solution. We’ll see . . .

Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, wrote in LinkedIn The Vacation Question—Connect or Disconnect? “Last year, the U.S. Travel Association found that 40 percent of workers in America don’t use all of their vacation days. Health care employees work 24/7 — 365 days a year — to deliver better health for all. I encourage employees to take good care of themselves first, which includes taking time off. Then they can take better care of others.” Perhaps there is a disconnect in Kaiser.

Healthcare Monopoly on Maui

In the first half of 2015, Kaiser made $11 million net income, but its workers who make Kaiser thrive. Without a contract for over 3 years and with increased workload and decreased patient care, we will go wherever Kaiser goes.

We picketed outside the Kaiser sponsored lunch with the Maui Chamber of Commerce where Mary Anne Barnes, President of Kaiser
Hawaii, was a guest speaker. We mailed the Chamber informing them about the potential dangers of a healthcare monopoly on Maui. This could be costly for patients, workers & businesses.