Healthcare

We work to provide the best care and services for Kaiser patients and their families. It's only fair that we have secure health insurance benefits that our own families can depend on.

Unfortunately, when SEIU negotiated our 2010 contract, they agreed to create a Labor Management Partnership committee to cut what Kaiser pays for our healthcare. The stated purpose of the health benefits takeaway committee is “researching, developing, and proposing specific and concrete options to control KP’s overall health care benefits costs.” SEIU agreed that the committee would be a “top priority for labor and management,” — but they didn't tell us about it when they asked us to vote on the new contract.

SEIU-UHW is now required to participate in the committee, and must make proposals by May 2011 which “must contain concrete options and plans that deliver cost-control results” and “must contain a detailed plan for advocacy to, and education of, our KP and Coalition constituencies regarding the consensus recommendations.”

To understand what SEIU-UHW means by “cost-control results,” just look at the agreements SEIU-UHW has made with other healthcare employers in the last 18 months:

  • At Alameda Hospital, SEIU-UHW gave up fully paid family healthcare. Employees now pay more than $2,200 per year for coverage that had been part of their contract for over 40 years.
  • At Stanford & Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, SEIU-UHW agreed to a health plan that costs employees up to $4,000 per year.
  • At Daughters of Charity Health System, SEIU-UHW agreed to two-tier benefits for new hires and increased healthcare costs for all employees.
  • At Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, SEIU-UHW eliminated the free PPO health plan and created a “wellness” plan where the employer evaluates whether healthcare workers’ body mass index is “satisfactory” or not.

By coming together as a team, Kaiser co-workers can protect our benefits just as we always have — but we need a union that tells the truth and doesn't make side-deals behind our backs.

Until 2010, we improved our benefits every time we negotiated with Kaiser. But under SEIU, we've started going backward. In NUHW, we'll have a voice in every important decision, and the support of the same negotiators who bargained our 2005 contract and helped us win the best benefits in the healthcare industry.