Happy Labor Day!

Union members showed unwavering strength and dedication to the cause. We fought harder than anyone thought we could, or would, fight. Enormous sacrifices were made. I'm proud of every single one of us, and it has been an honor to spend such meaningful time with you all. WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN.

After 195 days, NUHW finally has a tentative agreement from Kaiser. The strike has been called off, and we can return to work. This is the longest mental health strike in US history, and potentially the longest worker's strike in California history. We fought long and hard.

At the Kentucky Derby today, Sovereignty beat Journalism and that just seems very apropos. Still on strike. Almost 200 days against Kaiser Permanente. Bargaining is ongoing as of this moment. 12 hours today. Hopefully this is it.

On Monday 5/7, eight of our NUHW members embarked on a 5-day hunger strike. @tommorelloofficial.bsky.social of RATM came out to our picket line in support. Here he is doing a rendition of This Land Is Your Land, and getting everybody pumped up. Day 172.

In 2022, Kaiser Permanente was cited by the state on 20 deficiencies in its mental health and addiction medicine departments. As of today, 19 of those 20 have not been fixed. Kaiser's behavioral health departments are BROKEN and Kaiser refuses to invest in their future. laist.com/brief/news/h...

1. Today marks 5 months and 1 day that NUHW has been on strike. Kaiser freezes us out. They treat us like we don't matter. Kaiser doesn't care about mental health parity. They don't care about addiction. They don't care about their dedicated, skilled employees.

Relevant.

These worker's union contract has been illegally terminated by Trump's head of the DHS. Their contract wasn't set to expire until 2031. This experiment in the erosion of worker's rights must not succeed. This must be fought. Don't let this slide. www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...

The Democratic Party functionally no longer exists independently from the Republican Party. The Democratic party is either complicit, or else so severely incompetent that they are completely and utterly ineffective. We need a new party.

Mediation with Kaiser completely fell apart. It lasted one and a half days. Kaiser refuses to even discuss two of our three most important demands. Kaiser leaves us out in the cold, and so we leafleted in the rain. On strike, day 147.

Kaiser has agreed to enter mediation. That means we're all going to work together with a neutral third party - two of them, actually - to help find common ground and settle this contract. It's taken 134 days to get this far. That's 134 days without seeing my patients, without getting my paycheck.

First photo is an NUHW member holding Newsom's letter, telling Kaiser to agree mediate with us. Kaiser finally agreed to mediate. This is a HUGE win for us, and we hope that mediation begins next week. Second photo is a petition signed by our members, telling Kaiser that we still support this fight.

This is one of our strike pups. She's been on strike with us for the last 126 days, and she keeps our spirits up with her mighty little barks. Last week, Kaiser CEO Greg Adams told the governor's office that Kaiser will engage in mediation with us if we move on a certain key issue, (thread below)

leopardsatemyface.jpg

I bet herd immunity will kick in any day now, right? arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

Day 124 of our union's labor strike against Kaiser Permanente. We are trying to get Kaiser to agree to meet with a third party mediator. But they're slow walking their decision, which they've been doing since day fucking one.

What we need in our country are more people in high positions of power who possess absolutely zero understanding of mental health. For years now these "woke academics" have been relying on "research and evidence," which is clearly not the right approach. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/r...

Today there was a California State Senate hearing regarding, primarily, behavioral health care in California. Lots of professionals, elected leaders, and advocates spoke about Kaiser's *inadequate* mental health/addiction treatment systems. Tomorrow I'll post the recording of it. Still on strike!

At least 48 cases of measles have been detected in this Texas outbreak. How long until we get herd immunity? www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/...

Strike day 121! OMG. UPDATE: Yesterday we bargained with Kaiser, and their lead negotiator threw a fit and stormed out of the room in one of the most ridiculous displays I've ever seen out of a grown adult. It's a stall tactic. Instead of actually bargaining, they're trying to starve us out.

This is Ignacio. He's a picket line captain and a total badass. He's been on strike against Kaiser for 119 days. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social Why hasn't Kaiser responded officially to your request that we enter mediation? Why are they dragging their feet?

"I can do whatever I want so long as I think it's the right thing to do" is the most autocratic statement I've ever personally seen uttered by a sitting US president.

Leopards are actively eating her face. Who could have predicted this?

She looks pretty pissed to me. Being on strike for 118 days will do that to a person, I guess. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social Kaiser still hasn't set a date for us to meet to discuss mediation.

The way that DOGE is publishing their findings is misleading and deceptive They'll say "We eliminated a $1.5M contract for <something that sounds wasteful>" and not tell you what the other $85M were that they killed. Their "transparency" is not transparent at all. www.doge.gov

Something unexpected about being on strike is the strong bonds, the friendships, that have formed on the picket lines. We'd have never known each other this well just being at work together the last 117 days. This brought us together. Bargaining resumes on Monday. I hope Kaiser does the right thing.

Healthcare in the US is the best in the world though, right?

Gov. Newsom told Kaiser to sit down with us and engage in mediation. At bargaining this week, Kaiser pretended that they'd received no such invitation. As usual, Kaiser is denying and delaying. NUHW union members are willing to do whatever it takes to settle this contract, even when Kaiser isn't.

Sometimes the cops show up. This is strangely well-dressed LAPD getting photobombed by NUHW President Sophia Mendoza. She's great. Kaiser isn't so great. Our union has been on strike now for... 115 days. Wtf man. Kaiser had $12 billion dollars in profit in 2024. They can treat us better.

With the cost of living soaring in California, teachers feel it's time for something new. 32 school districts' contracts expire June 30. And the California Teachers Association (@wearecta.bsky.social) is coordinating 77,000 educators to bargain in sync. capitalandmain.com/teachers-acr...

Kaiser Permanente was founded in to take care of the union Steelworkers in Fontana, California. Today, it seems like Kaiser has forgotten who the fuck they are, and why they exist. Kaiser wouldn't be here without us, the union workers who run the place. Day 114 without a paycheck.

It looks like Kendrick has won for now but sources tell me Drake has a devastating rebuttal planned for his performance at the Kids’ Choice Awards

After 113 days of this shit, being on strike, one thing that I am extremely sick of is hearing about how much money Kaiser is making. $569 million in operating income, over $12 billion (WITH A B!) in net income in 2024. End this inequity. Facts. #union about.kaiserpermanente.org/news/press-r....

I've been on strike for 112 days. Holy shit, what the fuck. The politics going on in your own community are 10x more important than what you see on CNN, MSNBC, or Fox. Find out what your local businesses are up to, your local school board, your city council. Stop scrolling and get involved.

This photo from the @nytimes.com makes Trump look like a toddler, right? Someone should photoshop a juice box onto the table, and some crayons. Maybe a bib? I dunno.

1/5 Yesterday at LAMC we, NUHW therapists at Kaiser, held a massive protest against Kaiser's refusal to settle a fair and equitable contract with us. 16 protesters were arrested by cops in riot gear. There was a news helicopter. There were hundreds of us. It was intense and

2/5 it was loud. We've been on strike now for 111 days, and all we want is the exact same wage benefits and working conditions as our colleagues in Northern California, and the same wage increases as basically every single other employee in Southern California received in 2022.

3/5 During the protest, we shut down a block of Sunset Blvd in front of Kaiser LA. There were multiple media outlets present, including KTLA, Fox News, and CBS www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/n..., and ABC abc7.com/post/kaiser-.... Hundreds of protests came, including labor leaders from Southern

4/5 California. In order to re-open the street that we shut down, LAPD arrested 16 striking protesters who refused to move. Cops in riot gear showed up and shut everything down, arresting them one at a time. It was a relatively peaceful arrest. Governor Newsom's office sent a

5/5 letter this week to Kaiser CEO Greg Adams and NUHW President Sophia Mendoza, demanding that we enter a process of mediation to settle our contract. It worked in Northern California in 2022 and it should work with us now -- and we WILL WIN this fight, in solidarity.

Tomorrow, 2/7, we are having a large peaceful protest in Los Angeles. Come join us! #union #labor #strike #protest #healthcare

Join us on Friday!

The only way that we lose this fight is if we surrender, and we're not going to surrender. We are committed to this. Also, please show up to our special event, the morning of 2/7 at Kaiser LAMC: 4867 W Sunset Blvd, rain or shine! #union #labor #strike #kaiserdontdeny #healthcare

I'm a striking mental health therapist. I've been on strike since 10/21/2024 - day 107 with no wages. Kaiser Permanente had $95b in revenue in 2022. CEO Greg Adams made $12 million that year. Kaiser can, and should, do better for their patients. #union #strike #healthcare #labor #mentalhealth

Today in LA. I ❤️ my town.

Today begins the 16th week of our strike against Kaiser Permanente. We demand to be treated with respect. This has been the hardest 16 weeks of my life. But the passion of my colleagues and the righteousness of our cause keep me strong. #union #kaiser #healthcare #strike

All the chaos going on nationally is important and you should know about it -- but don't forget about your local issues, too. Show up at your city counsel meetings, your school boards, your local protests. That is truly where you can make a difference, from the ground up. Focus. #organize

On Friday 2/7, our strike picket line will be centralized in Los Angeles at Kaiser LAMC on Sunset. It should be a pretty large picketing event, with some special political speakers and guests. Come check it out and show your solidarity. #union #labor #strike #kaiserdontdeny #healthcare

PBS did report on our strike against Kaiser. One of our therapists, David Zelen, gives a great interview that covers the reasons that we've gone on strike. youtu.be/8CHXuc9A2yc