Police respond to mental health workers' protest against Kaiser outside East Hollywood hospital
Law enforcement officers were seen responding to a protest outside Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center in the East Hollywood area, led by a union which has accused the medical giant of unfair labor conditions.
At 12:40 p.m., a group of officers were seen walking toward a little more than a dozen protesters sitting in the middle of Sunset Boulevard just outside the hospital, which is located at 4867 W. Sunset Blvd. — forming a circle while holding signs. About five minutes later, at least two people involved in the protest were escorted away in handcuffs, as seen in aerial footage.
CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to local law enforcement for confirmation of any arrests and details on the police response.
Mental health workers have been striking for four months, with negotiations still ongoing as they accuse Kaiser Permanente of unfair labor conditions which they say has led to understaffing that's affected patient care. Kaiser has refuted those allegations and defended the wages received by these workers in Southern California.
Ahead of Friday's demonstration, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for mediation to settle the months-long strike, saying past challenges from the pandemic and the deadly wildfires in LA County have led to "an unprecedented rise in the need for behavioral health support."
He wrote that this increased demand has especially been seen in Southern California "where thousands of Californians are grappling with extreme loss and displacement from recent wildfires that devastated communities..."
Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers and Kaiser Permanente mental health workers were expected to travel from picket lines across Southern California to take part in the demonstration.
The union alleges understaffing has led to excessive appointment wait times and other issues. In 2023, Kaiser Permanente was fined $50 million in a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care, agreeing to make changes addressing problems with its behavioral health care services.
According to the union, a surge in demand for medical services following the recent wildfires in the county has further strained mental health workers, alleging that workers in Southern California have not been provided with the same amount of patient care time as their counterparts in Northern California and retirement benefits that are equal to what's earned by most other Kaiser employees. The union said Kaiser's labor negotiators are not expected to return to the bargaining table until March 6.
"We're four months into a strike, and Kaiser is acting like its mental health services are fine, when it was cited for severe understaffing and illegally long wait times before the strike began," NUHW President Sal Rosselli said in a statement.
But Kaiser Permanente has defended the wages received by mental health workers and alleged that the union is making demands that would actually result in more time away from patients. The company released a statement amid the LA protest on Friday.
"Today's rally is an inconvenience for patients trying to get care at our hospital. But NUHW is not striking for our patients. The union continues to demand higher pay in return for providing less care," reads the statement from Kaiser Permanente.
Kaiser said the union has asked for therapists' pay to be hiked "significantly above what their peers make in the Southern California market" and called its proposed changes to pay and other labor conditions "unsustainable," saying they would result in higher costs for patients.
