Additional union members set to join Kaiser strike Monday

Pharmacy and lab employees will join striking Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers on the picket line in San Diego County on Monday, union officials said.

More than 500 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135 will launch a strike against Kaiser, while thousands more nurses and health care workers begin their third week of an Unfair Labor Practice strike against the health care giant.

The UFCW strike will begin at 7 a.m. with picketing expected to begin shortly afterward at San Diego Medical Center on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and San Marcos Medical Center on Craven Road.

A solidarity rally also is planned at the San Diego location.

“Our members are standing shoulder to shoulder with our Alliance partners,” UFCW Local 135 President Todd Walters said in a statement. “Kaiser’s refusal to return to the national bargaining table is blocking progress on safe staffing, fair wages and the contract our members have earned as health care professionals. The fastest way to end this strike is for Kaiser to come back to the table and finish negotiations.”

A Kaiser representative said the newest strike would have some effect on the company’s operations.

“Our hospitals, emergency departments, and all medical offices have remained open, though some of our pharmacies and labs will be closed,” Kaiser said in a statement provided to City News Service on Sunday. “Members continue to have 24/7 access to same-day ca...