Kaiser workers approve protest by union

About 100 Kaiser Permanente Hawaii workers have authorized their union to move forward with preparations, including a potential strike, over layoffs due to the planned closure of Kaiser’s Hono­lulu Clinic Urgent Care Center.

Kaiser plans to lay off 13 clerical and emergency tech employees when it shutters the Urgent Care Center at 1010 Pensacola St. on March 16. The Hono­lulu Clinic will continue to see patients with appointments after March 16 but will not take urgent-care cases.

Kaiser defines urgent care as an illness that needs prompt medical attention, usually within 24 to 48 hours, but is not an emergency medical condition. Urgent care includes minor injuries, sore throats and upper respiratory symptoms, earaches, coughs and backaches.

"(A strike is) very likely. I cannot stress how disappointed we are in Kaiser not dealing or addressing the impact on workers," said Cade Wata­nabe, spokes­man for Unite Here Local 5, which represents 1,900 Kaiser workers statewide. "It’s enough of a concern for us that we are now going to move forward with preparations … including a potential strike down the road."

The 100 workers are part of Local 5’s bargaining committee that met on Friday.

The union also plans to hold a rally at the Hono­lulu Clinic on March 6 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. to object to the elimination of jobs.

Kaiser said its plan to end urgent-care service at the Hono­lulu Clinic is part of a larger effort to improve overall care. The company said it has streamlined the appointment process to give patients greater access to primary care doctors that, in turn, will result in better outcomes.

"The innovative changes now in process at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii will enhance the member experience and patient care, make the highest and best use of our skilled staff, and allow for sustainable growth," said Kaiser spokes­woman Laura Lott in an email.

"We are working together with our physicians, staff and unions to continue to be the best place to receive care and the best place to work."

Lott said Kaiser is continuing contract talks in good faith with Local 5 and the Hawaii Nurses Association, negotiating on behalf of registered nurses. She said the company hopes employees displaced when the Hono­lulu Clinic’s urgent-care service ends will find work with the organization in another capacity.

In addition to closing the urgent-care service at the Hono­lulu Clinic, Kaiser has proposed in union talks to eliminate 47 registered nurses in primary care positions at some of its 18 clinics statewide, or nearly one-quarter of its clinic RNs. The company cut 35 union and management positions in October in an effort to streamline operations.

Glenn Yoshimoto, a 70-year-old Urgent Care Center clerk who is being laid off after 23 years, said the state’s largest health maintenance organization is making changes that have not been tested as it seeks to redesign operations.

"Kaiser’s new model of care is based on the premise of ‘give more care with less resources,’ " Yoshimoto said. "Kaiser is assuming their new model of care will deliver exemplary patient care without conducting a trial run to determine whether their hypothesis has merit. They are in essence implementing an untested model and possibly risking the safety and welfare of patients."

Yoshimoto added, "Everybody is kind of shocked. For (workers), a lot of them are single breadwinners for their homes. (Kaiser’s) decisions are based on statistics and spreadsheets and not caring about the patients or the staff."