It still seems a bit unreal to say that we are entering into week 9 of an open ended strike. 9 weeks of fighting and advocating both for better patient care and for fair wages. 9 weeks of no pay, yet 9 weeks of a group of people coming together to do what is right and encouraging each other every step of the way. I had never been part of a union until joining NUHW when I started Kaiser in January of this year. Going to the introduction meeting was eye opening and honestly a bit confusing and overwhelming.
Having done therapy within the community mental health setting for about a decade, hearing about the pressure, the workload, and the stress of documentation that felt neverending was not uncommon. However, in my time doing intensive services I managed to find ways to truly have balance. The work was also lifegiving as we would walk alongside children, teens, and their families to provide stabilization, process trauma or grief, bridge gaps between caregivers and children that had previously been severed, and support each other as colleagues along the way. We provided weekly sessions and at times would do additional collateral or family sessions based on the needs. It felt like there were a lot of resources and clients were able to access the care they needed without having to worry if they could afford it or not, since it was covered.
When making the decision to accept a job offer through Kaiser, it was not an easy one due to still loving the work I was doing with my previous agency. I had been considering making a change for about a year mainly due to wanting to be closer to home. I was spending a lot of time driving to and from work and felt I wanted to be home more with the kids while they’re still small. It definitely felt like a loss leaving community mental health due to the relationships I had established over the years with the agency, with my colleagues, and with the families we worked with.
In joining Kaiser, it truly felt like a blessing in the sense that I was 7 minutes away from my home. My sons’ schools were both on the way to my job so I’d be able to drop them off and go straight to work in the mornings. The pay and benefits were definitely an upgrade compared to what the community mental health setting was able to provide. However, soon after starting I noticed that the pace and work environment was very different from what I was used to. I was supposed to do therapy, however there was a case management position that opened up right before my start date, and a previous colleague reached out to me and highly encouraged me to take that role instead of doing therapy. She let me know that although it’s a very fast paced, high pressure position, I would at least have time to have a restroom break if I needed it.
I was offered a different position some months after to take crisis calls. I felt like a fish in the water and was enjoying both the work and the balance that I felt in that position. When the strike was authorized it could have been very easy for me to stay at work and to do what I was doing if only based on the role I had stepped into. However, as a Christian and as a person there are values that drive me to not simply do what’s easy or comfortable, but what is right. Integrity is something that has always been very important to me and I knew that staying at work would go against everything that I stand for and everything that I am.
Proverbs 21:3 (NIV) says: “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
Micah 6:8 (NKJV) says:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
I am absolutely committed to the work that we are doing within the church and the ways we are serving the families that attend as well as the community that we are a part of. However, I have also come to learn that it can’t stay there. Mercy and justice needs to be present in everything that we do and is so important to be evident in all of the areas of our lives, as well as in who we are.
As I built connections and relationships with associates, social workers, and therapists within Kaiser I saw the imbalances and injustices presented within the work setting. I started to hear stories of workers having to stay late to complete abuse reports or treatment plans due to having very limited time for these tasks during their work hours. I heard from therapists who were back to back with patients the entire day and often times did not even have time to use the restroom. I heard therapists who had the education, training, and clinical skills but were not able to truly do therapy and provide quality care due to not being able to offer sessions until 3, 4, sometimes 5 weeks out. As a case manager and even when answering the crisis calls, we would get calls from members who were desparate and at times angry due to the lack of access to care or due to ways that the system was failing them in their needs.
As we continue this fight for justice, I want to continue to do so in a way that pleases God. I continue to believe that as Christians we need to be at the forefront fighting for what is right and will continue to do so until necessary. We are praying and hoping for a fair contract soon, since we more than anyone want to be back at work doing the work we have been called to do. We are not choosing to be on strike to abandon our patients or simply to get more money. We are choosing to go without pay because we have seen the brokenness of the system and the impact it has on both patients and staff, and we know that God has called us into action.
This is a link that provides more of the logistics and information about the strike, about the union, and about ways that you are able to support. For a lot of us who are licensed, we have been able to generate some income through private practice platforms. However, there are others in our union who have not been able to access those resources while on strike. I think of my colleagues in social medicine who don’t usually provide therapy in their day to day and feel this may not be within their scope, and of the associates who I work alongside who don’t have the privilege to see clients right now due to not being licensed. I know that God will provide through the hardship fund and thorough other means for the needs that they have. I will also end with saying thank you. Thank you for reading this, thank you for advocating and sharing this information with others, and thank you for giving. It truly means a lot.
Amy Martinez