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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco’s Superior Court\u003c/a> operations were majorly disrupted on Thursday as 200 clerical workers launched an open-ended strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court clerks, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, announced Monday that they would walk off the job this week following months of bargaining over a new three-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said the court has refused to bargain in good faith over staffing and training issues that have contributed to case delays and a significant backlog at the court, and could lead to mistakes they worry would harm the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spread so thin that nobody’s really been given the opportunity to be adequately trained for some of the assignments that we’re sent off to,” said Rob Borders, a criminal court clerk and member of the union bargaining team. He said the union has been raising its concerns in bargaining since last year, and hasn’t been able to reach a “sustainable resolution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The situation hasn’t gotten any better, and our concerns are the same, and they’re growing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday morning, clerks formed picket lines at 850 Bryant Street, on the steps of the city’s Hall of Justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The workers held a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010910/san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases\">one-day strike in 2024\u003c/a> over similar issues and threatened a three-day walkout in October, as contract negotiations stalled. That month, the union and court reached a tentative deal to avert the work stoppage, but members rejected it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benjamin Thompson, a criminal division clerk at the Hall of Justice and vice president of the union, said court management has refused to bargain over training and staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have decided that not only is staffing not an issue, but formal training to make sure that we do our jobs correctly is not an issue,” he told KQED on Wednesday. “It’s not something they want to address, which I’m flabbergasted by.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are people’s lives,” he continued.[aside postID=news_12074265 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg']Borders said that staffing shortages have existed for years in the criminal division and are being exacerbated as the San Francisco district attorney’s office files more cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said a number of cases have been dropped after missing constitutionally mandated deadlines. Separately, the court has had to release some defendants pending trial after the San Francisco public defender’s office, since May, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty\">rejecting some felony cases,\u003c/a> claiming it is also dealing with chronic understaffing and excessive workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#cases-prosecuted\">City data\u003c/a> shows that District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed 8,400 cases in 2025, compared to about 5,600 in 2021, during former District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s last full year on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borders said overburdened clerks have been put in positions that have led to paperwork errors, with consequences like keeping someone in custody longer than they need to be, or a person’s sentence being incorrectly reflected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing catastrophic has happened yet,” he said, but “we would hate to be in a position where one of our members has their names on a minute order that was responsible for releasing somebody that wasn’t supposed to be released, and then something horrible happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union said it had presented management with “commonsense proposals” that address the staffing and training concerns, but had been unable to reach any agreement to avert the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley, the Hall of Justice will remain open for mandated essential and emergency services during the strike, with \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/jury-services\">limited \u003c/a>hours for its jury services staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mandated services will proceed with the help of management employees who will triage and prioritize emergency matters for people who need help today,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court resources will be shifted to prioritize cases with statutory deadlines, including criminal cases, custody arraignments, unlawful detainers and civil harassment and domestic violence matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matters without pressing statutory deadlines will be recessed, the court said, and clerks’ offices could be closed. Some departments at the Hall of Justice, Civic Center Courthouse and Juvenile Justice Center will remain open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how long the strike could last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Borders said that staffing shortages have existed for years in the criminal division and are being exacerbated as the San Francisco district attorney’s office files more cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said a number of cases have been dropped after missing constitutionally mandated deadlines. Separately, the court has had to release some defendants pending trial after the San Francisco public defender’s office, since May, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty\">rejecting some felony cases,\u003c/a> claiming it is also dealing with chronic understaffing and excessive workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#cases-prosecuted\">City data\u003c/a> shows that District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed 8,400 cases in 2025, compared to about 5,600 in 2021, during former District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s last full year on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borders said overburdened clerks have been put in positions that have led to paperwork errors, with consequences like keeping someone in custody longer than they need to be, or a person’s sentence being incorrectly reflected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing catastrophic has happened yet,” he said, but “we would hate to be in a position where one of our members has their names on a minute order that was responsible for releasing somebody that wasn’t supposed to be released, and then something horrible happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union said it had presented management with “commonsense proposals” that address the staffing and training concerns, but had been unable to reach any agreement to avert the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley, the Hall of Justice will remain open for mandated essential and emergency services during the strike, with \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/jury-services\">limited \u003c/a>hours for its jury services staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mandated services will proceed with the help of management employees who will triage and prioritize emergency matters for people who need help today,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court resources will be shifted to prioritize cases with statutory deadlines, including criminal cases, custody arraignments, unlawful detainers and civil harassment and domestic violence matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matters without pressing statutory deadlines will be recessed, the court said, and clerks’ offices could be closed. Some departments at the Hall of Justice, Civic Center Courthouse and Juvenile Justice Center will remain open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how long the strike could last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> leaders are sounding cautiously optimistic about stopping mass layoffs at the East Bay’s public safety-net hospital system ahead of a hearing on the layoff plan on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.alamedahealthsystem.org/service-reductions/\">latest proposal\u003c/a> from Alameda Health System would cut 187 positions, down from earlier plans for close to 300, as executives brace for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997707/how-will-trumps-mega-bill-impact-health-care-in-california\">major reductions in Medicaid revenue\u003c/a> because of HR 1 — the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law by President Donald Trump last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 187 full-time-equivalent positions equate to 211 individuals, AHS said, some of them working part-time. Those 211 employees have already received layoff notices with a March 9 separation date, though that could change. The cuts would affect nurses, therapists, food workers and administrative assistants, among others, and would eliminate some programs completely, including two that provide outpatient behavioral health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a rally outside Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland on Tuesday, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley urged health care workers to weigh in \u003ca href=\"https://alamedacounty.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=7805\">at the hearing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Speak your mind, let us know how these reductions in force, the reduction in labor, is going to impact safety net services so that the Board of Supervisors can come to the rescue,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The layoff plans come as AHS expects to lose over $100 million a year by 2030 as a result of HR 1 and its Medicaid cuts, a spokesperson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068383/alameda-health-system-to-lay-off-hundreds-in-january-after-massive-federal-cuts\">previously told KQED\u003c/a>. Medicaid payments make up about 60% of the health system’s revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents District 4, speaks during a resident physician “unity break” outside Highland Hospital in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Miley, who leads the Board of Supervisors’ health committee, said he met with AHS leaders last week and sees a path for the county to come up with funding to suspend the layoffs — at least in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current estimate, he said, is that AHS needs between $44 million and $52 million to hold back layoffs for a year. AHS officials confirmed that they are in conversations with the county “about ways they can help us, given the extensive funding cuts we’re facing,” but wouldn’t confirm the figures Miley provided, saying it was “premature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My hope is the county is going to be able to kick in at least the initial $11 [million] to $13 million so that we can suspend the layoffs for a period of time,” Miley said.[aside postID=news_12072837 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020926_KAISERSTRIKE_8137B-KQED.jpg']He aims to create a working group made up of labor leaders, county staff, supervisors and Alameda Health System administrators and trustees to develop a more long-term plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miley suggested that revenue from \u003ca href=\"https://www.acgov.org/board/bos_calendar/documents/MeasureWAllocationPresentation.pdf\">Measures W\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://budget.alamedacountyca.gov/Content/pdf/FY24-25/FY2024-25ProposedBudget-7_10_24.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">and A\u003c/a> — sales taxes approved by voters to raise money for medical and essential services, among other things — could help offset some of the cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also floated the idea of the county easing up, at least temporarily, on repayment of what’s known as the “net negative balance,” essentially a county line of credit that Alameda Health System uses to cover expenses when bills come due before large state or federal reimbursements arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are avenues we can pursue,” he said, noting that cuts to non-safety-net services might be left standing. “There might be some things that are good to have but are not necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas agreed that the county can likely stanch the bleeding in the near term, but she emphasized that the real solutions are systemic: “It’s about single payer. It’s about making sure that we close the loophole in Prop. 13 and really address how resources and wealth are distributed in our country, as well as our state and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nikki Fortunato Bas, a member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, speaks during a resident physician “unity break” outside Highland Hospital in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. Physicians cited layoffs, staffing shortages and contract negotiations with Alameda Health System. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, she said she would seek to hold AHS accountable for doing everything possible to raise revenue and ensure officials there are “very clear and thoughtful about what they’re looking at, and that they’re actually talking in good faith with our labor partners to make sure that we’re addressing all the potential impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some AHS employees and their unions have criticized system executives for acting rashly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These layoffs are anticipatory,” said Dr. Elijah Lustig, a resident physician at Highland Hospital and union leader with the Committee of Interns and Residents, part of Service Employees International Union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re not talking to our department heads before instituting cuts or proposing layoffs,” he said of the process. “The people who are deciding who gets fired, frankly, do not have a good grasp on how this hospital runs, on what services are crucial, on what services are impacted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus is seen through flowering branches in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. The hospital is part of Alameda Health System. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, AHS said it “must take a proactive approach” to reducing costs. “We do not approach this painful decision lightly,” it said. “However, AHS reasonably predicts that it will run out of funds within six months, by August of 2026, if it does not act now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s hearing is required by law to give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed cuts to health care services. Supervisors won’t take any action there, but Miley said he hopes the board will reach a decision on allocating funding to prevent layoffs as soon as March 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing takes place at 3 p.m. at the Alameda County Administration Building, Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, Fifth Floor, Room 512, 1221 Oak St.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> leaders are sounding cautiously optimistic about stopping mass layoffs at the East Bay’s public safety-net hospital system ahead of a hearing on the layoff plan on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.alamedahealthsystem.org/service-reductions/\">latest proposal\u003c/a> from Alameda Health System would cut 187 positions, down from earlier plans for close to 300, as executives brace for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997707/how-will-trumps-mega-bill-impact-health-care-in-california\">major reductions in Medicaid revenue\u003c/a> because of HR 1 — the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law by President Donald Trump last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 187 full-time-equivalent positions equate to 211 individuals, AHS said, some of them working part-time. Those 211 employees have already received layoff notices with a March 9 separation date, though that could change. The cuts would affect nurses, therapists, food workers and administrative assistants, among others, and would eliminate some programs completely, including two that provide outpatient behavioral health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a rally outside Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland on Tuesday, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley urged health care workers to weigh in \u003ca href=\"https://alamedacounty.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=7805\">at the hearing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Speak your mind, let us know how these reductions in force, the reduction in labor, is going to impact safety net services so that the Board of Supervisors can come to the rescue,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The layoff plans come as AHS expects to lose over $100 million a year by 2030 as a result of HR 1 and its Medicaid cuts, a spokesperson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068383/alameda-health-system-to-lay-off-hundreds-in-january-after-massive-federal-cuts\">previously told KQED\u003c/a>. Medicaid payments make up about 60% of the health system’s revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents District 4, speaks during a resident physician “unity break” outside Highland Hospital in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Miley, who leads the Board of Supervisors’ health committee, said he met with AHS leaders last week and sees a path for the county to come up with funding to suspend the layoffs — at least in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current estimate, he said, is that AHS needs between $44 million and $52 million to hold back layoffs for a year. AHS officials confirmed that they are in conversations with the county “about ways they can help us, given the extensive funding cuts we’re facing,” but wouldn’t confirm the figures Miley provided, saying it was “premature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My hope is the county is going to be able to kick in at least the initial $11 [million] to $13 million so that we can suspend the layoffs for a period of time,” Miley said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>He aims to create a working group made up of labor leaders, county staff, supervisors and Alameda Health System administrators and trustees to develop a more long-term plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miley suggested that revenue from \u003ca href=\"https://www.acgov.org/board/bos_calendar/documents/MeasureWAllocationPresentation.pdf\">Measures W\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://budget.alamedacountyca.gov/Content/pdf/FY24-25/FY2024-25ProposedBudget-7_10_24.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">and A\u003c/a> — sales taxes approved by voters to raise money for medical and essential services, among other things — could help offset some of the cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also floated the idea of the county easing up, at least temporarily, on repayment of what’s known as the “net negative balance,” essentially a county line of credit that Alameda Health System uses to cover expenses when bills come due before large state or federal reimbursements arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are avenues we can pursue,” he said, noting that cuts to non-safety-net services might be left standing. “There might be some things that are good to have but are not necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas agreed that the county can likely stanch the bleeding in the near term, but she emphasized that the real solutions are systemic: “It’s about single payer. It’s about making sure that we close the loophole in Prop. 13 and really address how resources and wealth are distributed in our country, as well as our state and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_007-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nikki Fortunato Bas, a member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, speaks during a resident physician “unity break” outside Highland Hospital in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. Physicians cited layoffs, staffing shortages and contract negotiations with Alameda Health System. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, she said she would seek to hold AHS accountable for doing everything possible to raise revenue and ensure officials there are “very clear and thoughtful about what they’re looking at, and that they’re actually talking in good faith with our labor partners to make sure that we’re addressing all the potential impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some AHS employees and their unions have criticized system executives for acting rashly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These layoffs are anticipatory,” said Dr. Elijah Lustig, a resident physician at Highland Hospital and union leader with the Committee of Interns and Residents, part of Service Employees International Union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re not talking to our department heads before instituting cuts or proposing layoffs,” he said of the process. “The people who are deciding who gets fired, frankly, do not have a good grasp on how this hospital runs, on what services are crucial, on what services are impacted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus is seen through flowering branches in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. The hospital is part of Alameda Health System. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, AHS said it “must take a proactive approach” to reducing costs. “We do not approach this painful decision lightly,” it said. “However, AHS reasonably predicts that it will run out of funds within six months, by August of 2026, if it does not act now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s hearing is required by law to give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed cuts to health care services. Supervisors won’t take any action there, but Miley said he hopes the board will reach a decision on allocating funding to prevent layoffs as soon as March 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing takes place at 3 p.m. at the Alameda County Administration Building, Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, Fifth Floor, Room 512, 1221 Oak St.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Yosemite Park Ranger Who Was Fired After Hanging Transgender Flag Files Lawsuit",
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"content": "\u003cp>A Yosemite National Park ranger and biologist who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053078/yosemite-biologist-fired-after-hanging-transgender-pride-flag-from-el-capitan\">fired last year\u003c/a> after hanging a transgender pride flag on El Capitan has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Department of the Interior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last spring, SJ Joslin and several others lugged the 58-pound flag up the imposing granite wall and flew it on a heart-shaped feature of the rock for several hours. Joslin did so in an off-duty capacity, they said in an interview with KQED last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in August, Joslin received a termination letter, which said they had “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct.” At the time, a National Park Service representative told KQED it was “pursuing administrative action against multiple employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations” and that there had been multiple “unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan,” which require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joslin told KQED in August that flying the flag was not a demonstration but a celebration of their transgender identity. They criticized the park service for taking action against them but not others who have similarly displayed flags on the prominent rock wall facing Yosemite Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://peer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2_23_26-Joslin-v-DOI-Complaint.pdf\">complaint\u003c/a>, filed on Monday, points out a “tradition” of flying flags across Yosemite — none of which, to Joslin and her team’s knowledge, have led to any legal or other consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947774\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A view of El Capitan in Yosemite, a sheer rock face with a bright blue sky behind it. An orange car drives on the road in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Oct. 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever been disciplined before, much less fired and subject to criminal investigation,” said Paula Dinerstein, senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing Joslin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of whether or not it was a demonstration also doesn’t matter, Dinerstein said, because Joslin’s First Amendment rights were violated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our claim is that the only reason that SJ and their fellow climbers were singled out was because of the message affirming transgender rights,” she said.[aside postID=news_12053078 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/YosemiteTransFlagGetty.jpg']The lawsuit also alleges that Joslin’s rights under the Privacy Act were violated, stemming from claims that the National Park Service’s records describing Joslin’s actions include false or harmful information, Dinerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Department of the Interior would not comment on the specific case, a spokesperson emphasized in a statement to KQED that department officials “take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park,” the statement said. “To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein also noted that the National Park Service told Joslin it had opened a criminal investigation, which the complaint in the suit calls part of a “vindictive campaign” that “continues to chill their expressive conduct and speech.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein said that because they filed a preliminary injunction, the parties are meeting now with lawyers from the Department of the Interior to set a schedule to begin legal proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A Yosemite National Park ranger and biologist who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053078/yosemite-biologist-fired-after-hanging-transgender-pride-flag-from-el-capitan\">fired last year\u003c/a> after hanging a transgender pride flag on El Capitan has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Department of the Interior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last spring, SJ Joslin and several others lugged the 58-pound flag up the imposing granite wall and flew it on a heart-shaped feature of the rock for several hours. Joslin did so in an off-duty capacity, they said in an interview with KQED last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in August, Joslin received a termination letter, which said they had “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct.” At the time, a National Park Service representative told KQED it was “pursuing administrative action against multiple employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations” and that there had been multiple “unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan,” which require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joslin told KQED in August that flying the flag was not a demonstration but a celebration of their transgender identity. They criticized the park service for taking action against them but not others who have similarly displayed flags on the prominent rock wall facing Yosemite Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://peer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2_23_26-Joslin-v-DOI-Complaint.pdf\">complaint\u003c/a>, filed on Monday, points out a “tradition” of flying flags across Yosemite — none of which, to Joslin and her team’s knowledge, have led to any legal or other consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947774\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A view of El Capitan in Yosemite, a sheer rock face with a bright blue sky behind it. An orange car drives on the road in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Oct. 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever been disciplined before, much less fired and subject to criminal investigation,” said Paula Dinerstein, senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing Joslin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of whether or not it was a demonstration also doesn’t matter, Dinerstein said, because Joslin’s First Amendment rights were violated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our claim is that the only reason that SJ and their fellow climbers were singled out was because of the message affirming transgender rights,” she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The lawsuit also alleges that Joslin’s rights under the Privacy Act were violated, stemming from claims that the National Park Service’s records describing Joslin’s actions include false or harmful information, Dinerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Department of the Interior would not comment on the specific case, a spokesperson emphasized in a statement to KQED that department officials “take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park,” the statement said. “To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein also noted that the National Park Service told Joslin it had opened a criminal investigation, which the complaint in the suit calls part of a “vindictive campaign” that “continues to chill their expressive conduct and speech.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein said that because they filed a preliminary injunction, the parties are meeting now with lawyers from the Department of the Interior to set a schedule to begin legal proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sfusd-teachers-got-a-big-contract-deal-not-all-are-happy-with-it",
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"content": "\u003cp>While thousands of San Francisco public school teachers are voting this week on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">a tentative contract agreement\u003c/a> that the union has touted as a major win, some educators have complicated feelings about the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, the biggest win was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a>’s agreement to fully fund health care costs for educators and their families. That came late in the night after the fourth day of a strike that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073717/at-sfusds-first-day-of-school-after-strike-families-are-happy-teachers-got-a-deal\">shut down city schools\u003c/a> for a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I broke down,” said Ryan Alias, a Balboa High School teacher who was on the bargaining team for the United Educators of San Francisco, the city’s teachers union. “A good friend of mine who’s a teacher who’s also on the bargaining team, we just kind of held each other, hugged each other and realized that there’s stability for our families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alias has taught English at Balboa for the last five years. His wife is also an SFUSD teacher, and their two daughters are enrolled in elementary and middle schools in the district. Right now, he said, about 15% of his annual pay goes toward health care coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That money represented an inability to save for retirement, an inability to put much away for college for my kids,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week’s ratification vote by UESF’s 6,000 members, one of the final steps in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073441/san-franciscos-teachers-strike-has-ended-what-comes-next\">securing the deal\u003c/a>, is expected to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, center, speaks during a press conference at Mission High School on Feb. 9, 2026. Teachers went on strike for the first time in nearly 50 years. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while the tentative agreement secures funded health care and significant wage hikes for classroom aides, along with commitments to support unhoused and immigrant students, it doesn’t meet the salary demands the union put forth for classroom teachers and other credentialed employees, or their plan to change special education workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s complex,” said Todd Albert, who teaches science at Buena Vista Horace Mann Middle School. “Big picture, [I’m] really happy that our classified staff is getting like a 9% raise, very happy that a lot of my colleagues are getting fully funded health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But selfishly, [I’m] feeling like I didn’t get as much as I would have liked,” he continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Contract wins\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since reaching the tentative agreement on Feb. 13, UESF has called the contract a “massive win” for members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we were able to achieve in this bargain with this contract is truly the ability for us to stabilize our school staffing and for our members to be able to improve our ability to afford living and working in San Francisco,” union President Cassondra Curiel told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A big part of that is health care coverage, which will save some educators with families up to $1,500 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, speaks during a press conference at Mission High School on Feb. 9, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That was an incredible burden,” said Alias, who had worries about being able to keep his family in San Francisco. “There’s also housing instability. We rent a place nearby the school, which is fantastic, but having access to that $1,500 of our paycheck that we never see would give us so much more ability to feel safe, feel stable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paid premiums will be especially impactful for paraeducators, said Teanna Tillery, who has been a para in SFUSD’s central office for more than two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The positions are some of the lowest-paid in the district, but Tillery said she and other paras pay the same amount as other educators for their current plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For our paraeducators who have two or more dependents, they’re paying upwards of $700 per paycheck, which is almost 40% of their take-home [pay],” Tillery told KQED.[aside postID=news_12073717 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/241023-SFUSDSuperintendent-51-BL_qed.jpg']Celeste Rivera, a district paraeducator, said during the strike earlier this month that during the first two years of her job, she wasn’t able to afford coverage for her kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to pray that they wouldn’t get sick,” she told KQED, adding that she knows many coworkers who are in the same position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rivera said the coverage will offer her peace of mind that she can take her children to the doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the health coverage, SFUSD has also agreed to a 9% raise for paraeducators over two years, plus an additional 5% wage bump for those who work in special education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many paraeducators in our school district are working two and sometimes three jobs, just to be able to afford to live in the city where they work,” Tillery said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wages for instructional aides who work in SFUSD classrooms and one-on-one with students who have special education services started at $31.52 per hour as of January 2025. Generally, paraeducators work 30 hours a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being able to recoup that money is going to change their lives… Some paraeducators are talking about possibly going on vacation for the first time,” Tillery said. “It makes me smile to think that people can think of doing something special for themselves, outside of just paying bills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s a give and take’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But not all union members are as pleased with the final contract terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For classroom teachers and other credentialed staff, like social workers and counselors, the deal doesn’t include a huge wage hike. They’ll get a 5% raise over the next two years, compared with their initial ask for a 9% pay bump in that time period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really would have wanted and needed that,” said Albert, the science teacher at Buena Vista Horace Mann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty-1536x988.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside the hallways of Buena Vista Horace Mann K–8 school in San Francisco, California. \u003ccite>(Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 5% raise comes out lower than the federal cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not keeping up with the cost of living, and I think ‘raise’ is a misleading term,” Albert continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because his wife also has her own health coverage, and they don’t have kids, the deal’s health care component also won’t affect him, Albert said. SFUSD already covers premiums for employees.[aside postID=news_12073441 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-52-BL_qed.jpg']“At the end of the day, you can’t make everybody happy,” he said. “This time, I think we really focused on health care. When the [next] contract is due in two years, I really hope that they focus on a raise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, just a week after the union and district signed the tentative agreement, SFUSD revealed plans to issue more than 40 preliminary layoff notices to a handful of teachers and about 30 paraeducators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number is lower than it has been in previous years; last year, SFUSD sent hundreds of preliminary pink slips in March. But it likely doesn’t reflect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073310/if-sfusd-teachers-get-their-way-district-suggests-more-cuts-could-be-on-the-table\">additional cuts the district will need to make\u003c/a>, accounting for the new contract costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the tentative agreement, the district already planned to make about $100 million in budget reductions this year, and Superintendent Maria Su has said that layoffs and potential school closures are on the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stretched our resources to the limit to get this agreement done,” Su said after signing the tentative agreement. “We still have a long way ahead of us where difficult choices remain. So while we have a deal today, we still need more support in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the union’s ratification vote this week, the tentative contract will still need to gain school board approval before it becomes final.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "SFUSD Teachers Got a Big Contract Deal. Not All Are Happy With It | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>While thousands of San Francisco public school teachers are voting this week on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">a tentative contract agreement\u003c/a> that the union has touted as a major win, some educators have complicated feelings about the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, the biggest win was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a>’s agreement to fully fund health care costs for educators and their families. That came late in the night after the fourth day of a strike that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073717/at-sfusds-first-day-of-school-after-strike-families-are-happy-teachers-got-a-deal\">shut down city schools\u003c/a> for a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I broke down,” said Ryan Alias, a Balboa High School teacher who was on the bargaining team for the United Educators of San Francisco, the city’s teachers union. “A good friend of mine who’s a teacher who’s also on the bargaining team, we just kind of held each other, hugged each other and realized that there’s stability for our families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alias has taught English at Balboa for the last five years. His wife is also an SFUSD teacher, and their two daughters are enrolled in elementary and middle schools in the district. Right now, he said, about 15% of his annual pay goes toward health care coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That money represented an inability to save for retirement, an inability to put much away for college for my kids,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week’s ratification vote by UESF’s 6,000 members, one of the final steps in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073441/san-franciscos-teachers-strike-has-ended-what-comes-next\">securing the deal\u003c/a>, is expected to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, center, speaks during a press conference at Mission High School on Feb. 9, 2026. Teachers went on strike for the first time in nearly 50 years. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while the tentative agreement secures funded health care and significant wage hikes for classroom aides, along with commitments to support unhoused and immigrant students, it doesn’t meet the salary demands the union put forth for classroom teachers and other credentialed employees, or their plan to change special education workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s complex,” said Todd Albert, who teaches science at Buena Vista Horace Mann Middle School. “Big picture, [I’m] really happy that our classified staff is getting like a 9% raise, very happy that a lot of my colleagues are getting fully funded health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But selfishly, [I’m] feeling like I didn’t get as much as I would have liked,” he continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Contract wins\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since reaching the tentative agreement on Feb. 13, UESF has called the contract a “massive win” for members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we were able to achieve in this bargain with this contract is truly the ability for us to stabilize our school staffing and for our members to be able to improve our ability to afford living and working in San Francisco,” union President Cassondra Curiel told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A big part of that is health care coverage, which will save some educators with families up to $1,500 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, speaks during a press conference at Mission High School on Feb. 9, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That was an incredible burden,” said Alias, who had worries about being able to keep his family in San Francisco. “There’s also housing instability. We rent a place nearby the school, which is fantastic, but having access to that $1,500 of our paycheck that we never see would give us so much more ability to feel safe, feel stable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paid premiums will be especially impactful for paraeducators, said Teanna Tillery, who has been a para in SFUSD’s central office for more than two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The positions are some of the lowest-paid in the district, but Tillery said she and other paras pay the same amount as other educators for their current plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For our paraeducators who have two or more dependents, they’re paying upwards of $700 per paycheck, which is almost 40% of their take-home [pay],” Tillery told KQED.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Celeste Rivera, a district paraeducator, said during the strike earlier this month that during the first two years of her job, she wasn’t able to afford coverage for her kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to pray that they wouldn’t get sick,” she told KQED, adding that she knows many coworkers who are in the same position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rivera said the coverage will offer her peace of mind that she can take her children to the doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the health coverage, SFUSD has also agreed to a 9% raise for paraeducators over two years, plus an additional 5% wage bump for those who work in special education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many paraeducators in our school district are working two and sometimes three jobs, just to be able to afford to live in the city where they work,” Tillery said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wages for instructional aides who work in SFUSD classrooms and one-on-one with students who have special education services started at $31.52 per hour as of January 2025. Generally, paraeducators work 30 hours a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being able to recoup that money is going to change their lives… Some paraeducators are talking about possibly going on vacation for the first time,” Tillery said. “It makes me smile to think that people can think of doing something special for themselves, outside of just paying bills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s a give and take’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But not all union members are as pleased with the final contract terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For classroom teachers and other credentialed staff, like social workers and counselors, the deal doesn’t include a huge wage hike. They’ll get a 5% raise over the next two years, compared with their initial ask for a 9% pay bump in that time period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really would have wanted and needed that,” said Albert, the science teacher at Buena Vista Horace Mann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SanFranciscoK8SchoolGetty-1536x988.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside the hallways of Buena Vista Horace Mann K–8 school in San Francisco, California. \u003ccite>(Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 5% raise comes out lower than the federal cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not keeping up with the cost of living, and I think ‘raise’ is a misleading term,” Albert continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because his wife also has her own health coverage, and they don’t have kids, the deal’s health care component also won’t affect him, Albert said. SFUSD already covers premiums for employees.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“At the end of the day, you can’t make everybody happy,” he said. “This time, I think we really focused on health care. When the [next] contract is due in two years, I really hope that they focus on a raise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, just a week after the union and district signed the tentative agreement, SFUSD revealed plans to issue more than 40 preliminary layoff notices to a handful of teachers and about 30 paraeducators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number is lower than it has been in previous years; last year, SFUSD sent hundreds of preliminary pink slips in March. But it likely doesn’t reflect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073310/if-sfusd-teachers-get-their-way-district-suggests-more-cuts-could-be-on-the-table\">additional cuts the district will need to make\u003c/a>, accounting for the new contract costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the tentative agreement, the district already planned to make about $100 million in budget reductions this year, and Superintendent Maria Su has said that layoffs and potential school closures are on the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stretched our resources to the limit to get this agreement done,” Su said after signing the tentative agreement. “We still have a long way ahead of us where difficult choices remain. So while we have a deal today, we still need more support in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the union’s ratification vote this week, the tentative contract will still need to gain school board approval before it becomes final.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A four-week strike by thousands of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> health care workers in California and Hawaii ended Tuesday morning, even though no full contract deal has been reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The walkout \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071014/kaiser-strike-sees-thousands-walk-out-in-california-this-time-with-no-end-in-sight\">initially involved\u003c/a> up to 31,000 nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, optometrists and others. Following significant movement at the bargaining table over the weekend, according to the union, no picket lines were held Monday as return-to-work agreements were finalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided to end this because we were making meaningful progress at the tables. And returning to work allows us to closely deal with the issues, the few that are still outstanding, while getting back to taking care of our patients,” said Elizabeth Hawkins, secretary of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses and other health care workers who walked picket lines several days a week are now expected to return to clinics and hospitals as early as Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser, which hired contingency staffers during the strike, said it was working to schedule returning employees over the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oakland-based health care organization said union leadership recently accepted an across-the-board 21.5% wage increase over four years that Kaiser had offered since October 2025. The union sought a 25% raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. Kaiser workers on the picket lines have gone without their paychecks for four weeks, and many are facing financial and other difficulties. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have remained committed to reaching agreements that recognize the vital contributions of our employees while ensuring excellent, affordable care for our members,” Kaiser’s statement said. “Importantly, the increase is higher than any other health care provider in the country and keeps our employees at above market pay and among the best paid caregivers in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the strike dragged on, the nation’s largest private nonprofit health care organization drew a hard line, maintaining that anything higher than a 21.5% raise would be unsustainable and lead it to increase premiums for its more than 9 million customers in California. The union said it acquiesced on wages because Kaiser agreed to additional improvements in safe staffing, recruitment and retention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both parties have been focused on completing contracts for each of dozens of local units forming UNAC/UHCP, Hawkins said. Kaiser walked away from bargaining on a long-standing national contract in December, a move the union calls unlawful and said partly led to the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressure had been mounting on both parties to end the walkout, which began Jan. 26 and was dubbed the largest open-ended strike by nurses and other health care workers in the U.S. Top priorities in negotiations for Kaiser employees have been staffing levels and compensation, common concerns for health care workers nationwide.[aside postID=news_12073887 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01224_TV-KQED.jpg']The company reassigned non-picketing staffers, rescheduled non-urgent surgeries and modified other appointments at affected locations. But some patients were frustrated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">delays\u003c/a> in their operations, especially in Southern California, where most striking union members are located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the picket lines, several workers told KQED they were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073887/californias-striking-kaiser-workers-without-pay-for-weeks-feel-the-financial-pressure\">financially and emotionally stressed\u003c/a> by forgoing their paychecks for weeks, as the union did not offer assistance via a strike fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Kaiser said about 40% of nurses and pharmacists across striking locations had returned to their jobs, though union officials countered that those figures were inflated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While they will keep negotiating, they are losing leverage by going back to work, which suggests that they didn’t feel they had the capacity to sustain the strike any longer,” said Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University who specializes in the health care industry. “This is a tough outcome for these workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Givan contrasted the outcome in California and Hawaii with a weeks-long strike by about 15,000 nurses in New York City, which led to significant employer concessions, including maintenance of health care benefits and improvements to pay and staffing, before workers agreed to return to their jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife at Kaiser Oakland, said she would have preferred to end the strike with a contract deal in hand, but she’s cautiously optimistic about what’s left of the bargaining progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073902\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife from Kaiser Oakland, poses for a portrait while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser really saw how united we were and how strong we were, and even though we don’t have a contract in place now, I believe that my employer is negotiating in good faith and has been at the bargaining table,” said Baird, 53. ”I’m definitely feeling more like there’s a good chance of getting the things that we need in a contract, even if we don’t get everything we want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baird said she was looking forward to seeing patients and regaining her income. She’s nervous about the strain that the long strike could have on her relationships with co-workers who pitched in more hours to continue caring for patients. Still, she feels the strike will likely lead to improvements for patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even with the disruptions in patient care, if we have a solid contract, we’ll have much more staff continuity. We’ll have people who are dedicated to being there, it will decrease the risks of turnover. And I think in the long run, it’s better for patients,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hawkins, the UNAC/UHCP secretary, said the union had not held a walkout at Kaiser for about 45 years prior to last year, when two much shorter strikes were held.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor experts said the company had a shining reputation as an employer with positive labor relations, but the recent walkout suggested a turning point for Kaiser, which has expanded to eight states and the District of Columbia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which has dismissed employee claims of chronic understaffing and long delays for patients, said its health care workers are already paid on average more than those at other companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health care workers in California often earn more money than in other states, which labor experts say is due to the state’s high cost of living and unionization in the industry. Registered nurses, for example, make an annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes291141.htm\">mean of $113,200\u003c/a> in California, significantly higher than the national mean of $77,500, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A four-week strike by thousands of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> health care workers in California and Hawaii ended Tuesday morning, even though no full contract deal has been reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The walkout \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071014/kaiser-strike-sees-thousands-walk-out-in-california-this-time-with-no-end-in-sight\">initially involved\u003c/a> up to 31,000 nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, optometrists and others. Following significant movement at the bargaining table over the weekend, according to the union, no picket lines were held Monday as return-to-work agreements were finalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided to end this because we were making meaningful progress at the tables. And returning to work allows us to closely deal with the issues, the few that are still outstanding, while getting back to taking care of our patients,” said Elizabeth Hawkins, secretary of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses and other health care workers who walked picket lines several days a week are now expected to return to clinics and hospitals as early as Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser, which hired contingency staffers during the strike, said it was working to schedule returning employees over the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oakland-based health care organization said union leadership recently accepted an across-the-board 21.5% wage increase over four years that Kaiser had offered since October 2025. The union sought a 25% raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00368_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. Kaiser workers on the picket lines have gone without their paychecks for four weeks, and many are facing financial and other difficulties. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have remained committed to reaching agreements that recognize the vital contributions of our employees while ensuring excellent, affordable care for our members,” Kaiser’s statement said. “Importantly, the increase is higher than any other health care provider in the country and keeps our employees at above market pay and among the best paid caregivers in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the strike dragged on, the nation’s largest private nonprofit health care organization drew a hard line, maintaining that anything higher than a 21.5% raise would be unsustainable and lead it to increase premiums for its more than 9 million customers in California. The union said it acquiesced on wages because Kaiser agreed to additional improvements in safe staffing, recruitment and retention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both parties have been focused on completing contracts for each of dozens of local units forming UNAC/UHCP, Hawkins said. Kaiser walked away from bargaining on a long-standing national contract in December, a move the union calls unlawful and said partly led to the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressure had been mounting on both parties to end the walkout, which began Jan. 26 and was dubbed the largest open-ended strike by nurses and other health care workers in the U.S. Top priorities in negotiations for Kaiser employees have been staffing levels and compensation, common concerns for health care workers nationwide.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The company reassigned non-picketing staffers, rescheduled non-urgent surgeries and modified other appointments at affected locations. But some patients were frustrated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">delays\u003c/a> in their operations, especially in Southern California, where most striking union members are located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the picket lines, several workers told KQED they were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073887/californias-striking-kaiser-workers-without-pay-for-weeks-feel-the-financial-pressure\">financially and emotionally stressed\u003c/a> by forgoing their paychecks for weeks, as the union did not offer assistance via a strike fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Kaiser said about 40% of nurses and pharmacists across striking locations had returned to their jobs, though union officials countered that those figures were inflated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While they will keep negotiating, they are losing leverage by going back to work, which suggests that they didn’t feel they had the capacity to sustain the strike any longer,” said Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University who specializes in the health care industry. “This is a tough outcome for these workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Givan contrasted the outcome in California and Hawaii with a weeks-long strike by about 15,000 nurses in New York City, which led to significant employer concessions, including maintenance of health care benefits and improvements to pay and staffing, before workers agreed to return to their jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife at Kaiser Oakland, said she would have preferred to end the strike with a contract deal in hand, but she’s cautiously optimistic about what’s left of the bargaining progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073902\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife from Kaiser Oakland, poses for a portrait while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser really saw how united we were and how strong we were, and even though we don’t have a contract in place now, I believe that my employer is negotiating in good faith and has been at the bargaining table,” said Baird, 53. ”I’m definitely feeling more like there’s a good chance of getting the things that we need in a contract, even if we don’t get everything we want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baird said she was looking forward to seeing patients and regaining her income. She’s nervous about the strain that the long strike could have on her relationships with co-workers who pitched in more hours to continue caring for patients. Still, she feels the strike will likely lead to improvements for patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even with the disruptions in patient care, if we have a solid contract, we’ll have much more staff continuity. We’ll have people who are dedicated to being there, it will decrease the risks of turnover. And I think in the long run, it’s better for patients,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hawkins, the UNAC/UHCP secretary, said the union had not held a walkout at Kaiser for about 45 years prior to last year, when two much shorter strikes were held.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor experts said the company had a shining reputation as an employer with positive labor relations, but the recent walkout suggested a turning point for Kaiser, which has expanded to eight states and the District of Columbia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which has dismissed employee claims of chronic understaffing and long delays for patients, said its health care workers are already paid on average more than those at other companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health care workers in California often earn more money than in other states, which labor experts say is due to the state’s high cost of living and unionization in the industry. Registered nurses, for example, make an annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes291141.htm\">mean of $113,200\u003c/a> in California, significantly higher than the national mean of $77,500, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>For the last month, Chris Pyper and his partner, a fellow \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> physician assistant, have gone without paychecks while walking picket lines outside the nonprofit health care giant’s facilities in Oakland, Santa Clara and south Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple is surviving on savings, but they’re not sure how much longer they can forgo both of their incomes and still pay the mortgage for the Oakland home they recently bought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of pressure,” said Pyper, 39, as rain drenched him and dozens of picketers outside Kaiser’s Oakland Medical Center this week. “It’s a sacrifice. Hoping that this is going to produce a good contract. And I’m willing to stay out as long as we need to get a fair contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an estimated tens of thousands of Kaiser health care employees stretch \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071014/kaiser-strike-sees-thousands-walk-out-in-california-this-time-with-no-end-in-sight\">their open-ended strike\u003c/a> in California and Hawaii into a fourth week, several told KQED they worry about how they’ll afford rent, student loan payments, child care expenses and other bills if the union and employer fail to reach a deal soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their union, which led two much shorter walkouts at Kaiser last fall, is not offering financial assistance for the nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, pharmacists and others relinquishing wages to strike. Some said they are dipping into retirement accounts, increasing credit card debt or considering part-time jobs elsewhere to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, even with dwindling or depleted savings accounts, the strikers said they remain determined to hold the line for their livelihoods and job improvements they hope will benefit patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073902\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife from Kaiser Oakland, poses for a portrait while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I am constantly in this state of low-grade panic,” said Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife who has delivered babies and cared for mothers since 2015 at Kaiser facilities in Oakland, Berkeley and Pinole. “I really am good at not sounding or looking panicked because the work I do needs calmness, but I don’t feel calm at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A self-described pessimist, the 53-year-old steeled herself early for the possibility that Kaiser could take months to make significant concessions in bargaining. In preparation, Baird worked as many shifts as she could before she and up to 31,000 health care professionals walked off their jobs on Jan. 26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Baird said her household in Berkeley has already canceled subscriptions, stopped online shopping and quit eating out at restaurants. She hopes she won’t have to borrow against her daughter’s college fund and is looking for a job that she could add to her schedule, even after the walkout ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really, it’s just tightening the belt, pinching pennies and worrying a lot,” said Baird, who added that her top priorities have been ensuring fair pay and keeping affordable health care benefits when she eventually retires.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They’ve forgotten the health care workers’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The employees want Kaiser, the nation’s largest private nonprofit health care organization, to invest more revenues in its workforce and allow more worker input on staffing and scheduling, which they said would decrease wait times for patients and improve care. The company has largely dismissed claims of chronic understaffing or deteriorating services, and it said anything more than its offer for a 21.5% wage increase over four years would be unsustainable and force it to increase premiums for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which has expanded operations to eight states and the District of Columbia, made a net income of \u003ca href=\"https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/news/press-release-archive/kaiser-permanente-risant-health-report-2025-financial-results\">$9.3 billion\u003c/a> last year, driven largely by investment gains, and nearly $13 billion in 2024, while holding reserves estimated at $66 billion or more. The Oakland-based company contends its reserves should pay for pensions, building maintenance and other long-term financial commitments, as well as serve as a rainy day fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Pyper (left), a physician assistant from Kaiser San Leandro, marches while on strike outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But employees on the picket line doubt that argument. Pyper, who works in the orthopedic surgery department in San Leandro, said Kaiser has pushed hard to cut the retirement, health care and other benefits of newer union members like himself, leaving him no choice but to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser is sitting on a lot of money they’ve made over the past few years,” said Pyper, who is paying monthly for student loans. “They’re expanding in the other states, and it just kind of feels like they’ve forgotten the health care workers who are doing a lot of the patient care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said its employees “deserve a fair contract that reflects their value.” The company, which stopped bargaining on a long-standing national contract including big-ticket issues such as across-the-board wage increases, said it’s making progress with the smaller, local units forming the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Healthcare Professionals.[aside postID=news_12073839 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/038_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-2.jpg']“Once we reach agreement at each of these respective local tables on the open issues from the national table, we will be ready to close each agreement and get the contracts signed,” Kaiser’s statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser has asked a federal court to declare it is not obligated to negotiate a national deal with UNAC/UHCP. The company argues that the union broke contractual commitments to work collaboratively, including by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unacuhcp.org/news/profits-over-patients-new-report-details-kaisers-financial-practices-and-patient-harm/\">issuing a report\u003c/a> last month alleging that Kaiser prioritizes profits over patient care and invests in private prison companies that run immigration detention centers. Kaiser also said the union withheld information it needed to reduce disruptions to patient care during the current strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UNAC/UHCP has called Kaiser’s move to walk away from months of national bargaining unlawful, and it opposes the company’s proposal to shift all of its bargaining to dozens of local units. Executive secretary Elizabeth Hawkins said the union is considering its options to resolve issues related to staffing levels, workflow and patient access that have left some Kaiser patients waiting months to get specialty medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been looking at multiple avenues to settle this strike,” said Hawkins, a former registered nurse at Kaiser for 31 years. “It’s a very fluid, dynamic process that we’re going through. And right now, I’m not prepared to speculate on how this is going to unfold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, Kaiser \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">agreed to pay\u003c/a> $31 million to resolve \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20260210\">federal investigations\u003c/a> over long wait times and other problems for millions of California patients seeking mental health and substance use care. The deal comes two years after the company settled with the state for $200 million over similar issues. Kaiser therapists in Northern California with a separate union are about to finish voting on whether to authorize a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">one-day strike\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Problems mount as strike persists\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, pressure is growing on Kaiser and UNAC/UHCP to compromise as the current walkout drags on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser said more employees are crossing picket lines and returning to work, including more than 40% of nurses and pharmacists across striking locations. Hawkins called those figures inflated, adding that most members plan to keep withholding their labor as long as necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which is likely spending millions of dollars on contingency workers to help cover staffing shortages left by striking workers, faces criticism from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">patients reporting delayed\u003c/a> surgeries and treatments due to the labor conflict. Physicians and other employees continuing to work inside hospitals and clinics have also been left picking up the slack for weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maggie Burtch, a nurse midwife in Antioch and Walnut Creek, said that in addition to the financial stress her family faces to pay for their mortgage and child care, she’s concerned the long walkout will strain her relationships with obstetrics physicians and other co-workers who are not on strike and continue to attend to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been really tough on our OB team, who also have kids at home, and I hear they’re working double the hours that they normally work to cover us, and that doesn’t feel great,” said Burtch, 41, the mother of two young children. “So I’m really worried about what that’s going to feel like when we reenter. What are the vibes going to be? I’m worried it’s going to feel different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Burtch believes walking off her job was the right choice. She’s been frustrated by the pace of negotiations and disappointed by what she described as Kaiser’s hard-line stance during the strike and negotiations with midwives, who unionized to maintain their benefits.[aside postID=news_12072837 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020926_KAISERSTRIKE_8137B-KQED.jpg']\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s really made me rethink whether or not this is the place that I want to continue to work, even though I love what I do,” said Burtch, who lives in Oakland. “But it’s hard to work a job where you just feel so undervalued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being away from patients also pains Brianca Hutchins, a pediatric occupational therapist who helps rehabilitate children with disabilities and special needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 32-year-old, who often refers to her patients as “kiddos,” said wait times for patients at Kaiser are a top concern. She has been stretched thin trying to see up to 11 patients with complex medical histories per shift, and communicate with their families and providers to follow up on their care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are drowning time-wise,” said Hutchins of her team at Kaiser San José. “We really want support with workload and staffing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all this time on picket lines, she appreciates getting to know other workers from different departments on strike, sharing camaraderie and mutual support. But her stress is ramping up, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not sleeping. My anxiety is through the roof,” Hutchins said. “Now that we’re in week four, the guilt for leaving my patients is in full swing. And then money-wise, I finally looked at my bank account and cried.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For the last month, Chris Pyper and his partner, a fellow \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> physician assistant, have gone without paychecks while walking picket lines outside the nonprofit health care giant’s facilities in Oakland, Santa Clara and south Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple is surviving on savings, but they’re not sure how much longer they can forgo both of their incomes and still pay the mortgage for the Oakland home they recently bought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of pressure,” said Pyper, 39, as rain drenched him and dozens of picketers outside Kaiser’s Oakland Medical Center this week. “It’s a sacrifice. Hoping that this is going to produce a good contract. And I’m willing to stay out as long as we need to get a fair contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an estimated tens of thousands of Kaiser health care employees stretch \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071014/kaiser-strike-sees-thousands-walk-out-in-california-this-time-with-no-end-in-sight\">their open-ended strike\u003c/a> in California and Hawaii into a fourth week, several told KQED they worry about how they’ll afford rent, student loan payments, child care expenses and other bills if the union and employer fail to reach a deal soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their union, which led two much shorter walkouts at Kaiser last fall, is not offering financial assistance for the nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, pharmacists and others relinquishing wages to strike. Some said they are dipping into retirement accounts, increasing credit card debt or considering part-time jobs elsewhere to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, even with dwindling or depleted savings accounts, the strikers said they remain determined to hold the line for their livelihoods and job improvements they hope will benefit patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073902\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00295_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife from Kaiser Oakland, poses for a portrait while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I am constantly in this state of low-grade panic,” said Michelle Baird, a nurse midwife who has delivered babies and cared for mothers since 2015 at Kaiser facilities in Oakland, Berkeley and Pinole. “I really am good at not sounding or looking panicked because the work I do needs calmness, but I don’t feel calm at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A self-described pessimist, the 53-year-old steeled herself early for the possibility that Kaiser could take months to make significant concessions in bargaining. In preparation, Baird worked as many shifts as she could before she and up to 31,000 health care professionals walked off their jobs on Jan. 26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Baird said her household in Berkeley has already canceled subscriptions, stopped online shopping and quit eating out at restaurants. She hopes she won’t have to borrow against her daughter’s college fund and is looking for a job that she could add to her schedule, even after the walkout ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really, it’s just tightening the belt, pinching pennies and worrying a lot,” said Baird, who added that her top priorities have been ensuring fair pay and keeping affordable health care benefits when she eventually retires.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They’ve forgotten the health care workers’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The employees want Kaiser, the nation’s largest private nonprofit health care organization, to invest more revenues in its workforce and allow more worker input on staffing and scheduling, which they said would decrease wait times for patients and improve care. The company has largely dismissed claims of chronic understaffing or deteriorating services, and it said anything more than its offer for a 21.5% wage increase over four years would be unsustainable and force it to increase premiums for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which has expanded operations to eight states and the District of Columbia, made a net income of \u003ca href=\"https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/news/press-release-archive/kaiser-permanente-risant-health-report-2025-financial-results\">$9.3 billion\u003c/a> last year, driven largely by investment gains, and nearly $13 billion in 2024, while holding reserves estimated at $66 billion or more. The Oakland-based company contends its reserves should pay for pensions, building maintenance and other long-term financial commitments, as well as serve as a rainy day fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Pyper (left), a physician assistant from Kaiser San Leandro, marches while on strike outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But employees on the picket line doubt that argument. Pyper, who works in the orthopedic surgery department in San Leandro, said Kaiser has pushed hard to cut the retirement, health care and other benefits of newer union members like himself, leaving him no choice but to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser is sitting on a lot of money they’ve made over the past few years,” said Pyper, who is paying monthly for student loans. “They’re expanding in the other states, and it just kind of feels like they’ve forgotten the health care workers who are doing a lot of the patient care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said its employees “deserve a fair contract that reflects their value.” The company, which stopped bargaining on a long-standing national contract including big-ticket issues such as across-the-board wage increases, said it’s making progress with the smaller, local units forming the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Healthcare Professionals.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Once we reach agreement at each of these respective local tables on the open issues from the national table, we will be ready to close each agreement and get the contracts signed,” Kaiser’s statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser has asked a federal court to declare it is not obligated to negotiate a national deal with UNAC/UHCP. The company argues that the union broke contractual commitments to work collaboratively, including by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unacuhcp.org/news/profits-over-patients-new-report-details-kaisers-financial-practices-and-patient-harm/\">issuing a report\u003c/a> last month alleging that Kaiser prioritizes profits over patient care and invests in private prison companies that run immigration detention centers. Kaiser also said the union withheld information it needed to reduce disruptions to patient care during the current strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UNAC/UHCP has called Kaiser’s move to walk away from months of national bargaining unlawful, and it opposes the company’s proposal to shift all of its bargaining to dozens of local units. Executive secretary Elizabeth Hawkins said the union is considering its options to resolve issues related to staffing levels, workflow and patient access that have left some Kaiser patients waiting months to get specialty medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been looking at multiple avenues to settle this strike,” said Hawkins, a former registered nurse at Kaiser for 31 years. “It’s a very fluid, dynamic process that we’re going through. And right now, I’m not prepared to speculate on how this is going to unfold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, Kaiser \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">agreed to pay\u003c/a> $31 million to resolve \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20260210\">federal investigations\u003c/a> over long wait times and other problems for millions of California patients seeking mental health and substance use care. The deal comes two years after the company settled with the state for $200 million over similar issues. Kaiser therapists in Northern California with a separate union are about to finish voting on whether to authorize a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">one-day strike\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Problems mount as strike persists\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, pressure is growing on Kaiser and UNAC/UHCP to compromise as the current walkout drags on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser said more employees are crossing picket lines and returning to work, including more than 40% of nurses and pharmacists across striking locations. Hawkins called those figures inflated, adding that most members plan to keep withholding their labor as long as necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser, which is likely spending millions of dollars on contingency workers to help cover staffing shortages left by striking workers, faces criticism from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">patients reporting delayed\u003c/a> surgeries and treatments due to the labor conflict. Physicians and other employees continuing to work inside hospitals and clinics have also been left picking up the slack for weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS01145_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maggie Burtch, a nurse midwife in Antioch and Walnut Creek, said that in addition to the financial stress her family faces to pay for their mortgage and child care, she’s concerned the long walkout will strain her relationships with obstetrics physicians and other co-workers who are not on strike and continue to attend to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been really tough on our OB team, who also have kids at home, and I hear they’re working double the hours that they normally work to cover us, and that doesn’t feel great,” said Burtch, 41, the mother of two young children. “So I’m really worried about what that’s going to feel like when we reenter. What are the vibes going to be? I’m worried it’s going to feel different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Burtch believes walking off her job was the right choice. She’s been frustrated by the pace of negotiations and disappointed by what she described as Kaiser’s hard-line stance during the strike and negotiations with midwives, who unionized to maintain their benefits.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s really made me rethink whether or not this is the place that I want to continue to work, even though I love what I do,” said Burtch, who lives in Oakland. “But it’s hard to work a job where you just feel so undervalued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being away from patients also pains Brianca Hutchins, a pediatric occupational therapist who helps rehabilitate children with disabilities and special needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 32-year-old, who often refers to her patients as “kiddos,” said wait times for patients at Kaiser are a top concern. She has been stretched thin trying to see up to 11 patients with complex medical histories per shift, and communicate with their families and providers to follow up on their care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are drowning time-wise,” said Hutchins of her team at Kaiser San José. “We really want support with workload and staffing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all this time on picket lines, she appreciates getting to know other workers from different departments on strike, sharing camaraderie and mutual support. But her stress is ramping up, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not sleeping. My anxiety is through the roof,” Hutchins said. “Now that we’re in week four, the guilt for leaving my patients is in full swing. And then money-wise, I finally looked at my bank account and cried.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Mental health clinicians at Kaiser locations throughout Northern California are voting through Saturday to decide whether to hold a one-day strike this spring over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">proposed changes\u003c/a> to care protocols they say will diminish their working conditions or harm patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 2,400 therapists and social workers, represented by the\u003ca href=\"https://home.nuhw.org/\"> National Union of Health Care Workers\u003c/a>, have been negotiating their next contract since June, with talks reaching an impasse in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all find ourselves confronting a Kaiser that no longer seeks input from its caregivers,” said Shay Loftus, a psychologist at Kaiser in Fairfield. “Kaiser management wants us to be cogs in their machine, but that’s not how health care, especially mental health care, works best for patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The small but mighty union has a track record of forcing improvements to working conditions and patient care through its advocacy. This has included backing laws that\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891049/california-bill-would-reduce-wait-times-for-mental-health-appointments\"> mandate shorter wait times\u003c/a> for individual therapy at Kaiser and going on strike for 10 weeks in 2022 to secure more time in their schedules for administrative work, like calling patients or reviewing charts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say Kaiser is now trying to claw back both of those wins in the current contract, in addition to setting the stage for laying off therapists or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">replacing them with artificial intelligence\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073919 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the union’s top complaint centers on a new system Kaiser rolled out for triaging mental health patients in 2024 that replaces intake clinicians with unlicensed phone operators or an e-visit, where an algorithm determines the level of care based on questions the patient answers in an app or online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Therapists say patients are funneled into non-urgent therapy when they should have been directed to intensive services or the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Telephone service reps book people in completely inappropriate slots,” said Molly Parsons, an individual and couples therapist at Kaiser’s Pleasanton clinic. “It delays care and potentially harms patients who need immediate interventions.”[aside postID=science_1999553 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/251126-AI-KAISER-KQED_1.jpg']The two sides are not yet aligned on wage increases, which are typically negotiated last, but the union said this strike is about seeking agreement on the non-economic issues first. A spokesperson said the union is still engaged in sporadic bargaining sessions with Kaiser and is set to meet with the company for another session next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said that AI tools are designed to “support — not replace — human judgment and care,” and that technology is evaluated for performance, safety, clinical usability, accuracy, equitability and satisfaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe AI has the potential to help clinicians and employees spend more time focused on patient care, improve the patient experience, and enhance fairness and quality in health outcomes,” spokesperson Lena Howland said via email. “Human assessment and clinical expertise always guide care delivery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union will finalize voting to authorize the strike over the weekend and said as of Thursday, about 70% of the membership had cast votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it garners member support, the union plans to schedule the work stoppage for later in March. They must give 10 days’ advance notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073923\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073923 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After striking for 10 weeks without pay over their last contract, then seeing their \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/kaiser-permanente-mental-health-workers-contract-southern-california/747638/\">sister union\u003c/a> in Southern California call an open-ended strike that lasted more than six months, appetite for anything more than a one-day walkout was low this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t seem like members are that jazzed about an ongoing, open-ended strike,” Parsons said. “There’s a fear, not only for how that would impact us as clinicians, but a fear of how it would impact our clients and patient care. And so, a one-day strike, we’re hoping to get more people involved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That will have less negative impact on patients, she added, “but it will show Kaiser that we’re serious about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kdebenedetti\">\u003cem>Katie DeBenedetti\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Mental health clinicians at Kaiser locations throughout Northern California are voting through Saturday to decide whether to hold a one-day strike this spring over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">proposed changes\u003c/a> to care protocols they say will diminish their working conditions or harm patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 2,400 therapists and social workers, represented by the\u003ca href=\"https://home.nuhw.org/\"> National Union of Health Care Workers\u003c/a>, have been negotiating their next contract since June, with talks reaching an impasse in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all find ourselves confronting a Kaiser that no longer seeks input from its caregivers,” said Shay Loftus, a psychologist at Kaiser in Fairfield. “Kaiser management wants us to be cogs in their machine, but that’s not how health care, especially mental health care, works best for patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The small but mighty union has a track record of forcing improvements to working conditions and patient care through its advocacy. This has included backing laws that\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891049/california-bill-would-reduce-wait-times-for-mental-health-appointments\"> mandate shorter wait times\u003c/a> for individual therapy at Kaiser and going on strike for 10 weeks in 2022 to secure more time in their schedules for administrative work, like calling patients or reviewing charts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say Kaiser is now trying to claw back both of those wins in the current contract, in addition to setting the stage for laying off therapists or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">replacing them with artificial intelligence\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073919 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the union’s top complaint centers on a new system Kaiser rolled out for triaging mental health patients in 2024 that replaces intake clinicians with unlicensed phone operators or an e-visit, where an algorithm determines the level of care based on questions the patient answers in an app or online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Therapists say patients are funneled into non-urgent therapy when they should have been directed to intensive services or the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Telephone service reps book people in completely inappropriate slots,” said Molly Parsons, an individual and couples therapist at Kaiser’s Pleasanton clinic. “It delays care and potentially harms patients who need immediate interventions.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The two sides are not yet aligned on wage increases, which are typically negotiated last, but the union said this strike is about seeking agreement on the non-economic issues first. A spokesperson said the union is still engaged in sporadic bargaining sessions with Kaiser and is set to meet with the company for another session next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said that AI tools are designed to “support — not replace — human judgment and care,” and that technology is evaluated for performance, safety, clinical usability, accuracy, equitability and satisfaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe AI has the potential to help clinicians and employees spend more time focused on patient care, improve the patient experience, and enhance fairness and quality in health outcomes,” spokesperson Lena Howland said via email. “Human assessment and clinical expertise always guide care delivery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union will finalize voting to authorize the strike over the weekend and said as of Thursday, about 70% of the membership had cast votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it garners member support, the union plans to schedule the work stoppage for later in March. They must give 10 days’ advance notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073923\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073923 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/033_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After striking for 10 weeks without pay over their last contract, then seeing their \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/kaiser-permanente-mental-health-workers-contract-southern-california/747638/\">sister union\u003c/a> in Southern California call an open-ended strike that lasted more than six months, appetite for anything more than a one-day walkout was low this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t seem like members are that jazzed about an ongoing, open-ended strike,” Parsons said. “There’s a fear, not only for how that would impact us as clinicians, but a fear of how it would impact our clients and patient care. And so, a one-day strike, we’re hoping to get more people involved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That will have less negative impact on patients, she added, “but it will show Kaiser that we’re serious about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kdebenedetti\">\u003cem>Katie DeBenedetti\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly 31,000 health care workers with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals have been on strike for the last four weeks. Nurses, physicians assistants, pharmacists and other workers at Kaiser Permanente say that their wages have not kept up with inflation and that their workloads have negatively impacted patient care. As the strike drags on and negotiations continue to stall, more patients face canceled surgeries and appointments without an end in sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC4078420376\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:33] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Outside of Kaiser Oakland on Monday, Kaiser Permanente nurses, physicians assistants, and other workers stood out in the rain to hold the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Picket Line: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:53] \u003c/em>Thank you. Be safe in the rain. Let’s get this contract done!\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>It’s been four weeks since tens of thousands of Kaiser workers who make up the backbone of patient care for the company began striking over staffing and pay, including Chris Pyper, a physicians assistant at the Kaiser in San Leandro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Chris Pyper: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:22] \u003c/em>It just kind of feels like they’ve forgotten the healthcare workers who are doing a lot of the patient care. I’m basically using up savings that I’ve had, hoping that this is going to produce a good contract and I’m willing to stay out as long as we need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>Workers also have larger concerns over the direction of the company. Kaiser is the largest non-profit health insurer in the country. And employees say that as Kaiser has grown, their work has gotten harder and harder. Today, we talk with KQED labor correspondent, Farida Javala Romero, about the Kaiser strike and what it means for patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:21] \u003c/em>This is a large strike, even for a very large company like Kaiser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:29] \u003c/em>Farida Javala-Romero is a labor correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:33] \u003c/em>So this particular strike involves up to 31,000 employees in California. Most of them are based in Southern California, but there are some happening in Northern California as well. It’s made up of nurses, including nurse anesthetists, physicians assistants, physical therapists, midwives. And then in Southern California, there’s also pharmacists and other very key healthcare workers. They’re key people for operations and surgeries. So we’ve heard of some surgeries being delayed. And so I wanted to speak with Kaiser patients who are facing some of these disruptions in care because of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:25] \u003c/em>Honestly, when the scheduler first called me and told me about it, I sobbed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:31] \u003c/em>So I spoke with folks like Kayla Howell in San Jose. She was going to have surgery to repair her torn ACL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:39] \u003c/em>Having that taken away you realize like oh my god i use my leg for everything going to the bathroom taking a shower is extremely difficult and painful\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:48] \u003c/em>And so she was one of the folks who got a call saying, this thing is gonna be delayed until March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:55] \u003c/em>I’ve never had surgery before. It’s kind of a big thing. And so in my head, I was like, OK, this is what I’m going to do. I’m ready for it. You know, I’m preparing myself. It’s going to happen on this day. And then to have that, like, snatched away from me just like five days before it’s supposed to happen. I was, like Oh, that’s like a big paradigm shift, you know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:13] \u003c/em>Her mom was gonna travel from abroad to care for her. Her mom couldn’t change her ticket to come to the U.S. To help her and her lodging. It just seemed like there were so many ripple effects just for one patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:27] \u003c/em>When Kaiser said they’re canceling non-essential surgeries, like before I would think like, oh, non-essential, like plastic surgery, stuff that like people don’t really like need, you know, but like I need my mobility and I need to my legs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:41] \u003c/em>Some of the people that wrote to us, you know, to tell us about their stories, they had hip replacement surgeries, you know where everything hurts, like it hurts to get in and out of their car. They told me that they’ve been waiting for these surgeries for months already to get on the schedule. So this, you now, additional delay hit really hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:02] \u003c/em>I mean, that’s a huge inconvenience for people I can’t imagine. And we are already on week four which feels that feels pretty long to me is that long I guess in comparison to these other strikes that you’ve been talking about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:18] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think so. Since September, this is the third time they’ve gone on strike. But the previous strikes were limited duration, so they lasted one day or five days. And they said ahead of time how long it was going to last, which helps the employer prepare and also for people to know what’s going to happen. With this situation we have now, the stakes are higher because this could go on for a lot longer. It seems like many of these issues, at least from the employee’s perspective, are not getting resolved. And a lot of them have to do with staffing levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sanne Jacobsen: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:06] \u003c/em>I’ve been here for 14 years, I really am honestly at this point feeling like I work for an investment bank that poses as a healthcare organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:17] \u003c/em>Sanne Jacobson, I met her outside of the Oakland Medical Center. It was the first day of this strike on January 26. And she’s part of the bargaining committee. So they’re looking for more input into their scheduling, the number of patients that they see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sanne Jacobsen: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:36] \u003c/em>You get providers that are double and triple booked and they can’t adequately provide care for the patients. And they suffer moral injury when they go to work and they can’t practice like they are supposed to be practicing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:50] \u003c/em>What she, and this is echoing what a lot of other folks have told me at Picket Lines, is that increasing pressure to see more and more patients, they feel like they need to rush more to see more patients. They’re seeing their patients have to wait longer to be able to return to come see them for follow-up visits. And then from Kaiser’s perspective, they have been, for months, dismissing any claims that their patient care quality is sliding. And that there aren’t enough staffers to see patients. They say they meet all of the staffing levels that are required. And so, at least from workers’ perspective, the company is focusing on wages and wage increases, but not so much talking about the staffing problems that workers see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:38] \u003c/em>So would you say that’s like, the main sticking point for workers in this particular strike? This feeling that they’re just a little overwhelmed with low staffing compared to the number of patients they have to take care of, and that wages maybe actually isn’t the number one issue for them?\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:58] \u003c/em>I think it’s all connected. We can say that compensation and staffing levels are the two top issues. And those are nationwide top concerns for nurses and other healthcare workers. And when we’re talking about wages in this particular strike, the union wants a 25% increase over four years and Kaiser has drawn the line at 21.5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:31] \u003c/em>Well, I wanna zoom out a little bit from this strike because I feel like I’ve seen a lot of strikes from Kaiser workers lately. Why is that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:39] \u003c/em>We have seen several strikes in the last few years as these contracts expire and Kaiser is in negotiations for a new contract with different unions. This is a company where many of their employees, I think it’s more than 130,000, are unionized. And I think that goes back to this central conflict that we’re seeing for a company like Kaiser, which is. Employees feel like the company is moving away from its mission as a nonprofit, and that instead the company has expanded to new states, building new facilities, buying hospitals, and investing the revenues they’re getting from their health insurance business into growing. Meanwhile, the employees feel like they’ve been sort of left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Logan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:36] \u003c/em>What’s happening at Kaiser in some ways reflects what’s happening in terms of the structure of the healthcare industry at the national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:45] \u003c/em>John Logan chairs the Labor Studies Department at San Francisco State University. He’s a really interesting person to talk to about the strike because he’s kept an eye on Kaiser for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Logan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:01] \u003c/em>You know, the one thing about the Kaiser partnership that’s existed now for over 25 years, nurses, technicians, others had a great deal more say over working conditions, scheduling, and those types of things. And that’s what a lot of the workers say has been eroded in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:22] \u003c/em>The mission of Kaiser is to reinvest all of its revenues into patient care and their facilities. But employees, many of them who’ve worked at Kaiser for more than 10 years, they see the company as changing, they describe it as more corporate, more top-down, and I think that’s some of the conflict that we’re seeing now. It’s making billions of dollars in net income. It has really large reserves. That Kaiser says it needs to deal with long-term commitments, like pensions and building maintenance, and have enough money in case there’s another emergency, like a pandemic. And employees say, hey, this company has a lot of money. How come they’re not investing in their workforce and improving patient care?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:14] \u003c/em>It sounds like employees are feeling like they have to shoulder a lot of this growth that is happening in Kaiser without necessarily getting the support to do that. What is Kaiser saying in response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:28] \u003c/em>What they’ve said in their public statements is that Kaiser is a great health care provider, that they have a really good model benefiting patients, and that they’re trying their best to meet the demand of Kaiser customers or members, which is what they call them. They have not really addressed these employee big concerns about staffing, about scheduling problems. We have not been able to get an interview with like a Kaiser executive or a representative to really dig into you know how they’re thinking about their reality and this you know labor conflict they have now. And then what we talked about earlier that the policies of the federal government are giving health care executives a really uncertain financial picture for the next couple of years. At companies like Kaiser, which is a health insurer and health provider. I mean, this means they could see a lot less money from people not being able to buy insurance or losing their health insurance, at the same time that they could higher costs from uninsured folks coming to hospitals for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:42] \u003c/em>Well, I want to come back to Kayla who has the torn ACL. I mean, we’re four weeks into the strike now. I imagine she’s watching this all very, very closely. Do you have any sense of what public support is like from people like Kayla who are directly affected?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:03] \u003c/em>Kayla and other patients I spoke with, they all feel like they need the strike to be resolved as soon as possible so that they can get the care that they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:15] \u003c/em>We live in one of the richest countries in the world. I pay my health insurance and I pay my premiums and where is that money going to? I just wish they would figure out a way to resolve it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:27] \u003c/em>I think many of these folks sympathize with the employees and they want Kaiser to treat this as a very urgent matter and, you know, come to some deal. I think from both sides, but definitely when you go talk to people at the picket line, they really feel for the patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:47] \u003c/em>What is it going to take for this to end and when could it end?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>So, there’s a national contract for all of these workers. And then there are locals in each of the regions where workers are represented. And Kaiser, at this point, is refusing to meet with national union negotiators. And there is some bargaining at the local level. What the union folks have told me is that the strike is not going to be resolved without a national contract, or that would be the easiest way for Kaiser to resolve it. The conflict has gone to such a bad place on both sides that you have the employer saying, we’re not going to deal with these national union negotiators anymore. And so we’re just going to try to resolve everything at the local level. And meanwhile, the union is saying, ‘That’s illegal. No, you have to talk to us.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:45] \u003c/em>Do you see any parallels between this Kaiser strike and the teacher strike that just ended in San Francisco last week?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:53] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, so much right now with these big conflicts we’re seeing are about affordability. For example, the Kaiser employees on strike say that during the pandemic, they agreed to much smaller wage increases because Kaiser had some big financial and other challenges, as many health systems did. And so now they feel like it’s a time to catch up and to really try to keep up with inflation and the high prices of everything. And then in San Francisco, with the teachers… It was a similar big issue, which is people feel like they can’t afford to live, you know, where do they work in San Francisco? And so the big topic over all of this is affordability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:47] \u003c/em>And the teachers were talking about not being able to afford their health care\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Health insurance right.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:55] \u003c/em>Farida, thank you so much for breaking this down. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:57] \u003c/em>Thank you, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly 31,000 health care workers with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals have been on strike for the last four weeks. Nurses, physicians assistants, pharmacists and other workers at Kaiser Permanente say that their wages have not kept up with inflation and that their workloads have negatively impacted patient care. As the strike drags on and negotiations continue to stall, more patients face canceled surgeries and appointments without an end in sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC4078420376\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:33] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Outside of Kaiser Oakland on Monday, Kaiser Permanente nurses, physicians assistants, and other workers stood out in the rain to hold the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Picket Line: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:53] \u003c/em>Thank you. Be safe in the rain. Let’s get this contract done!\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>It’s been four weeks since tens of thousands of Kaiser workers who make up the backbone of patient care for the company began striking over staffing and pay, including Chris Pyper, a physicians assistant at the Kaiser in San Leandro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Chris Pyper: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:22] \u003c/em>It just kind of feels like they’ve forgotten the healthcare workers who are doing a lot of the patient care. I’m basically using up savings that I’ve had, hoping that this is going to produce a good contract and I’m willing to stay out as long as we need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>Workers also have larger concerns over the direction of the company. Kaiser is the largest non-profit health insurer in the country. And employees say that as Kaiser has grown, their work has gotten harder and harder. Today, we talk with KQED labor correspondent, Farida Javala Romero, about the Kaiser strike and what it means for patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:21] \u003c/em>This is a large strike, even for a very large company like Kaiser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:29] \u003c/em>Farida Javala-Romero is a labor correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:33] \u003c/em>So this particular strike involves up to 31,000 employees in California. Most of them are based in Southern California, but there are some happening in Northern California as well. It’s made up of nurses, including nurse anesthetists, physicians assistants, physical therapists, midwives. And then in Southern California, there’s also pharmacists and other very key healthcare workers. They’re key people for operations and surgeries. So we’ve heard of some surgeries being delayed. And so I wanted to speak with Kaiser patients who are facing some of these disruptions in care because of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:25] \u003c/em>Honestly, when the scheduler first called me and told me about it, I sobbed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:31] \u003c/em>So I spoke with folks like Kayla Howell in San Jose. She was going to have surgery to repair her torn ACL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:39] \u003c/em>Having that taken away you realize like oh my god i use my leg for everything going to the bathroom taking a shower is extremely difficult and painful\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:48] \u003c/em>And so she was one of the folks who got a call saying, this thing is gonna be delayed until March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:55] \u003c/em>I’ve never had surgery before. It’s kind of a big thing. And so in my head, I was like, OK, this is what I’m going to do. I’m ready for it. You know, I’m preparing myself. It’s going to happen on this day. And then to have that, like, snatched away from me just like five days before it’s supposed to happen. I was, like Oh, that’s like a big paradigm shift, you know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:13] \u003c/em>Her mom was gonna travel from abroad to care for her. Her mom couldn’t change her ticket to come to the U.S. To help her and her lodging. It just seemed like there were so many ripple effects just for one patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:27] \u003c/em>When Kaiser said they’re canceling non-essential surgeries, like before I would think like, oh, non-essential, like plastic surgery, stuff that like people don’t really like need, you know, but like I need my mobility and I need to my legs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:41] \u003c/em>Some of the people that wrote to us, you know, to tell us about their stories, they had hip replacement surgeries, you know where everything hurts, like it hurts to get in and out of their car. They told me that they’ve been waiting for these surgeries for months already to get on the schedule. So this, you now, additional delay hit really hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:02] \u003c/em>I mean, that’s a huge inconvenience for people I can’t imagine. And we are already on week four which feels that feels pretty long to me is that long I guess in comparison to these other strikes that you’ve been talking about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:18] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think so. Since September, this is the third time they’ve gone on strike. But the previous strikes were limited duration, so they lasted one day or five days. And they said ahead of time how long it was going to last, which helps the employer prepare and also for people to know what’s going to happen. With this situation we have now, the stakes are higher because this could go on for a lot longer. It seems like many of these issues, at least from the employee’s perspective, are not getting resolved. And a lot of them have to do with staffing levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sanne Jacobsen: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:06] \u003c/em>I’ve been here for 14 years, I really am honestly at this point feeling like I work for an investment bank that poses as a healthcare organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:17] \u003c/em>Sanne Jacobson, I met her outside of the Oakland Medical Center. It was the first day of this strike on January 26. And she’s part of the bargaining committee. So they’re looking for more input into their scheduling, the number of patients that they see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sanne Jacobsen: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:36] \u003c/em>You get providers that are double and triple booked and they can’t adequately provide care for the patients. And they suffer moral injury when they go to work and they can’t practice like they are supposed to be practicing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:50] \u003c/em>What she, and this is echoing what a lot of other folks have told me at Picket Lines, is that increasing pressure to see more and more patients, they feel like they need to rush more to see more patients. They’re seeing their patients have to wait longer to be able to return to come see them for follow-up visits. And then from Kaiser’s perspective, they have been, for months, dismissing any claims that their patient care quality is sliding. And that there aren’t enough staffers to see patients. They say they meet all of the staffing levels that are required. And so, at least from workers’ perspective, the company is focusing on wages and wage increases, but not so much talking about the staffing problems that workers see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:38] \u003c/em>So would you say that’s like, the main sticking point for workers in this particular strike? This feeling that they’re just a little overwhelmed with low staffing compared to the number of patients they have to take care of, and that wages maybe actually isn’t the number one issue for them?\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:58] \u003c/em>I think it’s all connected. We can say that compensation and staffing levels are the two top issues. And those are nationwide top concerns for nurses and other healthcare workers. And when we’re talking about wages in this particular strike, the union wants a 25% increase over four years and Kaiser has drawn the line at 21.5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:31] \u003c/em>Well, I wanna zoom out a little bit from this strike because I feel like I’ve seen a lot of strikes from Kaiser workers lately. Why is that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:39] \u003c/em>We have seen several strikes in the last few years as these contracts expire and Kaiser is in negotiations for a new contract with different unions. This is a company where many of their employees, I think it’s more than 130,000, are unionized. And I think that goes back to this central conflict that we’re seeing for a company like Kaiser, which is. Employees feel like the company is moving away from its mission as a nonprofit, and that instead the company has expanded to new states, building new facilities, buying hospitals, and investing the revenues they’re getting from their health insurance business into growing. Meanwhile, the employees feel like they’ve been sort of left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Logan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:36] \u003c/em>What’s happening at Kaiser in some ways reflects what’s happening in terms of the structure of the healthcare industry at the national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:45] \u003c/em>John Logan chairs the Labor Studies Department at San Francisco State University. He’s a really interesting person to talk to about the strike because he’s kept an eye on Kaiser for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Logan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:01] \u003c/em>You know, the one thing about the Kaiser partnership that’s existed now for over 25 years, nurses, technicians, others had a great deal more say over working conditions, scheduling, and those types of things. And that’s what a lot of the workers say has been eroded in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:22] \u003c/em>The mission of Kaiser is to reinvest all of its revenues into patient care and their facilities. But employees, many of them who’ve worked at Kaiser for more than 10 years, they see the company as changing, they describe it as more corporate, more top-down, and I think that’s some of the conflict that we’re seeing now. It’s making billions of dollars in net income. It has really large reserves. That Kaiser says it needs to deal with long-term commitments, like pensions and building maintenance, and have enough money in case there’s another emergency, like a pandemic. And employees say, hey, this company has a lot of money. How come they’re not investing in their workforce and improving patient care?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:14] \u003c/em>It sounds like employees are feeling like they have to shoulder a lot of this growth that is happening in Kaiser without necessarily getting the support to do that. What is Kaiser saying in response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:28] \u003c/em>What they’ve said in their public statements is that Kaiser is a great health care provider, that they have a really good model benefiting patients, and that they’re trying their best to meet the demand of Kaiser customers or members, which is what they call them. They have not really addressed these employee big concerns about staffing, about scheduling problems. We have not been able to get an interview with like a Kaiser executive or a representative to really dig into you know how they’re thinking about their reality and this you know labor conflict they have now. And then what we talked about earlier that the policies of the federal government are giving health care executives a really uncertain financial picture for the next couple of years. At companies like Kaiser, which is a health insurer and health provider. I mean, this means they could see a lot less money from people not being able to buy insurance or losing their health insurance, at the same time that they could higher costs from uninsured folks coming to hospitals for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:42] \u003c/em>Well, I want to come back to Kayla who has the torn ACL. I mean, we’re four weeks into the strike now. I imagine she’s watching this all very, very closely. Do you have any sense of what public support is like from people like Kayla who are directly affected?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:03] \u003c/em>Kayla and other patients I spoke with, they all feel like they need the strike to be resolved as soon as possible so that they can get the care that they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kayla Howell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:15] \u003c/em>We live in one of the richest countries in the world. I pay my health insurance and I pay my premiums and where is that money going to? I just wish they would figure out a way to resolve it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:27] \u003c/em>I think many of these folks sympathize with the employees and they want Kaiser to treat this as a very urgent matter and, you know, come to some deal. I think from both sides, but definitely when you go talk to people at the picket line, they really feel for the patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:47] \u003c/em>What is it going to take for this to end and when could it end?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>So, there’s a national contract for all of these workers. And then there are locals in each of the regions where workers are represented. And Kaiser, at this point, is refusing to meet with national union negotiators. And there is some bargaining at the local level. What the union folks have told me is that the strike is not going to be resolved without a national contract, or that would be the easiest way for Kaiser to resolve it. The conflict has gone to such a bad place on both sides that you have the employer saying, we’re not going to deal with these national union negotiators anymore. And so we’re just going to try to resolve everything at the local level. And meanwhile, the union is saying, ‘That’s illegal. No, you have to talk to us.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:45] \u003c/em>Do you see any parallels between this Kaiser strike and the teacher strike that just ended in San Francisco last week?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:53] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, so much right now with these big conflicts we’re seeing are about affordability. For example, the Kaiser employees on strike say that during the pandemic, they agreed to much smaller wage increases because Kaiser had some big financial and other challenges, as many health systems did. And so now they feel like it’s a time to catch up and to really try to keep up with inflation and the high prices of everything. And then in San Francisco, with the teachers… It was a similar big issue, which is people feel like they can’t afford to live, you know, where do they work in San Francisco? And so the big topic over all of this is affordability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:47] \u003c/em>And the teachers were talking about not being able to afford their health care\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Health insurance right.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:55] \u003c/em>Farida, thank you so much for breaking this down. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Farida Jhabvala Romero: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:57] \u003c/em>Thank you, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s historic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">teachers strike\u003c/a> has ended and schools will reopen next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District and teachers reached a deal around 5:30 a.m. Friday, following a 13-hour bargaining session, according to the United Educators of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $183 million agreement includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits — the union’s main sticking point \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072981/the-sfusd-teachers-strike-goes-on-heres-what-itll-take-to-end-it\">throughout negotiations\u003c/a> — as well as wage increases, revisions to special education workloads, and sanctuary and housing protections for district families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the contract still needs to be ratified by the union and adopted by the district’s Board of Education, United Educators of San Francisco leaders said it will serve as a “strong foundation” for school stability in future years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we were able to achieve in this strike was an unwavering, long-lasting sense of solidarity that will only benefit every single San Franciscan,” union Vice President Frank Lara told reporters early Friday. “While it was difficult and it is difficult for our members who have gone on strike, we’re ending it with a lot of joy, a lot of excitement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parties reached the two-year agreement after nearly a year of negotiations between the union and district, and a week without school for the district’s 49,000 students. Schools will reopen to students on Wednesday, after planned holidays for Presidents Day and Lunar New Year on Monday and Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12044772\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12044772\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su speaks during a press conference at the school district offices in San Francisco on April 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Superintendent Maria Su called the deal “monumental.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement will help us recruit talented educators to work in San Francisco in our public schools,” she said on Friday. “It will help retain our dedicated staff that serves our classroom each and every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract includes SFUSD’s commitment to fully fund health care premiums on its lowest-rate Kaiser Permanente plan for educators and their families starting next January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The benefit package had been the biggest sticking point for the union, which said its members pay up to $1,500 for health coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said that starting in July, it will also provide “meaningful relief” to bring premium rates down.[aside postID=news_12073310 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/251205-wccusdstrikerally01511_TV_qed.jpg']In an email, San Francisco State University labor historian John Logan called the health care coverage a big win for the union, but said that the other two sticking points — wages and resources for special education services — “could perhaps best be described as a ‘score draw.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When bargaining began, the union asked for 14% and 9% raises, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district will give both security guards and paraeducators, who work as school and classroom aides, an 8.5% raise over two years, with hikes of 4% this year and then 4.5% in the year following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education paraeducators will receive an additional 5% salary increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security guards will gain an additional floating holiday, as well as eligibility for full-time employment, which improves their benefit coverage options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certificated educators, including teachers, social workers and counselors, will receive 2% raises in each of the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had also proposed transitioning from a caseload model, which allocates workload by student, to a new model that accounts for varying student needs, reducing the burden on employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073557 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District’s newly reached agreement with the teachers union. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, the tentative agreement calls for the district and union to “collaborate on an educator working group with budget authority to improve special education programs,” and commits to providing “additional supports” for special educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie called the contract “a win for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a win for our public schools. It’s a win for educators,” he told reporters. “We talk about affordability in this city, and it is far too out of reach for so many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Intertwined with the excitement surrounding the deal, though, are looming questions of how the district will pay for the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073459\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073459 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters march from Dolores Park to City Hall during the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Throughout negotiations, the district and union had been at odds over how much funding is actually available to cover expenses like raises and benefits. Prior to the deal, the district had already been planning to make more than $100 million in cuts ahead of next fall — and in November, moved to reopen a conversation about merging or closing schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su has repeatedly said the district cannot spend outside its means, as it is under state oversight and, according to Su, “inching out” of a fiscal cliff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are on the right path to fiscal solvency, and so we need to be responsible with the deals,” she told reporters earlier this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about the possibility of layoffs or school closures and mergers on Friday, she said, “That has always been on the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073460 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roosevelt High School students stand alongside teachers, faculty and supporters during a rally on the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The district said it would dip into a “rainy day” reserve fund of about $111 million that it set aside in December to help cover health care costs for the duration of the new contract, which expires in June 2027. But it’s still unclear how much reserve funding it will use, or how it plans to continue to pay for the benefits moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking with reporters on Friday, Lara said that the district’s budget woes have more to do with management than a lack of funding, citing SFUSD’s significant fund balance, built up after overprojecting how much it would spend in many recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district ended last year in a deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a conversation for a different moment,” Lara said. “But I hope that the power, the energy, the love that we’ve received from our city … shows this district management or any district management or any board elected that people have hope and people want to see SFUSD succeed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/sjohnson\">\u003cem>Sydney Johnson\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s historic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">teachers strike\u003c/a> has ended and schools will reopen next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District and teachers reached a deal around 5:30 a.m. Friday, following a 13-hour bargaining session, according to the United Educators of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $183 million agreement includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits — the union’s main sticking point \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072981/the-sfusd-teachers-strike-goes-on-heres-what-itll-take-to-end-it\">throughout negotiations\u003c/a> — as well as wage increases, revisions to special education workloads, and sanctuary and housing protections for district families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the contract still needs to be ratified by the union and adopted by the district’s Board of Education, United Educators of San Francisco leaders said it will serve as a “strong foundation” for school stability in future years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we were able to achieve in this strike was an unwavering, long-lasting sense of solidarity that will only benefit every single San Franciscan,” union Vice President Frank Lara told reporters early Friday. “While it was difficult and it is difficult for our members who have gone on strike, we’re ending it with a lot of joy, a lot of excitement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parties reached the two-year agreement after nearly a year of negotiations between the union and district, and a week without school for the district’s 49,000 students. Schools will reopen to students on Wednesday, after planned holidays for Presidents Day and Lunar New Year on Monday and Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12044772\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12044772\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su speaks during a press conference at the school district offices in San Francisco on April 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Superintendent Maria Su called the deal “monumental.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement will help us recruit talented educators to work in San Francisco in our public schools,” she said on Friday. “It will help retain our dedicated staff that serves our classroom each and every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract includes SFUSD’s commitment to fully fund health care premiums on its lowest-rate Kaiser Permanente plan for educators and their families starting next January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The benefit package had been the biggest sticking point for the union, which said its members pay up to $1,500 for health coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said that starting in July, it will also provide “meaningful relief” to bring premium rates down.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In an email, San Francisco State University labor historian John Logan called the health care coverage a big win for the union, but said that the other two sticking points — wages and resources for special education services — “could perhaps best be described as a ‘score draw.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When bargaining began, the union asked for 14% and 9% raises, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district will give both security guards and paraeducators, who work as school and classroom aides, an 8.5% raise over two years, with hikes of 4% this year and then 4.5% in the year following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education paraeducators will receive an additional 5% salary increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security guards will gain an additional floating holiday, as well as eligibility for full-time employment, which improves their benefit coverage options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certificated educators, including teachers, social workers and counselors, will receive 2% raises in each of the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had also proposed transitioning from a caseload model, which allocates workload by student, to a new model that accounts for varying student needs, reducing the burden on employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073557 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District’s newly reached agreement with the teachers union. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, the tentative agreement calls for the district and union to “collaborate on an educator working group with budget authority to improve special education programs,” and commits to providing “additional supports” for special educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie called the contract “a win for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a win for our public schools. It’s a win for educators,” he told reporters. “We talk about affordability in this city, and it is far too out of reach for so many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Intertwined with the excitement surrounding the deal, though, are looming questions of how the district will pay for the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073459\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073459 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters march from Dolores Park to City Hall during the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Throughout negotiations, the district and union had been at odds over how much funding is actually available to cover expenses like raises and benefits. Prior to the deal, the district had already been planning to make more than $100 million in cuts ahead of next fall — and in November, moved to reopen a conversation about merging or closing schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su has repeatedly said the district cannot spend outside its means, as it is under state oversight and, according to Su, “inching out” of a fiscal cliff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are on the right path to fiscal solvency, and so we need to be responsible with the deals,” she told reporters earlier this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about the possibility of layoffs or school closures and mergers on Friday, she said, “That has always been on the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12073460 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roosevelt High School students stand alongside teachers, faculty and supporters during a rally on the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The district said it would dip into a “rainy day” reserve fund of about $111 million that it set aside in December to help cover health care costs for the duration of the new contract, which expires in June 2027. But it’s still unclear how much reserve funding it will use, or how it plans to continue to pay for the benefits moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking with reporters on Friday, Lara said that the district’s budget woes have more to do with management than a lack of funding, citing SFUSD’s significant fund balance, built up after overprojecting how much it would spend in many recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district ended last year in a deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a conversation for a different moment,” Lara said. “But I hope that the power, the energy, the love that we’ve received from our city … shows this district management or any district management or any board elected that people have hope and people want to see SFUSD succeed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/sjohnson\">\u003cem>Sydney Johnson\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Kaiser Workers Say Patients Deserve Better Mental Health Care After $31M Settlement",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> will pay a $31 million settlement with the federal government over the company’s mental health care practices, according to an agreement reached this week that followed an investigation into the company’s compliance with mental health laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the therapists and other mental health workers employed by the health care provider said they remain concerned that patients in California are still struggling to get the timely help they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20260210\">announced\u003c/a> it ordered the Oakland-based health care giant to reimburse Kaiser members in the Golden State for more than $28 million in costs incurred when seeking out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment — saying in a statement that the company failed “to provide timely and appropriate access” to those services between January 2021 and September 2024. Kaiser will also pay a $2.8 million penalty to the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics for years have alleged that Kaiser has not maintained adequate provider networks for mental health and substance use disorder care, forcing many patients to pay for health care services out of pocket. Mental health care workers said they first took their concerns to Kaiser management, where they were not addressed, then brought them to the attention of the federal labor agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser attributed the lack of consistent access to care to surges in demand for mental health care treatment over the past six years, triggered by the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These challenges made it very difficult for our members to get consistent access to the care they needed when they needed it,” spokesperson Lena Howland said. “We are committed to reimbursing those members who tried but may have been unable to get timely care from Kaiser Permanente in that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers strike outside of the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Oct. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the midst of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about/what-cdc-is-doing.html\">national\u003c/a> mental health crisis, finding a therapist, especially one who accepts insurance,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/series/state-of-mind\"> has become notoriously difficult\u003c/a> as the field struggles with workforce shortages and low reimbursement rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser has grappled with these industry-wide challenges for\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/21358/kaiser-agrees-to-pay-4-million-fine-over-mental-health-care-drops-lawsuit\"> over a decade\u003c/a>. California regulators have\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11791527/kaiser-therapists-strike-again-over-long-wait-times\"> repeatedly cited the company\u003c/a> for making patients wait\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891049/california-bill-would-reduce-wait-times-for-mental-health-appointments\"> too long\u003c/a> for mental health appointments, ordering Kaiser to address persistent issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents Kaiser Permanente’s 4,800 mental health professionals in California and Hawaii, said Friday that the health care giant’s proposals in ongoing contract negotiations indicate that patients hoping for shorter wait times and greater access to therapists may expect business as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of our therapists still can’t see patients for weeks at a time,” said Matthew Artz, a union spokesperson. “Some of them can’t ‘refer out’ to outside providers. And even if Kaiser is increasing its network, it’s doing other things to diminish care.”[aside postID=news_12072837 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020926_KAISERSTRIKE_8137B-KQED.jpg']One of the major points of contention is Kaiser’s use of telephone operators and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence to triage\u003c/a> and treat mental health patients. Kaiser uses those intermediaries, the union said, to determine how quickly a patient needs care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contract negotiations with therapists in Northern California, the union said Kaiser is seeking free rein to push patients into AI-based therapy protocols that Artz argued would diminish the quality of care. However, the company has said its AI tools don’t make medical decisions or replace human care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser is not acting like a health care provider that has seen the errors of its ways and wants to provide better mental health care,” Artz said. “It’s really acting like an insurance company that still wants to spend as little money as possible on mental health and just try to avoid getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement comes less than three years after Kaiser agreed to pay a $200 million penalty, including a historic $50 million fine, as part of a settlement related to California’s 2021 parity law, designed to provide equal access to mental and physical health. As part of \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zMY5CADmygFGn4yOs9iRIGs93S?domain=wpso.dmhc.ca.gov\">that agreement\u003c/a>, Kaiser acknowledged at that time that it lacked “sufficient behavioral health providers” and that “this lack of clinical staff has resulted in excessive wait times for enrollee individual therapy appointments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses, pharmacists and other physical health care workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">are on strike\u003c/a> across the state over stalled contract talks, staffing levels and pay. NUHW members, who went on a 10-week strike in 2022, are voting on whether to join their colleagues on the picket lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser therapists have been very willing to go on strike in order to advocate for better patient care and better working conditions,” Artz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Desmond Meagley contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser-permanente\">Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> will pay a $31 million settlement with the federal government over the company’s mental health care practices, according to an agreement reached this week that followed an investigation into the company’s compliance with mental health laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the therapists and other mental health workers employed by the health care provider said they remain concerned that patients in California are still struggling to get the timely help they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20260210\">announced\u003c/a> it ordered the Oakland-based health care giant to reimburse Kaiser members in the Golden State for more than $28 million in costs incurred when seeking out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment — saying in a statement that the company failed “to provide timely and appropriate access” to those services between January 2021 and September 2024. Kaiser will also pay a $2.8 million penalty to the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics for years have alleged that Kaiser has not maintained adequate provider networks for mental health and substance use disorder care, forcing many patients to pay for health care services out of pocket. Mental health care workers said they first took their concerns to Kaiser management, where they were not addressed, then brought them to the attention of the federal labor agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser attributed the lack of consistent access to care to surges in demand for mental health care treatment over the past six years, triggered by the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These challenges made it very difficult for our members to get consistent access to the care they needed when they needed it,” spokesperson Lena Howland said. “We are committed to reimbursing those members who tried but may have been unable to get timely care from Kaiser Permanente in that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-KAISER-STRIKE-START-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers strike outside of the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland on Oct. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the midst of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about/what-cdc-is-doing.html\">national\u003c/a> mental health crisis, finding a therapist, especially one who accepts insurance,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/series/state-of-mind\"> has become notoriously difficult\u003c/a> as the field struggles with workforce shortages and low reimbursement rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser has grappled with these industry-wide challenges for\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/21358/kaiser-agrees-to-pay-4-million-fine-over-mental-health-care-drops-lawsuit\"> over a decade\u003c/a>. California regulators have\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11791527/kaiser-therapists-strike-again-over-long-wait-times\"> repeatedly cited the company\u003c/a> for making patients wait\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891049/california-bill-would-reduce-wait-times-for-mental-health-appointments\"> too long\u003c/a> for mental health appointments, ordering Kaiser to address persistent issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents Kaiser Permanente’s 4,800 mental health professionals in California and Hawaii, said Friday that the health care giant’s proposals in ongoing contract negotiations indicate that patients hoping for shorter wait times and greater access to therapists may expect business as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of our therapists still can’t see patients for weeks at a time,” said Matthew Artz, a union spokesperson. “Some of them can’t ‘refer out’ to outside providers. And even if Kaiser is increasing its network, it’s doing other things to diminish care.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>One of the major points of contention is Kaiser’s use of telephone operators and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence to triage\u003c/a> and treat mental health patients. Kaiser uses those intermediaries, the union said, to determine how quickly a patient needs care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contract negotiations with therapists in Northern California, the union said Kaiser is seeking free rein to push patients into AI-based therapy protocols that Artz argued would diminish the quality of care. However, the company has said its AI tools don’t make medical decisions or replace human care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser is not acting like a health care provider that has seen the errors of its ways and wants to provide better mental health care,” Artz said. “It’s really acting like an insurance company that still wants to spend as little money as possible on mental health and just try to avoid getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement comes less than three years after Kaiser agreed to pay a $200 million penalty, including a historic $50 million fine, as part of a settlement related to California’s 2021 parity law, designed to provide equal access to mental and physical health. As part of \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zMY5CADmygFGn4yOs9iRIGs93S?domain=wpso.dmhc.ca.gov\">that agreement\u003c/a>, Kaiser acknowledged at that time that it lacked “sufficient behavioral health providers” and that “this lack of clinical staff has resulted in excessive wait times for enrollee individual therapy appointments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses, pharmacists and other physical health care workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072837/kaiser-strike-delays-surgeries-disrupts-care-as-more-workers-walk-off-jobs\">are on strike\u003c/a> across the state over stalled contract talks, staffing levels and pay. NUHW members, who went on a 10-week strike in 2022, are voting on whether to join their colleagues on the picket lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kaiser therapists have been very willing to go on strike in order to advocate for better patient care and better working conditions,” Artz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Desmond Meagley contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle",
"title": "SFUSD Teachers Strike Ends After 4 Days With Tentative Deal",
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"headTitle": "SFUSD Teachers Strike Ends After 4 Days With Tentative Deal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After days at a stalemate, San Francisco’s teachers union announced early Friday it had reached a tentative agreement with the city’s school district, ending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073310/if-sfusd-teachers-get-their-way-district-suggests-more-cuts-could-be-on-the-table\">a four-day strike\u003c/a> — the first in nearly 50 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United Educators of San Francisco announced that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a> reached the deal around 5:30 a.m. following a 13-hour bargaining session. The union has been negotiating a new contract for 11 months and has been working under an expired agreement since July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-year agreement includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits — the union’s main sticking point throughout negotiations — as well as wage increases, revisions to special education workloads, and sanctuary and housing protections for district families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By forcing SFUSD to invest in fully funded family health care, special education workloads, improved wages, sanctuary and housing protections for San Francisco families, we’ve made important progress toward the schools our students deserve,” UESF President Cassondra Curiel said. “This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the safe and stable learning environments our students deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073219/san-francisco-teachers-strike-day-3-citys-schools-stay-closed-as-negotiations-drag-on\">San Francisco schools\u003c/a> have been shut down since Monday as UESF members and other district employees took to picket lines. Schools will reopen to students Wednesday, after planned holidays for President’s Day and Lunar New Year on Monday and Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement enhances our efforts to recruit and attract talented educators to work in San Francisco public schools and reflects our commitment to invest in educators,” Superintendent Maria Su said in a statement. “I know it has been a hard week, and I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our students and families. We cannot wait to welcome you back to school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073058\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073058\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters gather for a rally during the second day of an SFUSD teachers’ strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new contract includes major wins for the union, which has been pushing for fully funded health care, raises and an overhaul to the district’s special education work mode. The agreement, which still must be ratified by union members and approved by the Board of Education, will be retroactive to July 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout negotiations, UESF demanded that the district cover 100% of premiums on the least expensive plan for educators with two or more dependents, which currently costs teachers about $1,500 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That amount of money is life-changing to us,” Ryan Alias, an English teacher at Balboa High School, said during a press conference Thursday. He and his wife are both public school teachers, and he has two children in SFUSD schools.[aside postID=news_12073310 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/251205-wccusdstrikerally01511_TV_qed.jpg']“If we had that in our pocket, we would be able to save for retirement,” he said. “We would be able to save for college funds. We’d be able to save for student loans. We’d be able to pay for art classes for our kids. This is the thing that is going to keep educators in the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in January 2027, SFUSD will cover the full cost of premiums on its lowest-rate Kaiser Permanente plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the interim, it will also begin to provide some relief funding to educators with dependents in July, according to UESF Vice President Frank Lara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for wages, the district will give paraeducators — who work as school and classroom aides — an 8.5% raise over two years, with hikes of 4% this year and 4.5% next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certificated educators — including teachers, social workers and counselors — will receive 2% raises in each of the next two years. When bargaining began, the union asked for 14% and 9% raises, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education paraeducators will receive an additional 5% salary increase, and classified employees, including security guards, will gain an additional floating holiday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security guards will also be offered full-time employment, which improves their benefit coverage options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073227\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Striking San Francisco Unified School District employees form the words “For Our Students Strike” at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Feb. 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Details about the special education workload changes are sparser. The district said it has committed to providing “additional support” for special educators, adding that the parties will “collaborate on an educator working group with budget authority to improve special education programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had requested that the district move from a caseload model, which allocates workload by student, to a workload mode, which factors in the work associated with the needs of each student, to reduce the burden on employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement Friday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie thanked the bargaining teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As San Francisco becomes increasingly out of reach for so many, we all understand that it is absolutely essential that our educators and their families feel truly supported. We should all be proud of how we’ve done that in this agreement,” he wrote via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said it signed the tentative agreement at 5:30 a.m. Friday, after more than 13 hours of bargaining that began Thursday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to the afternoon session, negotiations had hit a stalemate, as the district repeatedly said it was infeasible to fully cover health care, and the union refused to back down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073057\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters gather for a rally during the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD has repeatedly cited a massive budget deficit, expected to be about $102 million this year, and said that because it is under state oversight, it cannot spend outside of its means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not have a lot of money,” Su told reporters Wednesday. “We do not have enough funds to pay for this year and the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re slowly inching out of that, we are on the right path to fiscal solvency, and so we need to be responsible with the deals,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until this week, the district had offered all educators a 6% raise over three years, with concessions. It also had said the union’s ask for fully funded health care, which will cost an estimated $14 million a year, was impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara, the UESF vice president, said Friday’s deal reflects a different reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wish it had not taken 11 months for the district to take us as seriously as they did,” Lara told reporters Friday morning. “The money that has been presented was money that we knew they had.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he said the new contract was a significant win and reflected a strong showing of support from the city over the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While it was difficult … for our members who have gone on strike, we’re ending it with a lot of joy, a lot of excitement,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San Francisco educators and the school district reached a tentative two-year agreement early Friday, ending a four-day strike. The deal includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits, wage increases and revisions to special education workloads.",
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"title": "SFUSD Teachers Strike Ends After 4 Days With Tentative Deal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After days at a stalemate, San Francisco’s teachers union announced early Friday it had reached a tentative agreement with the city’s school district, ending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073310/if-sfusd-teachers-get-their-way-district-suggests-more-cuts-could-be-on-the-table\">a four-day strike\u003c/a> — the first in nearly 50 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United Educators of San Francisco announced that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a> reached the deal around 5:30 a.m. following a 13-hour bargaining session. The union has been negotiating a new contract for 11 months and has been working under an expired agreement since July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-year agreement includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits — the union’s main sticking point throughout negotiations — as well as wage increases, revisions to special education workloads, and sanctuary and housing protections for district families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By forcing SFUSD to invest in fully funded family health care, special education workloads, improved wages, sanctuary and housing protections for San Francisco families, we’ve made important progress toward the schools our students deserve,” UESF President Cassondra Curiel said. “This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the safe and stable learning environments our students deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073219/san-francisco-teachers-strike-day-3-citys-schools-stay-closed-as-negotiations-drag-on\">San Francisco schools\u003c/a> have been shut down since Monday as UESF members and other district employees took to picket lines. Schools will reopen to students Wednesday, after planned holidays for President’s Day and Lunar New Year on Monday and Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement enhances our efforts to recruit and attract talented educators to work in San Francisco public schools and reflects our commitment to invest in educators,” Superintendent Maria Su said in a statement. “I know it has been a hard week, and I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our students and families. We cannot wait to welcome you back to school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073058\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073058\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-33-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters gather for a rally during the second day of an SFUSD teachers’ strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new contract includes major wins for the union, which has been pushing for fully funded health care, raises and an overhaul to the district’s special education work mode. The agreement, which still must be ratified by union members and approved by the Board of Education, will be retroactive to July 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout negotiations, UESF demanded that the district cover 100% of premiums on the least expensive plan for educators with two or more dependents, which currently costs teachers about $1,500 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That amount of money is life-changing to us,” Ryan Alias, an English teacher at Balboa High School, said during a press conference Thursday. He and his wife are both public school teachers, and he has two children in SFUSD schools.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“If we had that in our pocket, we would be able to save for retirement,” he said. “We would be able to save for college funds. We’d be able to save for student loans. We’d be able to pay for art classes for our kids. This is the thing that is going to keep educators in the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in January 2027, SFUSD will cover the full cost of premiums on its lowest-rate Kaiser Permanente plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the interim, it will also begin to provide some relief funding to educators with dependents in July, according to UESF Vice President Frank Lara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for wages, the district will give paraeducators — who work as school and classroom aides — an 8.5% raise over two years, with hikes of 4% this year and 4.5% next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certificated educators — including teachers, social workers and counselors — will receive 2% raises in each of the next two years. When bargaining began, the union asked for 14% and 9% raises, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education paraeducators will receive an additional 5% salary increase, and classified employees, including security guards, will gain an additional floating holiday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security guards will also be offered full-time employment, which improves their benefit coverage options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073227\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-05-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Striking San Francisco Unified School District employees form the words “For Our Students Strike” at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Feb. 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Details about the special education workload changes are sparser. The district said it has committed to providing “additional support” for special educators, adding that the parties will “collaborate on an educator working group with budget authority to improve special education programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had requested that the district move from a caseload model, which allocates workload by student, to a workload mode, which factors in the work associated with the needs of each student, to reduce the burden on employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement Friday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie thanked the bargaining teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As San Francisco becomes increasingly out of reach for so many, we all understand that it is absolutely essential that our educators and their families feel truly supported. We should all be proud of how we’ve done that in this agreement,” he wrote via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said it signed the tentative agreement at 5:30 a.m. Friday, after more than 13 hours of bargaining that began Thursday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to the afternoon session, negotiations had hit a stalemate, as the district repeatedly said it was infeasible to fully cover health care, and the union refused to back down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073057\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260210-SFUSDSTRIKEDAY2-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, faculty and supporters gather for a rally during the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD has repeatedly cited a massive budget deficit, expected to be about $102 million this year, and said that because it is under state oversight, it cannot spend outside of its means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not have a lot of money,” Su told reporters Wednesday. “We do not have enough funds to pay for this year and the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re slowly inching out of that, we are on the right path to fiscal solvency, and so we need to be responsible with the deals,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until this week, the district had offered all educators a 6% raise over three years, with concessions. It also had said the union’s ask for fully funded health care, which will cost an estimated $14 million a year, was impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara, the UESF vice president, said Friday’s deal reflects a different reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wish it had not taken 11 months for the district to take us as seriously as they did,” Lara told reporters Friday morning. “The money that has been presented was money that we knew they had.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he said the new contract was a significant win and reflected a strong showing of support from the city over the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While it was difficult … for our members who have gone on strike, we’re ending it with a lot of joy, a lot of excitement,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "if-sfusd-teachers-get-their-way-district-suggests-more-cuts-could-be-on-the-table",
"title": "If SFUSD Teachers Get Their Way, District Suggests More Cuts Could Be on the Table",
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"headTitle": "If SFUSD Teachers Get Their Way, District Suggests More Cuts Could Be on the Table | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>With the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">San Francisco teachers strike\u003c/a> in its fourth day, a look across the bay to Contra Costa County could offer a glimpse at the future for the financially struggling district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators want the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a> to step up its wage offer and fully fund family health care. And if the city’s last teachers strike in 1979 is any indication, the longer negotiations drag on, the more likely it is that the district will have to make significant concessions on the union’s demands to reach a deal and reopen schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But SFUSD said it’s facing dire fiscal constraints, and with budget planning for next year looming, Superintendent Maria Su has indicated that spending more on the teachers union contract could force the district to make deeper cuts than it already planned to this spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every single time we increase on one side, we have to decrease on the other side,” she told reporters on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s already playing out in Contra Costa County, where educators were granted similar contract demands — including 8% raises over two years and a plan to fully fund health care benefits by 2028 — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066588/west-contra-costa-teachers-agree-to-end-strike-and-return-to-class-after-a-week\">after a four-day strike\u003c/a> in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In community meetings last month, the West Contra Costa County Unified School District laid out bleak plans to slash 10% of its workforce and consider merging schools, blaming in part the cost of the new contract agreements: an estimated $106 million more than planned over the next three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067253\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067253\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valerie Aquino and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and marched to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The community has lifted up and said, ‘We support our teachers. We want them to have everything that they want,’” Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said at a district committee meeting last month, the \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/01/16/wccusd-considers-layoffs-and-60-million-budget-cut-to-cover-raises/\">\u003cem>Richmondside \u003c/em>reported\u003c/a>. “This is what this looks like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Associate Superintendent of Business Services Jeff Carter said the district planned to empty a “rainy day fund” — which includes reserve money beyond the state’s mandated amount — of about $28 million and borrow an additional $13 million a year from a pool of money it invests to pay for retiree health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After that, Carter said the district would still need to come up with about $60 million in reductions over three years through staffing and program reductions, including “rethinking” its kindergarten through eighth-grade school model, considering merging middle schools with fewer than 400 students, and realigning staffing to minimum required levels by closing vacant positions, not re-filling positions left empty through retirement, and potentially laying off workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>California is an expensive place to live. Are you feeling the pinch? \u003ca href=\"#Shareyourstory\">Share your story\u003c/a> with KQED by leaving us a voicemail at \u003ca href=\"tel:4155532115\">415-553-2115\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Carter said West Contra Costa Unified is also considering cutting 10% of educators, school support roles, administrators and district central office staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are choices that we have to make in order to meet the obligations that we are stepping into and agreeing to,” Cotton said. “My job is to come up with solutions to this deficit. The board is what makes the decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified has previously warned that it needs to cut more than $100 million from its ongoing expenditures for the second year in a row this spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-04-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073226\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260211-SFUSDSTRIKEOCEANBEACH-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Striking San Francisco Unified School District employees form the words “For Our Students Strike” at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Feb. 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last year’s reductions included hundreds of early retirement buyouts, a strict staffing model and administrative cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, the district took steps to reopen a conversation around possible \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064746/sf-school-board-could-put-school-closures-back-on-the-table\">school closures\u003c/a>, more than a year after it shelved its botched plan to shutter or merge more than a dozen campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of those reductions were based on the district’s budget predictions without accounting for additional raises and benefit costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NNSxZPaiw4Qq7REJ0BNlldBl0qDEOHDV\">report from a neutral panel\u003c/a> earlier this month found that the union’s proposal to fully fund health care for families with two dependents would cost the district $14 million a year. Transitioning from a caseload to a workload model for special education staff would cost $11 million annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report also suggested that fully funded health care could be covered for the next three years through existing parcel tax funding, though that tax expires after three years.[aside postID=news_12072028 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/20260209_SFUSDSTRIKE_GC-9-KQED.jpg']When asked on Wednesday if San Francisco could end up in a position similar to West Contra Costa with added contract costs, Su said, “That’s the reality of where we are at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, United Educators of San Francisco said the district can afford to cover the union’s demands without making additional cuts. It pointed to a large “fund balance,” which is made up of money that the district has left over at the end of a budget year — usually because it brought in more revenue than expected. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/information-employees/labor-relations/negotiations-updates/status-sfusd-negotiations-uesf\">balance \u003c/a>was almost $430 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December, the district set aside a financial reserve of about $110 million as a rainy-day fund, money that could — and, it argues, should — be spent now. California requires districts to maintain a reserve equivalent to 2% of their general fund, which for SFUSD would equal about $28 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said both the reserve and any existing fund balance should not be used for ongoing expenses like salaries and health care costs, since they represent one-time funding, but the union has argued that funding available today should be used for today’s students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tale as old as time,” Curiel said, when asked about the possibility of cuts after a new contract deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that districts often project a budget deficit and end up with a surplus by the end of the budget year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then suddenly they’ve got $400 million in reserve,” Curiel said. “Today’s dollars are in that account, and they need to be spent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle\">San Francisco teachers strike\u003c/a> in its fourth day, a look across the bay to Contra Costa County could offer a glimpse at the future for the financially struggling district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators want the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a> to step up its wage offer and fully fund family health care. And if the city’s last teachers strike in 1979 is any indication, the longer negotiations drag on, the more likely it is that the district will have to make significant concessions on the union’s demands to reach a deal and reopen schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But SFUSD said it’s facing dire fiscal constraints, and with budget planning for next year looming, Superintendent Maria Su has indicated that spending more on the teachers union contract could force the district to make deeper cuts than it already planned to this spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every single time we increase on one side, we have to decrease on the other side,” she told reporters on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s already playing out in Contra Costa County, where educators were granted similar contract demands — including 8% raises over two years and a plan to fully fund health care benefits by 2028 — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066588/west-contra-costa-teachers-agree-to-end-strike-and-return-to-class-after-a-week\">after a four-day strike\u003c/a> in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In community meetings last month, the West Contra Costa County Unified School District laid out bleak plans to slash 10% of its workforce and consider merging schools, blaming in part the cost of the new contract agreements: an estimated $106 million more than planned over the next three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067253\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067253\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valerie Aquino and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and marched to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The community has lifted up and said, ‘We support our teachers. We want them to have everything that they want,’” Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said at a district committee meeting last month, the \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/01/16/wccusd-considers-layoffs-and-60-million-budget-cut-to-cover-raises/\">\u003cem>Richmondside \u003c/em>reported\u003c/a>. “This is what this looks like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Associate Superintendent of Business Services Jeff Carter said the district planned to empty a “rainy day fund” — which includes reserve money beyond the state’s mandated amount — of about $28 million and borrow an additional $13 million a year from a pool of money it invests to pay for retiree health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After that, Carter said the district would still need to come up with about $60 million in reductions over three years through staffing and program reductions, including “rethinking” its kindergarten through eighth-grade school model, considering merging middle schools with fewer than 400 students, and realigning staffing to minimum required levels by closing vacant positions, not re-filling positions left empty through retirement, and potentially laying off workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>California is an expensive place to live. Are you feeling the pinch? \u003ca href=\"#Shareyourstory\">Share your story\u003c/a> with KQED by leaving us a voicemail at \u003ca href=\"tel:4155532115\">415-553-2115\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Carter said West Contra Costa Unified is also considering cutting 10% of educators, school support roles, administrators and district central office staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are choices that we have to make in order to meet the obligations that we are stepping into and agreeing to,” Cotton said. “My job is to come up with solutions to this deficit. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When asked on Wednesday if San Francisco could end up in a position similar to West Contra Costa with added contract costs, Su said, “That’s the reality of where we are at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, United Educators of San Francisco said the district can afford to cover the union’s demands without making additional cuts. It pointed to a large “fund balance,” which is made up of money that the district has left over at the end of a budget year — usually because it brought in more revenue than expected. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/information-employees/labor-relations/negotiations-updates/status-sfusd-negotiations-uesf\">balance \u003c/a>was almost $430 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December, the district set aside a financial reserve of about $110 million as a rainy-day fund, money that could — and, it argues, should — be spent now. California requires districts to maintain a reserve equivalent to 2% of their general fund, which for SFUSD would equal about $28 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district said both the reserve and any existing fund balance should not be used for ongoing expenses like salaries and health care costs, since they represent one-time funding, but the union has argued that funding available today should be used for today’s students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tale as old as time,” Curiel said, when asked about the possibility of cuts after a new contract deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that districts often project a budget deficit and end up with a surplus by the end of the budget year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then suddenly they’ve got $400 million in reserve,” Curiel said. “Today’s dollars are in that account, and they need to be spent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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"order": 19
},
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
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}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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"order": 3
},
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}
},
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
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}
},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
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"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"order": 15
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"order": 18
},
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
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