LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than 2,400 Kaiser Permanente psychologists, therapists, social workers and other mental health workers in Southern California began an open-ended strike Monday over increased workloads and staffing shortages that their union said have created a “substandard” system of care.
The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents the employees, is negotiating a new contract with the Oakland-based health giant. It said the strikers demand Kaiser hire more people to ease the burden put on the current staff.
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Amy Rocha, a psychiatric social worker, joins mental health workers at outside a Kaiser Permanente building as they begin an open-ended strike in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
California Democratic state Sen. María Elena Durazo speaks as Kaiser Permanente mental health workers rally outside a Kaiser facility in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers rally outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers rally outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center as they begin an open-ended strike in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Kaiser said in a statement Monday that the union has been “slow-walking” negotiations, despite the strong proposals the health care company has put on the table. Meanwhile, the union’s proposals “have been overreaching and unreasonable,” the statement said.
Picket lines went up outside Kaiser facilities in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Antonia Rodarte, a licensed marriage and family therapist for Kaiser, traveled to LA for the work action with about 35 colleagues from Bakersfield, California.
“We are seeing that burnout is getting worse and worse among our colleagues. People are quitting. They can't keep up with the workload,” said Rodarte. “Kaiser is emphasizing numbers of patients to be seen over quality of care.”
Natalie Espinoza, a psychiatric counselor, said Kaiser facilities in Southern California are “understaffed and overworked.” She said she sees up to 10 patients a day, routinely works through lunch and rarely has time to keep up with her documentation and other required paperwork.
Workers prepared for the strike over the weekend after declining Kaiser’s terms on Friday.
Kaiser called the walkout “entirely unnecessary” and said the union is demanding more money for therapists to spend less time seeing patients.
“The union is proposing that full-time therapists increase the amount of time they are not seeing patients to nearly half of their time – at least 19 hours a week. This is unacceptable and would significantly decrease access to appointments for mental health care for our patients,” Kaiser said.
It’s the second strike by Kaiser therapists in two years. A 10-week walkout in 2022 by mental health workers in Northern California ended with Kaiser agreeing to provide more time for patient care duties that can’t be done during appointments, while also increasing staffing and providing more services at its mental health clinics.
Monday's strikers want those same gains for Southern California workers, said Democratic state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, who joined the LA picket line.
“These workers are saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute. You do this in Northern California. How about the people in Southern California? Don’t we deserve the same kind of working conditions?’” Durazo said.
Kaiser said that it was notifying patients whose appointments could be affected by the strike. “Patients will have the opportunity to be seen by another professional in our extensive network of highly qualified, licensed therapists if their regular provider is engaged in a strike,” the statement read.
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Amy Rocha, a psychiatric social worker, joins mental health workers at outside a Kaiser Permanente building as they begin an open-ended strike in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
California Democratic state Sen. María Elena Durazo speaks as Kaiser Permanente mental health workers rally outside a Kaiser facility in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers strike outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers rally outside a Kaiser Permanente facility in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mental health workers rally outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center as they begin an open-ended strike in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When coach Dave Canales benched 2023 No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young two weeks into the season, he said it was because veteran Andy Dalton gave the Carolina Panthers the best chance to win.
He may have been right — and he may still be right.
But now, with the Panthers (1-6) on a four-game skid with Dalton under center, injuries piling up and the defense among the NFL’s worst ever, they seem destined to wind up with a top five pick in the 2025 draft, if not No. 1 overall. That means, of course, they would have their choice of one of the top quarterbacks coming out of college next April.
So it would seem it's time to find out, for better or worse, where owner David Tepper, general manager Dan Morgan and Canales stand on Young — assuming they haven’t already made up their minds.
The Panthers need to play Young again.
But Canales doesn't think so.
He defended his decision Monday to continue to start Dalton this week at Denver.
“I completely sensitive to the questions and they are not unfounded and unbased," Canales said after being asked about why the team won't play Young. "From my perspective I'm trying to get a team to continue to take strides and take steps and that is where my focus has to be. It has to be on getting Andy to play his best football.”
Young's first tenure as a starter was a disaster. He went 2-14 as a rookie and then flopped in his first two starts this season, resulting in his sudden benching before a Week 3 game against the Raiders.
Dalton initially gave the Panthers a boost with a win at Las Vegas, but his production has steadily declined. On Sunday against the Commanders, the 36-year-old was limited to 93 yards passing with two first-quarter interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown on the offense's opening series. The result was a lopsided 40-7 loss.
Make no doubt, the Panthers have a lot invested in Young.
They traded away four picks and top wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up eight spots in the draft to select Young over C.J. Stroud.
But Tepper, a hedge fund billionaire, he has been quick to cut ties when he thinks he's made a bad investment. Look no further than Matt Rhule, Frank Reich, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield.
There is no real downside to playing Young at this point.
If he happens to turn things around, the Panthers can continue to build around him and look toward the future. And, if still not convinced, Young at least will have raised his trade value.
On the flip side if Young continues struggle and lose games, the Panthers will be well positioned to draft a QB and once and for all move on from what thus far has been a colossal mistake and may go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history.
Canales said after benching Young the team had no plans to trade him.
When asked about it on Monday, he responded, “again hypotheticals. That is stuff that Dan (Morgan) and (executive vice president of football operations) Brandt Tilis will be talking through, all of those different processes. Right now my focus is to get us back to playing good football.”
We're going to need to skip this category because there isn't much working for the Panthers. The defense has surrendered a whopping 243 points through seven games, which is tied for the third most in the Super Bowl era. Only the 1973 Oilers and 1966 Falcons (250 each) have given up more. The Panthers ruled out eight players because of injuries before the game and three other key starters, DE Derrick Brown, LB Shaq Thompson and C Austin Corbett, have been lost for the season, while WR Adam Thielen is still on injured reserve. The offense hasn't been much better outside a running game that at times has shown flashes.
The Panthers' run defense entered the game ranked 30th in the league and then proceeded to allow the Commanders to rack up 214 yards on the ground. Injuries have cost the Panthers at linebacker, where four players were ruled out before the game.
Backup RB Miles Sanders had perhaps his best game with the Panthers, accounting for 95 yards on nine touches. He had six receptions for 61 yards. Sanders remains behind the hard-running Chuba Hubbard, who accounted for Carolina's touchdown on the ground. Carolina should be getting rookie RB Jonathan Brooks on the field in the next couple of weeks, adding to the team's depth at that position and potentially making Hubbard or Sanders expendable with the trade deadline coming up.
Canales. The first-year head coach is an overwhelmingly upbeat and positive person, but this season has to be starting to get to him. He's not getting the job done in Carolina as his team hasn't even been competitive in five of the seven games it has played this season.
Carolina appeared to come out of the game injury-free. However, the Panthers came into the game extremely banged up, with eight players ruled out before the weekend, including OLB Jadeveon Clowney, and ILBs Claudin Cherelus, Josey Jewell and Jon Rhattigan, which left the Panthers vulnerable to the run. WR Adam Thielen's status is uncertain heading into Week 8, but he would certainly give the offense a big boost if he's able to return.
154-62 — Margin by which the Panthers have been outscored in the first half this season.
The Panthers head to Denver (4-3) on Sunday looking to break a four-game slide. Carolina has lost 12 of its past 13 games on the road going back to last season.
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Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. The Commanders 40-7. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Washington Commanders linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. runs from Carolina Panthers running back Miles Sanders, right, as he returns an interception 67 yards for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14) talks Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (18) after an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. The Commanders 40-7. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young warms up before an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) runs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
