California taxpayers know that bad things come from allowing unions to become too big, too powerful, and too well-moneyed. California conservatives are even more attuned to the ills that unions cause. So, as we think about what crazy schemes will be pushed by union-backed politicians in the California legislature this year, as well as the 2016 Senate race and congressional races, it’s worth paying attention to what unions are up to outside of the strictly political arena to try to enhance and entrench their power here.
Last week, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) concluded the first of what could be a series of statewide strikes against Kaiser Permanente. This may seem like a non-sequitur, but there’s a reason for taxpayers and conservatives as well as Kaiser customers to care about this: If the NUHW gets its way in its negotiations, it will mean a stronger union that is cozy with the already politically potent California Nurses Association (CNA). That means more money and muscle behind higher taxes, spending, fees and health care costs, which is problematic.
Kaiser is a big health care provider in this state. A good chunk of its employees are affiliated with the NUHW.
For its part, the NUHW is the renegade union started by Sal Roselli who split from the SEIU to set it up in 2009. The union is apparently not good at collecting in dues already owed. It has more liabilities than assets. It has a big and unsustainable payroll. It has spent a lot on litigation. All of its financial troubles have meant the NUHW has buddied up to the CNA, in order to get financial support from that union, including a big, seven-figure loan. It looks like the kind of financially mismanaged entity that, well, the state of California is under liberal leadership, which is not surprising since that leadership was hand-picked and elected by unions. But the NUHW has a solution in mind, and that is to force Kaiser to hire more staff that NUHW would unionize, which would help bail NUHW out of its current financial situation. That would also presumably help the CNA. Long term, it could make the NUHW and CNA bigger political players, as well as forces that will bargain even harder and meaner for higher compensation packages for already well-compensated staff that will be passed on to Kaiser customers, many of whom are getting Obamacare subsidies, driving the cost of health care up even more for customers and taxpayers. That is troublesome.
Probably like just about every big health insurance and health care provider dealing with a flood of new patients due to Obamacare, Kaiser appears to be trying to hire the mental health care staff it needs (versus what the NUHW is demanding). NUHW will inevitably strike again to try to force Kaiser’s hand, unless Kaiser just throws in the towel.
The insurer could do itself, its customers and California taxpayers a lot of good by doing what the market dictates, as opposed to caving to the NUHW’s threats.