Vallejo Kaiser nurses picket to address layoffs, staffing shortages, and AI

VALLEJO – A large group of Kaiser Permanente nurses gathered outside of the Vallejo facility with picket signs on Tuesday to bring attention to layoffs, staffing shortages, and what they allege is Kaiser leadership putting profit over patients. 

Cars honked in support as nurses waved bright red signs that said “nurses get laid off, CEOs get paid off” and “Kaiser! Stop stealing our wages.”

“I’m so happy they’re all out here,” said Raquel Benito, an ER nurse and quality liaison for the Vallejo facility. “We’re in solidarity. We’re all united, and it’s nice to see.” 

“Contract battles are not won on the bargaining table, they’re won out here,” said Joseph Catindig, the chief nursing officer, to a crowd of cheers. “This is how we’ve protected our contract for the past twenty years.” 

The demonstration wasn’t a strike but an informational event put on by the California Nurses Association, which is part of National Nurses United. It was part of a wider day of action, with nurses from various departments at 22 different Kaiser facilities in California participating to bring awareness to these various issues.

A major rallying cry for the union was the recent layoffs in the Bay Area. In late August, Kaiser announced that it was laying off 42 nurses at its San Rafael facility, spanning departments from prenatal care to dermatology. Those layoffs will go into effect on Oct. 14. 

Benito worried that the San Rafael layoffs would set a precedent for other facilities to cut back on staffing, which would only worsen care. She pointed out that patients in Vallejo are already experiencing long wait times.

Improving staffing ratios is “a constant fight for us,” Benito said. She said the nurses often have to push back on the number of staff members that Kaiser suggests they have on any given shift, which is often less than they need. 

“Who’s going to suffer?” she said. “The patient suffers, and the nurses suffer.” 

In an emailed statement, Kaiser Permanente said that the company “refutes any allegations that this picketing is about concerns of care quality and service at Kaiser Permanente” and said that the union is “simply using this day of action as an opportunity to gain visibility for their union.” They added that “Kaiser Permanente meets or exceeds staffing regulations and we consistently deliver high-quality care to our members and patients.”

Studies show that hospitals that are properly staffed have lower patient mortality and, as a result, save more money. In 1999, California passed a bill that set standards for the maximum number of patients a registered nurse can care for on shift. In the emergency room, the ratio is supposed to be four patients per one registered nurse.

But those numbers aren’t always followed, which has led to instances of failed care. In 2023, for example, a man died in the Vallejo Kaiser emergency waiting room after not receiving treatment for 8 hours as nurses complained that the ER was short staffed. 

Another issue that the union brought up was the use of artificial intelligence. Benito said they’re not against using AI in the right context, but said Kaiser has been introducing different systems that remove a layer of human interaction that a patient might need. 

One example she gave is the “virtual sitter,” also known as remote patient monitoring. Rather than have a hospital staff member sit in the room to watch over a patient who requires extra monitoring, a growing number of technology companies are proposing that hospitals use a “virtual sitter,” which involves one patient care technician watching four patients remotely through a camera. 

Benito said Kaiser is testing a regionwide virtual sitter program at hubs in Vallejo, Vacaville, Antioch, and Walnut Creek. The nurses pushed back on the initiative, telling Kaiser that if a patient needs a sitter, there should be someone physically in the room with them. She said Kaiser insisted on testing out the technology despite these concerns.

“And sure enough, in that first week that they rolled that new program out, one of our patients fell,” she said. “So we’re hoping that they listen to us and understand that our main concern is patient safety.” 

Kaiser stated that its AI tools don’t make medical decisions nor do they replace human assessment. “Our physicians and care teams are always at the center of decision making with our patients. We believe that AI may be able to help our physicians and employees and enhance our members’ experience,” a Kaiser spokesperson said. 

Other issues that the nurses brought up were allegations of wage theft, or being paid incorrectly. They also shared concerns about having their pensions taken away. 

“Pensions are really important for us because we put in decades of service for Kaiser,” said Catindig. He added that Kaiser can afford to provide benefits to its workers. In the second quarter of 2025, Kaiser reported a net income of $3.2 billion. 

While Kaiser hasn’t indicated that nurse pensions are on the chopping block, Catindig said they’re bracing for the worst after anesthetists at Oakland’s facility staged a one-day strike due to contentious contract talks with their own union. 

In a statement, Kaiser confirmed that it is not currently in contract bargaining talks with the California Nurses Association. “We reached agreement on a generous 4-year contract with CNA in 2022 that provides our nurses with competitive wages, excellent benefits, valuable professional opportunities, and a work environment committed to their well-being and safety,” Kaiser said. 

Catindig said he hopes those benefits remain. “I think we deserve what we have right now,” he said. “Nurses are the backbone of Kaiser and of the healthcare industry.”