More than 2,000 California mental health clinics to go on strike.

The open strike is scheduled to begin on Monday said the National Health Care Workers Union, which represents 16,000 workers in California and Hawaii. Kaiser operates one full-time mental health clinic for every 2,600 members, causing therapists to leave Kaiser at a high rate, the association said.

The strike comes as the country faces high mental health issues. The World Health Organization has reported a 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression worldwide in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. And the Pediatrics Group last year declared mental health challenges in children a “national emergency” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The union said patients who need weekly or biweekly therapy are waiting months to start treatments, and waiting four to eight weeks more between appointments.

Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that the two key issues the parties are negotiating are salary increases and the union’s desire for more time for therapists to spend on tasks beyond seeing patients. The union is asking for more, despite Kaiser’s proposal to increase the time allocated to administrative work.

Kaiser, which reported $8.1 billion in net profit last year, said in a statement that it was unwilling to invest enough in additional employees, take steps to reduce burnout among current employees and do whatever it takes to bring in mental health clinics. HMO is equal to other health services offered.

The union is “using the current challenges as a bargaining chip,” Kaiser said.

“Despite the union’s harmful tactics, we are committed to negotiating in good faith,” said Deb Katavas, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. press release.

The clinics voted in June to strike after a year of contract negotiations.