The union that represents nearly 2,400 mental health care workers in Southern California — 316 in San Diego County — filed a strike notice with Kaiser Permanente on Friday, putting their employer on notice that they intend to launch an “indefinite” strike starting on Oct. 21. The National Union of Healthcare Workers represents a broad range of mental health care specialists, including Kaiser psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine counselors, licensed clinical counselors, and marriage and family therapists. In a statement, the union says a strike is necessary for a range of reasons, from pay to benefits. Preparation time, the number of hours granted to workers to handle paperwork and write treatment plans, has long been a point of contention. The union says that Kaiser mental health workers in Northern California receive seven hours of prep time per week, compared with just two in Southern California. The union also says that Kaiser pays the professionals that it represents “up to 40% less than non-mental health caregivers whose jobs require less education and fewer licensing requirements.” Pensions are also a concern, with the union saying that other than a small group of pharmacists, “mental health professionals in Southern California hired after 2014 are Kaiser’s only employees in California who don’t get a pension.” Kaiser issued its own statement Friday morning, stating that the administrative time request “could result in a full-time therapist spending 40% or more of their work week not seeing patients.” And the state’s largest medical provider also disagreed with the notion that it’s underpaying its mental health care workers, saying that its contract offer “not only increases wages, which on average are already 18% above market, but also enhances the comprehensive benefits our mental health professionals enjoy plus provides therapists more non-patient time for planning and preparation.” Kaiser said that should a strike occur, it expects its hospitals, emergency departments and medical offices to remain open. Kaiser has recently faced pressure from the state to improve the mental health care services it offers its members. The California Department of Managed Healthcare fined Kaiser $50 million in 2023, requiring the medical provider to hire an outside consultant and focus on corrective actions to “help ensure enrollees receive timely access to medically necessary behavioral health care services.”