SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Southern California are set to strike starting Monday, Oct. 21, after the union and Kaiser management did not reach an agreement. Nearly 2,400 Kaiser mental health professionals in Southern California, from Bakersfield to San Diego -- including therapists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, medicine counselors, licensed clinical counselors, and marriage and family therapists -- are set to start an open-ended strike on Monday to demand that Kaiser fix insufficient staffing issues in its behavioral health system that causes patients to wait long amounts of time for care. They are proposing a new contract, one that helps lower the turnover rate, restores their pension and increases wages. Daily picket lines and rallies will be held outside Kaiser facilities in Los Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. Picket lines will be in place from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the first week of the strike, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each week after that. Click here for a list of picket line locations. The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which represents nonphysician mental health and addiction medicine professionals and other mental health care professionals in Southern California, officially gave Kaiser Permanente in Southern California a 10-day strike notice that it plans to conduct an open-ended work stoppage beginning October 21. Hilton Bayfront workers vote to approve new contract, end strike The union said their contract expired on Sept. 30 and that NUHW and Kaiser Permanente failed to reach an agreement at their last bargaining session on Thursday. Negotiations began in late July. “We want to be with our patients, but we can’t keep working in a system that doesn’t meet their needs and treats us like assembly line workers trying to meet a quota,” said Lisa Delgadillo, a licensed clinical social worker for Kaiser in Fontana. “We’ve been fighting Kaiser for so long, and the only action that has had an impact is an open-ended strike.” This latest strike comes one year after 4,500 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in San Diego voted to go on strike due to “unfair working conditions,” along with 2,500 healthcare employees in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Kaiser mental health professionals are working around the clock to document for Kaiser exactly when patients need treatment and which patients have more urgent needs,” NUHW President Sophia Mendoza said. “Kaiser has a legal responsibility to provide care during a strike, and our state government has an obligation to make sure Kaiser is following the law in real time. It’s not enough to fine Kaiser for violations after the fact. Kaiser can afford fines, but its members can’t afford to have their care illegally delayed and denied.” Kaiser Permanente said it stands by the strong offer placed on the table in previous sessions. Hotel Del Coronado workers vote ‘yes’ to authorize strike: what this means Kaiser Permanente released the following statement, in part, on the upcoming strike: "NUHW announced plans to strike on Monday, and unfortunately this comes as no surprise, as this seems to have been their intention all along. From the beginning of bargaining the union has been slow-walking the negotiation process, including on the very issues the union has identified as key to reaching a contract."   "Union leaders have been threatening to strike since before we began bargaining in July and have operated without an apparent sense of urgency, declining to accept or meaningfully counter the strong proposals Kaiser Permanente has put on the table. Any counter from NUHW has been overreaching and unreasonable. Most concerning, the union presented a proposal that could result in a full-time therapist spending 40% or more of their work week not seeing patients."    "Our offer has no takeaways. It 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."    "We believe we can reach an agreement without a strike – if NUHW will focus on a deal that works for our mental health and addiction medicine professionals, social workers and our patients. If a strike happens, it will be because NUHW leadership chose this path – rather than a path to an agreement."     "We want our patients to know that our highest priorities are patient safety and the delivery of high-quality care and service. Kaiser Permanente will continue to deliver mental health and addiction medicine care during this strike, and we have comprehensive plans in place to minimize potential disruptions and provide timely access to care."   "All members will continue to have access to individual therapy appointments during the strike. In Southern California, we provide mental health care and addiction services through our employed Kaiser Permanente professionals and an external network of contracted providers. Approximately 60% of our patients who are receiving mental health and addiction services currently receive their care from providers who will not be participating in the strike."  Dockworkers’ union to suspend strike until Jan. 15 "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. We are contacting impacted patients and offering appointment options that meet their needs. Our medical centers and medical offices will remain open, including our hospitals, emergency departments, urgent care departments, primary and specialty care departments, pharmacies, and laboratories. Our urgent and crisis services are always available."   Kaiser Permanente said there will be no facility impacts from the strike, hospitals and emergency care will remain open. Mental health services will still be available as will medical care and member services.