Security guards at Kaiser Oakland, other cities, to strike

Bay City News Service

Article Created: 05/05/2008 05:24:35 PM PDT

Security guards are planning to begin a three-day strike Tuesday morning at Bay Area Kaiser Permanente facilities to protest alleged unfair labor practices by the employer.

The strike will begin at 8 a.m. affecting Kaiser Permanente facilities and buildings in Oakland, San Francisco, Hayward, Fremont, Union City, Santa Rosa and Napa, according to Jennifer Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Service Employees International Union.

An estimated 400 people will be striking at 20 facilities throughout the state and protesting their contracting company, Inter-Con Security Systems. The union alleges that the security guards are underpaid and that Inter-Con has threatened and intimidated workers who were trying to form a union for better work conditions.

"The reason that Inter-Con has broken the law and caused unfair labor practices is because these workers have been trying to form a union,'' Kelly said.

However Inter-Con spokeswoman Belen Acosta-Bradley, said the company denies the allegations.

She said Inter-Con has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board to halt the protest and that the company is awaiting a ruling from the board. It is not clear whether the board will make a decision prior to Tuesday's strike.

"We believe that many of our security guards will not participate in this walkout,'' Acosta-Bradley said. "We will have adequate coverage at all our facilities.''

Gerri Ginsburg, a spokeswoman for

Kaiser Permanente, said facilities will have a full staff of security guards throughout the day and that the strike will not have an impact on patient care or the safety of the facilities.

"We don't anticipate this to be an issue,'' said Ginsburg. "Inter-Con has contingency plans in place.''

Security guards held a one-day strike at certain Kaiser Permanente buildings in April and Ginsburg said the facilities were not affected.

Kelly said that security guards will focus their protest efforts at Oakland Medical Center at 8 a.m. and will be concentrating on other Bay Area facilities between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.