Kaiser mental health workers return after tentative agreement reached, ending strike in Central CA

Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers in Central California are back at work on Wednesday after a 10-week strike came to an end Tuesday.

It was the longest mental health care worker strike in US history and Kaiser and the National Union of Healthcare Workers announced on Tuesday that a tentative agreement was reached.

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"The new 4-year agreement will benefit Kaiser Permanente patients and drive collaborative efforts aimed at improving access to mental health care, while at the same time recognizing and better supporting mental health therapists in their important work," said the National Union of Healthcare Workers in a statement.

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The goal of the strike was not about money but to hire more mental health care workers to meet the growing demand for patient care.

It was estimated some 20,000 patients would be affected by the strike.

The ratification vote on the four-year agreement started Tuesday night and is expected to take two days.

The details of the agreement have not yet been released.