A high-tech tug-of-war is heading to the picket lines. More than one hundred mental health clinicians at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa are set to walk off the job later this month in a one-day protest over the use of Artificial Intelligence.
According to the Press Democrat, the National Union of Healthcare Workers says the strike, scheduled for March 18th, centers on Kaiser’s alleged plans to replace human therapists and social workers with AI tools and outsourced labor. Union member and Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Natalie Rogers says technology should support clinicians—not replace them.
Kaiser leadership is firing back, calling the union’s claims a “false narrative.” Human Resources VP Lionel Sims says AI is being used to assist with administrative tasks, not to make medical decisions or replace human assessment. He expressed disappointment that the union is walking away from the bargaining table, while the union maintains that Kaiser’s new triage system already puts patients at risk by using unlicensed staff.
