[July 3, 2018] LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Councilmembers urged healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente to protect 306 jobs in the city from being eliminated or relocated in light of the company reporting $29 billion in reserves.

“As a major employer in the City of Los Angeles, including the communities of Hollywood and North Hollywood, Kaiser Permanente should be committed to growing and retaining jobs, which are key components of a healthy local economy and vibrant quality of life for residents of Los Angeles,” stated the resolutionunanimously passed at the July 3 city council meeting.

The Los Angeles City Council action follows 14 similar letters sent by elected officialsin Los Angeles County to Kaiser, including from U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Tony Cardenas, Brad Sherman, Grace Napolitano and Lucille Roybal-Allard; California State Sens. Bob Hertzberg, Ed Hernandez and Kevin De Leon; California Assemblymember Laura Friedman; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Sheila Kuehl, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis; Los Angeles City Councilmembers David Ryu and Bob Blumenfield; and the Baldwin Park City Council.

Kaiser Permanente plans to lay off 34 couriers at a laboratory in North Hollywood, and move 272 jobs from a call center in Hollywood to other areas of the state where workers will earn $2 per hour less.

More than 55,000 Kaiser Permanente employees in California are members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW). They along with 30,000 other Kaiser employees nationwide comprise the Coalition of Kaiser Unions, whose national agreement with Kaiser expires Sept. 30, 2018.