Kaiser Permanente nurses across California are taking concerns over short staffing and artificial intelligence to the picket lines Tuesday.

Registered nurses at 22 Kaiser facilities will hold informational pickets as the California Nurses Association and Kaiser remain in the early stages of negotiations over a new union contract. The union represents more than 25,000 Kaiser nurses and is affiliated with National Nurses United.

At the center of the dispute are staffing levels and protections around the growing use of AI and other technology in patient care.

The union is calling on Kaiser to safely staff every unit and shift and give registered nurses a role in decisions about how artificial intelligence is tested and introduced. Nurses say new technology should be regulated and evaluated before being used in ways that could affect patient care or nursing work.

Amy Scott-Slovick, a registered nurse at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center for 29 years, said nurses have seen chronic short staffing as more work shifts to technology. She pointed to remote patient monitoring, in which a camera replaces an employee who would otherwise sit with patients who may be confused, have dementia or be at risk of falling.

That’s unacceptable for us as nurses, and it endangers our patients and their care.

Michelle Gutierrez-Vo, Kaiser Fremont nurse

If a patient tries to get out of bed, a remote monitor alerts hospital staff, and a nurse may have to leave another patient or task to respond.

Scott-Slovick said she views the approach as a cost-saving measure that can put patients at risk when nurses are already caring for several people at once. She said Kaiser has the financial resources to keep more staff at the bedside rather than pursue cheaper alternatives.

“There’s no reason they can’t have a sitter sitting there, but instead they opt to go cheaper,” Scott-Slovick said.

Staffing concerns are also being raised by nurses elsewhere in the Kaiser system. Michelle Gutierrez-Vo, a registered nurse in adult and family medicine at Kaiser Fremont Medical Center, said nurses want adequate staffing on every unit and every shift.

“Across its network, Kaiser is constantly trying to cut staff,” Gutierrez-Vo said. “That’s unacceptable for us as nurses, and it endangers our patients and their care.”

On artificial intelligence, San Francisco registered nurse Deb Capistrano said nurses want new technology tested and regulated and want to be included in decisions about how it is introduced in hospitals.

“Anything less threatens our practice as nurses and our patients’ health,” Capistrano said in a statement.

Kaiser defends its approach

Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that it meets and often exceeds California’s required nurse-to-patient ratios and adjusts staffing on each shift based on patient needs. The health system said those decisions use a patient classification system developed with CNA-represented nurses and nurse leaders.

Kaiser also said its technology is intended to support nurses rather than replace their clinical judgment or role in patient care. Those principles, the health system said, are already included in its contract with the California Nurses Association.

Kaiser reported that 95% of CNA-represented nurses in Northern California remain with the health system from year to year and emphasized its commitment to reaching a fair agreement with the union.

Tuesday’s pickets will include several Kaiser hospitals throughout the Bay Area. Nurses are scheduled to gather at Fremont Medical Center from 6:45 to 8:45 a.m.; Oakland Medical Center and San Francisco Medical Center from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.; Santa Clara Medical Center from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.; San Jose Medical Center from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; and Walnut Creek Medical Center from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Additional pickets are planned at Kaiser facilities in Antioch, Redwood City, Richmond, San Leandro, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, South San Francisco, Vallejo and elsewhere in California.

The nurses hope Tuesday’s demonstrations will put pressure on Kaiser early in the bargaining process, before staffing and AI protections are settled.