Members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have received nearly $10 million in childcare grants since our new extended benefits agreement was announced less than 3 weeks ago! That number was reported by KP as of April 22, so it’s sure to be more by now.
Overall, the extended benefits package has been hugely popular with members in all of our Coalition locals. After a week of intense bargaining earlier this month, Coalition and union leaders secured an agreement that provides employees with childcare grants, temporary housing, and additional leave time to ease some of the extra workload and hazards of dealing with the COVID-19 case load.
In all, Coalition union members have received (as of 4/22) a total of:
- $9,498,276 in childcare grants (average $283/week)
- 6,062 days of temporary shelter (16.6 years)
- 14,348 hours of additional leave (1.6 years)
To recap the extended benefits briefly:
Childcare Assistance. Kaiser employees who work at least 32 hours/week in a KP facility are eligible for a grant of up to $300/week to pay for childcare for children under 14 and disabled dependent children.
Temporary Shelter. KP has partnered with several hotel chains to provide temporary housing for employees who work back-to-back shifts or have a household member in certain defined vulnerable groups or who test positive for COVID 19.
Additional Leave. Any employee working more than 20 hours/week at a KP facility who tests positive for COVID-19 (or is awaiting a test) will receive 80 hours of administrative leave in addition to regularly accrued leave.
Please see the April 9 update for full details. Remember, the childcare grants and housing are available until May 31, and the leave hours expire June 30.
To learn more and apply for these extended benefits, contact Here4You:
- Phone: 877-457-4772 ext. 7
- Email: Here4You@kp.org
- Web: kp.org/Here4You
