MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
A strike by a mental health therapist at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles is dragging into its sixth month. This week, eight of them took it to a new level - a hunger strike. NPR's Katia Riddle visited them on the picket line.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) One day longer.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #1: (Chanting) One day stronger.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: There are dozens of people chanting and protesting outside this Kaiser Permanente medical center on a busy strip of Sunset Boulevard. But a handful of striking workers are conserving their energy, sitting quietly under a tent instead. They're on a five-day hunger strike. Adriana Webb is talking to a nurse who's come by to check on them.
ADRIANA WEBB: Like, I felt like I was getting a little bit of chills. And I, like, Googled it and said it could be 'cause, like, I'm in ketosis from not eating.
DAVID VERDINER: So that - it's a little early for that.
WEBB: OK.
VERDINER: But it could be your blood sugar is a little bit low.
WEBB: OK.
RIDDLE: Nurse David Verdiner is from a different union, not on strike. He's volunteered to do some medical oversight for these strikers.
VERDINER: The bigger thing is that you feel fine today.
WEBB: Yeah.
VERDINER: But, you know, your body's going through withdrawals, right? You're used to eating three meals a day.
WEBB: Yeah.
RIDDLE: These workers have been asking for the same pay and benefits as their colleagues who work in other types of health care, as well as more time in between patients. Aida Valdivia is a licensed therapist.
AIDA VALDIVIA: Having to do the hunger strike was a more escalated effort on our part to let them know that we are serious, especially if we are willing to sacrifice, right?
RIDDLE: She says many workers on strike are already sacrificing, draining savings, going to food banks, borrowing money. This is a way of making their suffering more public.
VALDIVIA: You know, we've had to limit our food anyway. So basically, you are kind of starving us, Kaiser.
RIDDLE: One of the people out here is Sal Rosselli. He's the former president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers. He reads from the sign he's holding.
SAL ROSSELLI: Same company, same work. Why not same wages, pension, benefits?
RIDDLE: Lack of mental health parity is a national issue. One recent report showed people seeking the care of a psychologist, for example, were 10 times more likely to go out of network and pay more. California has passed some parity laws and been celebrated as a leader on mental health. Rosselli says it's time for the state's medical institutions to show their commitment to this cause.
ROSSELLI: This hunger strike demonstration of such absolute commitment to forcing Kaiser to change will eventually have a national effect in terms of achieving parity, and the year will come where the term mental health care doesn't exist. It's simply health care.
RIDDLE: Kaiser Permanente Management is taking notice. Patti Clausen is a vice president for its Southern California region.
PATTI CLAUSEN: Having our employees go on a hunger strike is very disturbing to us.
RIDDLE: Clausen argues that Kaiser Permanente does pay their mental health care workers competitively - even if it's not the same wages as some of their colleagues. Clausen says they're eager to keep talking.
CLAUSEN: We are committed to finding the common ground for all of us.
RIDDLE: Back outside the medical center, the strikers have a special guest. After all, this would not be LA without a celebrity appearance.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TOM MORELLO: My name's Tom Morello, and I...
(CHEERING)
MORELLO: ...And I'm a union man.
RIDDLE: And longtime member of the band Rage Against the Machine. He stopped by to cheer on these strikers with a quick concert.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MORELLO: (Strumming guitar) When I say union, you say power. Union.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #2: (Chanting) Power.
MORELLO: (Strumming guitar) Union.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #2: (Chanting) Power.
RIDDLE: Morello leaves them with this message.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MORELLO: So, you know, it's my belief that the future of the working class in this country will not be decided by Congress. It will not be decided in the courts. It will be decided by the solidarity of people just like you on days just like this.
RIDDLE: Protesting, he says, can work. But it does mean enduring some pain and discomfort, and in this case, hunger.
Katia Riddle, NPR News, Los Angeles.
(SOUNDBITE OF RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE'S "WAKE UP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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