Striking Kaiser mental health workers are set to resume negotiations with Southern California Kaiser Permanente in mid-April, after labor talks fell apart in March.

Engaged in now the longest mental health strike in US history, the National Union of Healthcare Workers have been on the picket line for nearly six months.

The Southern California Kaiser workers have been seeking a new union contract that would include more mandated time between therapy sessions for patient follow-up, restoration of pension benefits that were removed from new employee contracts in 2015, and cost-of-living wage adjustments.

In March, union negotiators voted unanimously to suspend further mediation when they felt Kaiser refused to bend on any of these three major contract issues.

In a written response to CalMatters' questions, Kaiser Permanente spokesperson Terry Kanakri discussed Kaiser's overall commitment to work with more than 40 unions that represent 80% of its employees.

Kanakri said, "We have made and repeatedly improved our proposals during bargaining in an effort to reach an agreement.

However, in nearly nine months of bargaining, NUHW has made very little movement on the key bargaining issues."

In a written request, Governor Gavin Newsom asked both sides to "prioritize the common good."

Based on Governor Newsom's behest, former State Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg agreed to lead focused mediation talks.

Steinberg mediated a similar open-ended strike for Northern California Kaiser mental health care workers in 2022.

That strike lasted 10 weeks and resulted in Kaiser meeting most of the union's demands.

For CalMatters, I'm Joe Garcia.