Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers wrapped their five-day labor strike Sunday morning and said they plan to return to the bargaining table later this month "with new momentum."
The demonstration by Alliance of Health Care Unions member locals whose labor contracts had expired began Tuesday morning, spanning hundreds of locations in four states. Up to 46,000 union members had been eligible for the walk-off, though a statement from the nonprofit health system placed the total number of demonstrators at 30,000.
Kaiser Permanente's locations have resumed "normal operations," the organization said while noting that nearly 6,000 contracted nurses, clinicians and other healthcare workers helped "minimize disruption and ensure our patients experienced the highest levels of care quality."
Alliance and Kaiser are set to resume contract discussions on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, with some member unions noting additional meetings later in the month.
The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), the largest of the striking member unions, said that public support voiced by community members and "dozens" of elected officials—plus national staffing standards released by the Joint Commission during the demonstration—will bolster its arguments for increased staffing and worker pay.
“We stood strong for five days and made sure the world heard us,” UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine Morales said in a post-strike statement. “This strike wasn’t just about numbers on a contract—it was about the right to provide safe care to every patient who walks through those doors.”
Kaiser, in its own statement, said the primary focus of the discussions will be "economic issues" and stressed that wage demands are the driving wedge between the sides.
"At a time when the cost of healthcare continues to go up steeply, and millions of Americans are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage, it’s critical that we keep quality, accessible healthcare coverage affordable—while attracting and retaining top talent and keeping Kaiser Permanente a great place to work and receive care," the organization said. "Our offer does all this."
Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers launch 5-day strike
Oct. 14
Tuesday morning marked the start of a five-day strike by several member locals of the Alliance of Health Care Unions whose labor contracts with Kaiser Permanente expired at the start of the month.
As many as 46,000 members are eligible for the walk-off, which includes workers across dozens of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and hundreds of offices and clinics in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. The picket lines' ranks are staffed by registered nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, dietitians, midwives and other specialty healthcare professionals contesting the health system's offers on local market pay rates and staffing.
“At 2:00 a.m., we were ready to present real solutions that reflect the priorities of the certified registered nurse anesthetists who keep Kaiser’s surgical services running every day," Jeff Cathcart, a certified nurse anesthetist who works at Kaiser South San Francisco and is part of the largest of the striking unions, United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), said in a Tuesday statement.
"Instead of bargaining in good faith, management walked away. We’re not backing down—we’re standing together to protect our patients, our profession and our voice at work.”
The unions say this strike is the single largest action in the 50-year history of the Alliance, which represents nearly 61,000 total employees. It comes after months of negotiation—including meetings held after the unions delivered their 10-day strike notice—failed to find a deal on the contracts.
Kaiser Permanente, in a statement given late Monday, said the strike was "unnecessary" and "serves no one, least of all, our members and patients." It stressed that not all of the Alliance's negotiating unions will be participating, and said that "many of our staff have shared that they do not intend to take part in the strike."
To cope with the strike, Kaiser said it will be shifting some appointments to virtual care and may need to reschedule some electives and other appointments. Hospitals and medical offices will remain open, and the organization is "onboarding up to 7,600 nurses, clinicians and other staff to work during the strike, the majority of whom have worked at Kaiser Permanente before."
As for the negotiations themselves, Kaiser's statement outlined an offer of 21.5% pay increases over four years and improved medical plan and retirement benefits. The system said the Alliance initially sought a 38% wage increase and is now holding firm at 25%—an increase the system said is projected to increase its payroll by nearly $2 billion in 2029.
"Anything beyond 21.5% will require us to further increase rates for our members and customers, at a time when health care costs are increasingly unaffordable and many are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage," Kaiser's statement said. "We have a responsibility to do the right thing for our employees and our members and customers."
The Alliance, in a national bargaining update issued Oct. 8, said Kaiser's offer "does not compensate for inflation nor does it acknowledge the working conditions and burnout members are experiencing as a result of the severe staffing crisis in healthcare."
The unions have often contrasted Kaiser’s multibillion-dollar net income and investment portfolio, as well as its ambitious expansion plans, against what they describe as unfair and unsafe labor compensation. The organization is the largest nonprofit health system in the country, reporting $115.8 billion in revenue, a $596 million operating income (0.3% operating margin) and $12.9 billion in net income (inclusive of an acquisition-fueled $6.8 billion one-time influx) across 2024.
“Increasing workloads and administrative changes have made it challenging to maintain this level of care," Roland Jackson, a physical therapist and UNAC/UHCP member, said Tuesday. "Now, it’s not uncommon for patients to wait a month or more between appointments. Without consistent and timely appointments, we risk compromising recovery outcomes and patient trust, especially among vulnerable populations."
Kaiser Permanente workers with expired contracts announce plans to strike Oct. 14
Oct. 3
Tens of thousands of union Kaiser Permanente workers have informed the system they intend to strike on Oct. 14.
The 10-day notices given Friday come from multiple member locals of the Alliance of Health Care Unions whose labor contracts had expired with the new month. Of the roughly 62,000 Kaiser employees represented by unions in the Alliance, around 50,000 have seen their contracts expire and "nearly all" have given strike notices, the unions said.
The walk-off is set to last for "no longer than five days," the unions said, and will include workers at dozens of hospitals in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
The unions had been negotiating for a new contract for several months, with issues like staffing levels and local market pay rates coming up as sticking points.
“This strike is about protecting patients as much as it is about protecting caregivers,” Charmaine S. Morales, president of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), which will have around 31,000 striking members, said in Friday's announcement. “Kaiser executives cannot keep expanding while ignoring the crisis inside their hospitals. Our message is clear: invest in the people who provide care, or face the consequences of a workforce that refuses to stay silent.”
Fierce Healthcare has reached out to Kaiser Permanente for comment. In statements given on the negotiations last month (see below), the nation's largest nonprofit health system said its staffing practices "consistently meets—and often exceeds—mandated nurse-to-patient ratios."
More than 46,000 Kaiser Permanente workers have authorized strikes as contract expirations loom
Sept. 23
More than 35,000 union-represented Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers voted this weekend to authorize a strike following months of negotiations on contracts expiring Sept. 30.
The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), shared word of “an overwhelming majority vote” in favor of a walkout among the roughly 32,000 registered nurses, pharmacists, therapists and other front-line care professionals whose contracts are up in the air. The union represents more than 40,000 California and Hawaii workers in total.
Additionally, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) announced 97% of its voting members had also authorized a strike. That union represents nearly 4,000 nurses, lab professionals, social workers, counselors and others in Oregon and southwest Washington who are also staring down a Sept. 30 contract expiration.
Both groups are part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which represents 62,000 Kaiser Permanente workers including 52,000 whose contracts will expire on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1. As of this weekend, more than 46,000 under the alliance voted to authorize strikes across six states and Washington, D.C., the groups said.
“Kaiser is betting we won’t unite and push for the change that patients need,” UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales said in the union’s vote announcement. “This overwhelming vote proves them wrong. When we stand together, Kaiser will have no choice but to recognize the need to value our labor and ensure safe staffing and care.”
Kaiser, in an emailed statement, stressed that a strike authorization vote "does not mean a strike is inevitable" and that it has been negotiating in good faith since May.
"It is disappointing that union leadership would choose to authorize a strike, which could disrupt care for our members and patients, while we are actively working toward an agreement,” the nonprofit system said.
In the weekend’s statements and others released amid the negotiations, the unions described “stagnant wage proposals” amid rising living expenses and accused the massive nonprofit system of unsafe staffing levels. The UNAC/UHCP also said proposals brought by employee groups related to patient care have been repeatedly shot down by Kaiser’s management.
The broader Alliance of Health Care Unions, in its latest monthly negotiation update released Sept. 13, said members' local bargaining teams had been making progress on some areas, like employee and clinical judgment protections related to the adoption and rollout of artificial intelligence and other technologies, “but remain far apart on local economic issues” related to pay and other pain points on “critical scheduling and template language” affecting staffing agreements.
Kaiser said its most recent offer, given just before that monthly negotiation update, comprised an across-the-board wage increase totaling 20% over four years, "including the largest pay increases proposed for the first two years of a national agreement in 25 years. We are also offering enhancements to our already generous benefits and retirement programs—including retiree medical coverage, which fewer employers provide—along with increased investments in education resources to support long-term career growth."
The unions have often contrasted Kaiser’s multibillion-dollar net income and investment portfolio, as well as its ambitious expansion plans, against what they describe as unfair and unsafe labor compensation. The organization is the largest nonprofit health system in the country, reporting $115.8 billion in revenue, a $596 million operating income (0.3% operating margin) and $12.9 billion in net income (inclusive of an acquisition-fueled $6.8 billion one-time influx) across 2024.
“Cutting frontline care costs is a choice—a choice that’s not in the patients’ best interest. Our choice is for Kaiser to go back to the days when it worked collaboratively in partnership with its workers on creating high-quality workplace conditions and decisions that put patients first,” Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals President Sarina Roher said. “The experts who provide the care must shape the care plans; that’s how patients thrive. Healthcare decisions belong in the hands of those who deliver the care, not those who balance the books.”
Kaiser's statement outlined the addition of 6,300 new workers across 2024. It said that Alliance-represented employees at the system have an 8% turnover rate, well below the industry's 20% average, and asserted that its staffing practices "consistently meets—and often exceeds—mandated nurse-to-patient ratios."
The unions are required to give Kaiser a 10-day notice ahead of any strike, which the system has not yet received but OFNHP said could come “any time after Sept. 30.” The groups also said they will continue bargaining in good faith.