More than 31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and healthcare professionals will return to operate Tuesday, ending a four-week strike that disrupted operations at dozens of hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii. The strike, described by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) as the largest open-ended work stoppage of its kind in U.S. History, will officially conclude at 7 a.m. Pacific time and 7 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian time, according to a union news release.
The decision to end the strike follows an agreement in principle with Kaiser Permanente on a latest contract that includes 21.5% in across-the-board wage increases, the health system confirmed in a statement. UNAC/UHCP leadership stated that “significant movement at the bargaining table” prompted their decision to call off the walkout. Kaiser Permanente said We see working to schedule returning employees in a manner that prioritizes patient safety and minimizes disruption to care.
The resolution of the nurses’ strike comes less than two weeks after a separate three-day strike by over 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers, who also sought improved wages and working conditions at Kaiser facilities in Southern California and Kern County. That walkout ended on February 12, and was coordinated with the UNAC/UHCP action.
Though, labor tensions at Kaiser Permanente are not fully resolved. Approximately 2,400 mental health professionals – including therapists, social workers, and psychologists – represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) have authorized a one-day unfair labor practice strike. NUHW members, serving patients in the Bay Area, Central Valley, and Sacramento, voted overwhelmingly – with 92% in favor – to authorize the action following a vote that concluded February 21.
The NUHW authorization stems from an unfair labor practice charge alleging that Kaiser Permanente unilaterally altered its mental health triage system. The union has not yet announced a specific strike date, but is considering a walkout in March.
Kaiser Permanente stated that bargaining with UNAC/UHCP and other unions within the Alliance of Health Care Unions continues at local levels, and expressed optimism about reaching comprehensive contract agreements. The company did not comment specifically on the NUHW’s allegations or potential strike.
