Members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals are continuing their open-ended strike at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawaii, as thousands more workers represented by another union walked out Feb. 9.
Ten things to know:
1. More than 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers represented by United Food and Commercial Workers locals joined the strike Feb. 9. UFCW-represented employees work across Southern California and Kern County. The strike is separate but coordinated with the ongoing UNAC/UHCP walkout.
2. The UNAC/UHCP strike began Jan. 26, affecting roughly 31,000 front-line registered nurses and healthcare professionals at more than two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics. Striking workers include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech-language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty clinicians.
3. UNAC/UHCP — part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions — launched the strike after the expiration of its contract on Sept. 30. Negotiations for a new agreement began in May.
4. UNAC/UHCP members are seeking to address concerns about staffing, scheduling and retention through good-faith bargaining, according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
5. UFCW leaders said their members are striking over what they allege are labor violations that interfered with negotiations and prevented front-line healthcare workers from reaching a fair contract.
6. In a statement shared with Becker’s, Kaiser called the strike by UNAC/UHCP “unnecessary, disruptive for our members and patients, and counterproductive to reaching a contract agreement.” The health system said a growing number of union members are returning to work and that it is rescheduling nonurgent procedures postponed over the past week.
7. National negotiations are at a standstill. Kaiser said it is shifting unresolved issues to local bargaining tables and has scheduled talks with multiple UNAC/UHCP units.
8. Wages have been a key issue at the bargaining table. Kaiser said its proposal includes approximately a 30% pay increase over the contract term, including step increases, and positions it as the strongest national compensation offer in the system’s history. The union has challenged that framing, maintaining that staffing and workload issues remain unaddressed.
9. UNAC/UHCP said the core issue is not compensation, but longstanding staffing shortages and workload concerns it says have led to care delays.
10. Kaiser said hospitals, emergency departments and medical offices have remained open. Some pharmacies and labs are closed, and certain nonurgent procedures have been rescheduled or shifted to virtual care. The health system said many physicians, staff and contingency workers — including volunteers from other regions — are supporting local operations.
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