Over 40,000 Kaiser Permanente workers begin strike

After months of unsuccessful negotiations for a new contract, about 45,000 Kaiser Permanente employees are launching a five-day strike today.

About 45,000 workers across Kaiser Permanente are launching a five-day strike as they push for a new contract.

Union workers will be staging a walkout at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii. The walkout represents one of the largest healthcare strikes in recent years. The strike is slated to run until 7 a.m. Sunday.

The Alliance of Health Care Unions, which includes several labor groups, represents 62,000 workers, and 45,000 are participating in the strike.

Kaiser Permanente says its facilities will remain open during the walkout, but said it’s possible that some non-emergency surgeries and appointments could be postponed. Patients are being told to keep their appointments as scheduled, and providers will reach out to them if the appointments need to be postponed.

The unions represent registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, midwives, and a host of other workers.

‘Loss in real wages’

The Kaiser Permanente walkout is the largest strike in the U.S. this year in any industry, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Shawn Burley, communications director of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, says the scope of the strike merits recognition.

“This is actually the biggest strike of the year,” he tells Chief Healthcare Executive®. “I think people have sort of missed that. It is overwhelmingly larger than anything else this year.”

The workers are seeking a new, four-year contract, and the two sides remain apart on compensation.

The unions are seeking a 25% raise over the four-year pact, while Kaiser Permanente has offered a 21.5% raise.

Burley says that the unions’ proposal reflects the fact that workers are facing significant increases in the costs of living, while wages have fallen below the market. .

“What people are trying to do is get a little bit closer to make up for some of that historic loss that's happened. Because there's been a real loss in real wages,” Burley says.

If the unions settle for Kaiser’s proposal, Burley says, “We will not ultimately bring us back into a competitive space with the market, and we won't be able to solve the staffing issues. … People will end up leaving as they have been.”

The unions are looking to improve staffing, and Burley says Kaiser facilities are relying on contract staff, or “travelers.”

“So many departments are filled with travelers, you know, contract workers who get paid much more than the hourly rate of our workers, but aren't experienced in their hospital or their clinic,” he says. “And so we want to basically shrink that number to something that's more manageable and have more long-term, really experienced staff. And we just can't do that on the wages that we have.”

‘Strike is unnecessary’

Kaiser Permanente says that its offer comes on top of wages that are already surpassing other healthcare competitors. Employees represented by the unions are paid 16% more than peers, the system says.

The health system also notes that its proposal would increase payroll for the unions by nearly $2 billion in total by 2029.

“We’ve recognized our employees’ hard work and responded with a strong proposal that provides immediate benefits,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.

Kaiser Permanente also says that going above its current proposal would mean increases in rates for its members and customers, even as many are struggling to pay for their health care. Based in Oakland, California, Kaiser Permanente operates 40 hospitals and a health plan with more than 12 million members.

“We have a responsibility to do the right thing for our employees and our members and customers,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.

Kaiser Permanente says more than 900 bargaining sessions have taken place in efforts to reach a new contract. The system says it respects its workers but also criticized the unions for engaging in the walkout and argues that the strike “serves no one, least of all, our members and patients.”

“A strike is unnecessary when a generous offer is on the table. It is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients—the very people we are all here to serve,” the system said.

Another strike possible

Two years ago, Kaiser Permanente was involved in what may have been the largest U.S. healthcare strike on record, when more than 75,000 workers hit the picket lines.

Eventually, Kaiser Permanente and those unions brokered an agreement on a four-year contract with a 21% raise and concessions to improve staffing.

Kaiser Permanente management and the unions secured a deal shortly after the 2023 strike, and Burley hopes that the walkout will help lead to a new pact.

“I think it's showing them the strength that we have, that people are walking out,” Burley says.

Other unions have rallied to the support of the Kaiser Permanente workers, he says. And Burley says he’s optimistic of a deal after the strike. But he says unions could hit the picket lines again if there’s no progress toward an agreement.

“There could be another walkout,” Burley says. “The hope is that everyone comes back ready to make a deal.”