Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Kaiser Permanente Reaches a Tentative Deal With Health Care Worker Unions After a Recent Strike
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 10 months ago on
October 13, 2023

Share

OAKLAND — Unions representing 75,000 health care workers have reached a tentative agreement with industry giant Kaiser Permanente following a strike over wages and staffing levels, the parties announced Friday.

Details of the agreement were not immediately released, but both sides said a full announcement was forthcoming.

The three-day strike last week involving 75,000 workers in multiple states officially ended last Saturday and workers returned to their jobs in Kaiser’s hospitals and clinics that serve nearly 13 million Americans.

Kaiser workers in Fresno were among those participating in the strike.

“The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente as of this morning,” the coalition posted Friday morning. “We are thankful for the instrumental support of Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su.”

Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, confirmed the deal in a social media post.

Bargaining sessions had been scheduled for this week, the unions said.

The strike for three days in California — where most of Kaiser’s facilities are located — as well as in Colorado, Oregon and Washington was a last resort after Kaiser executives ignored the short-staffing crisis worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, union officials said. The coalition had given the company notice that another strike from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8 was possible and the Oct. 31 expiration of a contract covering the Seattle area would enable another 3,000 workers to join picket lines.

Their goal was to bring the problems to the public’s consciousness for support, according to the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. Some 180 workers from facilities in Virginia and Washington, D.C., also picketed but only on Wednesday.

The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in the radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy and emergency departments.

“No health care worker wants to go on strike,” Caroline Lucas, the coalition’s executive director, said Thursday. “I hope that the last few days have helped escalate this issue.”

The company warned the work stoppage could cause delays in people getting appointments and scheduling non-urgent procedures.

Unions representing Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7% each year in the first two years and 6.25% each year in the two years afterward.

Kaiser, which turned a $2.1 billion profit for the quarter, said in a statement last week that it proposed minimum hourly wages between $21 and $23 depending on the location. The company said it also completed hiring 10,000 more people, adding to the 51,000 workers the hospital system has brought on board since 2022.

Union members say understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits but hurting patients, and executives have been bargaining in bad faith during negotiations.

The workers’ last contract was negotiated in 2019, before the pandemic.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

UP NEXT

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

UP NEXT

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

UP NEXT

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Workers Remain Contractors Due to California Supreme Court Ruling

UP NEXT

PINC Donation Gives Big Boost to Fresno’s Neediest Kids

UP NEXT

Looking for a New Best Friend? Fresno Animal Center Waives Fees on 100 Puppies

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: A Widespread Rally on Wall Street Sends Stocks Rising, Both Big and Small

UP NEXT

Spicy Dispute Over the Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Winds up in Court

UP NEXT

Arson Suspect Named as Park Fire Near Chico Triples in Size

UP NEXT

Eye-Popping Construction Costs Intensify California’s Chronic Housing Shortage

UP NEXT

Reedley College’s Gagnon Passes On UCLA, Signs With the Dodgers

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

7 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

8 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

8 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

8 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

8 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

8 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

9 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

9 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

9 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

9 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

The arch of colorful balloons over the doorway of a storefront on Shaw Avenue in Clovis was a clue that something exciting was happening on ...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

6 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

6 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

7 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

8 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

8 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

8 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

8 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend