Healthcare Workers at Kaiser Permanente Threaten Largest Health Care Strike in US History
(CNN) – Contract negotiations between Kaiser Permanente and thousands of unionized healthcare workers are set to expire this Saturday, potentially leading to the largest health care strike in U.S. history.
More than 75,000 healthcare employees across California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, and the City of Washington plan to strike from October 4th to 7th if a labor agreement is not reached. Although doctors, nurses, and hospital administration are not part of the strike, experts warn that patients at Kaiser Permanente, one of the country’s largest nonprofit health providers, could still feel the impact.
The coalition of eight unions representing these workers includes nursing assistants, x-ray technicians, pharmacists, and optometrists, among others, making up about 40% of Kaiser Permanente’s staff. Renee Saldana from the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare (SEIU-UHW) stated that their union is the largest in the coalition.
Kaiser Permanente spokesperson Hilary Costa acknowledged that progress had been made in negotiations but expressed disappointment in the threat of a strike. She urged workers to reject the call for strike action, emphasizing that they had plans in place to ensure high-quality care would continue in the event of a strike.
Kaiser Permanente operates under a membership-based system, where patients pay fees for healthcare services. Therefore, a short-term strike is unlikely to affect the organization’s revenue significantly. As per their website, Kaiser Permanente has 12.7 million members and operates 39 hospitals and 622 doctor offices.
If a strike were to occur in October without resolution, SEIU-UHW confirmed that the coalition is willing to stage a “longer and stronger” strike in November when another contract for unionized workers in Washington state expires. This move could potentially draw in more workers to join the protest.
The coalition’s demands include addressing the rising cost of living with wage increases, labor protections against outsourcing and contract workers, improved health benefits for retired employees, and a plan to address employee shortages and overwork. Saldaña of the SEIU-UHW noted that workers were currently feeling the squeeze after enduring the global health crisis and expressed concerns about housing instability.
Recent updates indicate that both sides are far from reaching an agreement. The coalition is calling for a general increase of 6.5% in the first two years of the employment contract, followed by a 5.75% increase in the subsequent two years. However, Kaiser Permanente has offered a maximum 4% raise for the first two years and a 3% raise for the next two years, according to the SEIU-UHW website.
Negotiations will continue up until the 11:59 p.m. PT deadline on Saturday, with both parties working to find common ground. However, Betsy Twitchell, a representative of Kaiser Permanente’s coalition of unions, emphasized that an agreement can only be reached if the management negotiates in good faith to find solutions to the staffing shortage crisis.
As the negotiations hang in the balance, the fate of thousands of healthcare workers and the patients they care for remains uncertain.