Kaiser Permanente strike looms in San Francisco Bay Area
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Kaiser Permanente in Mission Bay in San Francisco. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
A group of 2,500 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente health care workers voted this week voted to authorize a strike amid ongoing concerns about short staffing and unfair labor practices.
Driving the news: The workers, part of OPEIU Local 29, are prepared to strike if the coalition of unions they belong to can't reach a contract agreement by the end of this month.
- The vote, which was announced Wednesday, comes amid a string of other votes by nearly 70,000 union members in Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Why it matters: Union leaders say this would be the largest strike of health care workers in U.S. history and would impact Kaiser medical facilities throughout the country.
What's happening: The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has criticized the health care giant for chronic understaffing that's led to long waits for appointments and delays in patient care services.
- Union leaders are fighting for higher annual pay raises, arguing their wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living and inflation.
- Arlene Peasnall, a Kaiser Permanente executive, told Axios via email that the company is offering "across-the-board wage increases" and is continuing to offer "excellent health benefits"and retirement plans.
What they're saying: "Over the last few years, the staffing crisis has made it so that our patients can't get the adequate care that they need, or there's a delay in getting them treatment just because there's not enough staff to handle them," Christie Dubeck, a Bay Area-based pharmacy technician, told Axios.
- Dubeck, who has worked at Kaiser for over three decades, said no one wants a strike to happen "but we need the organization to stand behind us and give us what we need to do the job appropriately."
State of play: Management proposed cumulative wage increases of between 10% and 14% over the multi-year contract, and a $21 minimum wage across Kaiser facilities.
- The coalition's proposal includes cumulative annual pay raises of around 26% in the four-year contract and a $25 per hour minimum wage.
- The unions see higher pay as part of the solution to the staffing crisis by helping with retention and hiring.
Context: The coalition says it represents more than 85,000 health care workers, roughly 40% of the overall Kaiser Permanente workforce.
- Kaiser Permanente has a number of locations in the Bay Area, including hospitals in San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, and San Mateo.
The other side: Kaiser leaders are "confident" they'll reach an agreement before the current contract expires, Peasnall said.
- The strike authorizations were a "disappointing action considering their progress at the bargaining table," they said.
- They urged employees not to strike, but said they have a plan to ensure patients' access to health care services if it happens this year.
What to watch: The contract expires Sept. 30 and the union must give Kaiser a 10-day notice to strike.