Kaiser Permanente and union leaders reach agreement to avoid strike starting set to Monday
Kaiser Permanente and the group of unions that represent many of its workers reached a deal Saturday morning that will allow it to avoid a strike that was scheduled to begin Monday at locations in Oregon and throughout the West Coast.
About 3,400 workers including nurses, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants and lab professionals in Oregon along with an estimated 50,000 workers in five western states were to begin striking Monday after workers voted to authorize a strike in October.
After spending 20 months dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the workers demands included higher pay and better staffing. The company offered a tiered system in which new workers made less than their co-workers.
The California-based company has four locations in Salem and Keizer, including facilities on Lancaster Avenue, Skyline Road, in West Salem and at Keizer Station.
It has two hospitals and 36 medical offices between Eugene and Longview, Washington.
In a joint statement Saturday morning, the union and health care provider said they reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that covered the workers represented by 22 unions.
Workers will vote on the agreement in the coming weeks and if ratified, the agreement will have an effective date of Oct. 1.
“This contract protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member,” Alliance of Health Care Unions executive director Hal Ruddick said in a statement.
“These were challenging negotiations, but this tentative agreement demonstrates the strength of our Labor Management Partnership and the unique success it can achieve when we work together,” Kaiser Permanente senior vice president and chief human resources officer Christian Meisner said.
Among the terms of the tentative deal are:
Guaranteed wage increases each year through 2025 for all union employees.
No reductions in health benefits and co-pays remaining the same.
Maintaining retirement benefits and company subsidized medical benefits.
Additional bonus opportunities.
Language to ensure safe staffing and workload levels.
Career development and advancement opportunities.
After the deal was reached, the union canceled its strike notification.
Various Kaiser unions had announced plans to hold sympathy strikes with the union over the next week.
Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@statesmanjournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler
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This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Kaiser Permanente and union leaders reach agreement to avoid strike
