More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers approve new contract. This is what they'll get.
More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente employees have ratified a four-year contract that will deliver pay raises and higher minimum wages to healthcare workers across hundreds of facilities in seven states and Washington, D.C.
Kaiser unions announced Thursday that more than 98% of workers approved a contract that will run through September 2027 for employees at Kaiser facilities in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Last month, workers walked off the job in a three-day strike to protest staffing levels, wages and other grievances. The strike drew the attention of U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su who traveled to California to participate in an all-night bargaining session that led to the new deal.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and Kaiser Permanente said the pact will increase wages 21% over four years for existing workers and establish a minimum hourly wage of $25 for California workers and $23 for employees elsewhere in the nation.
Contract safeguards jobs, calls for more hiring
The unions said the deal also includes language that protects workers from their jobs being outsourced. The deal also calls for hiring new workers and provides training and skill development for existing workers.
The deal creates a joint staffing process for employees and managers to work together on proper staffing levels and a one-year accelerated hiring process that "decreases internal delays to external hiring and invests in internal talent to meet staffing needs," the unions said.
“This new contract is not only a victory for Kaiser’s patients and employees, but for all frontline healthcare workers and those who rely on them in our moments of need," Caroline Lucas, Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, said in a statement.
Described by the unions as the largest healthcare workers strike in the nation's history, the Kaiser workers' action disrupted routine operations and Kaiser warned some non-emergency and elective services would be rescheduled. Kaiser brought in contract workers to fill shifts to compensate for a wide variety of workers to fill shifts.
Striking employees included vocational nurses and certified nursing assistants, technicians who assist with X-rays and other imaging to diagnose disease, optometrists, surgery and pharmacy technicians, respiratory therapists, medical and dental assistants, behavioral health workers, dietary workers, call center and teleservice workers, housekeepers and others.
Healthcare workers at more than one dozen hospitals and health facilities have initiated strikes this year over frustrations about staffing, lower-than-desired pay and strained working conditions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaiser, which is headquartered in Oakland, California, combines health insurance coverage and health care services for nearly 13 million people.
Ken Alltucker is on X, formerly Twitter, at @kalltucker, or can be emailed at alltuck@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kaiser Permanente unions ratify labor pact with 4-year contract
