The union representing 31,000 nurses and health care professionals at 200 Kaiser Permanente medical facilities in California and Hawaii is headed toward a five-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, with tensions rising over a plan by the Oakland-based healthcare company to hire replacements.
Kaiser officials said the healthcare company is hiring up to 7,600 nurses, clinicians and other staff to replace union workers during the strike, the majority of whom have worked at Kaiser previously. More than 1,000 of Kaiser’s current workforce have volunteered to be reassigned to work in strike locations.
“We expect normal operations to resume afterward,” Kaiser spokesman Terry Kanakri said of the strike scheduled to end on Oct. 19. “For months, we’ve been preparing contingency plans to ensure members continue receiving safe, high-quality are if a strike occurs. During a strike, our hospitals and medical offices will remain open.”
In some cases, Kaiser is shifting appointments to virtual care via phone, video or e-chat programs and may need to reschedule certain appointments, elective surgeries and procedures, Kanakri said in a statement to the Southern California News Group.
“Our goal is to get to the bargaining table and resolve the issues because no one knows our patients or are equipped to treatment with high quality care and service, and that is our focus,” UNAC/UHCP Executive Director Joe Guzynski said Monday. “Whether you hire 7,600, or closer to the 31,000 that are striking, it’s about our members’ deep knowledge of our patients.”
Biggest strike ever
The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals said the daily pickets at 19 hospitals and clinics across the two-state region would be their largest ever strike against Kaiser.
Picket lines will be set up at 16 Kaiser medical facilities in Southern California, including Anaheim, Bakersfield, Baldwin Park, Downey, Fontana, Harbor City, Lancaster, Los Angeles, Ontario, Panorama City, Riverside, San Diego, San Marcos, West Los Angeles, Woodland Hills and two locations in San Diego.
Northern California picket lines are being set up at Kaiser medical facilities in Oakland, Roseville and Santa Clara.
By law, healthcare unions must give employers at least 10 days notice before a strike in order to ensure continuity of patient care and allow hospitals to prepare.
The union is seeking higher wages, better benefits and more hiring to fill staffing shortages, said Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP.
“At the heart of this negotiation is a dispute about wages.” said Kanakri. “Our 21.5% offer will increase payroll for this group by nearly $2 billion in total by 2029,” he said.
“To support this level of support, we’re reducing internal costs and optimizing operations. Anything beyond 21.5% will require us to further increase rates for our members and customers at a time when health care costs are increasingly unaffordable and many are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage.”
Earlier this month, Kaiser laid off hundreds of workers across California, further deepening tensions with its union.
Members of the Alliance of Health Care Unions includes 62,000 union members working at Kaiser nationwide. The contracts of 46,000 of these Kaiser workers expired Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, and nearly all of their local unions have given Kaiser 10-day strike notices.
The vast majority of union members work in California, where one in four residents receive care from Kaiser. The medical care provider employs about 180,000 people in California.
Since May, Kaiser has been negotiating with the Alliance of Health Care Unions on a new national agreement to replace the current agreement.
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