Massive Kaiser Strike To Affect 366 Hospitals In SoCal

LOS ANGELES, CA — Thousands of registered nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers of Kaiser Permanente plan to walk off the job on Nov. 15, which will affect hundreds of hospitals and medical centers across the Southland, officials said.

Employees delivered a 10-day strike notice to the health care conglomerate Thursday. It could be the largest work stoppage in the nation, affecting 366 hospitals and medical facilities, according to a release from the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.

Some 21,000 Kaiser employees are expected to halt work on that day in California, according to the union.

Health care workers are rallying against a proposed two-tier wage system and dire staffing shortages spurred by the pandemic. Last month, nearly one-third of all Golden State hospitals reported critical staffing shortages, CalMatters reported.

Kaiser, one of the country's largest health care providers, proposed a two-tiered wage and benefits system that would give newer employees lower pay and fewer health protections.

Unions want Kaiser to nix that plan and have asked for 4 percent raises for each of the next three years and a commitment to hire more nurses to relieve staffing shortages. The company offered 1 percent a year, with additional lump sums, and says it must reduce labor costs to remain competitive.

Wage-related negotiations between employer unions and Kaiser Permanente have been ongoing for weeks.

The union's president Denise Duncan, a registered nurse, said the two-tier wage package would hamper the ability to "hire, recruit and retain during a severe shortage of nurses, health care workers and professionals."

She added that the industry giant had proposed wages that "resemble those of a slash-and-burn corporation, not the leading health care provider that our members helped build."

Those claims were rebutted by Arlene Peasnall, senior Vice President of Human Resources at Kaiser Permanente, KTLA reported.

"The challenge we are trying to address in partnership with our unions is the increasingly unaffordable cost of health care. And the fact is, wages and benefits account for half of Kaiser Permanente’s operational costs," Peasnall said, according to the station.

The strike will affect medical facilities all over the Southland in Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

"For health care providers, a strike is always a last resort, but it’s clear from the employer’s latest proposals that this is the path they’ve chosen," Duncan said.

The last time UNAC/UHCP struck against the company was in 1980. In 1995, union members authorized a strike but was able to settle a contract before the stoppage occurred, the union said.

“We ask that our employees reject a call to walk away from the patients who need them. Our priority is to continue to provide our members with high-quality, safe care. In the event of any kind of work stoppage, our facilities will be staffed by our physicians along with trained and experienced managers and contingency staff,” Kaiser Permanente responded after the strike was authorized by the union.

In Northern California, the company received a 10-day notice from the Guild for Professional Pharmacists amid a contract dispute that will trigger a strike beginning mid-month and likely ending Nov. 22.

The work stoppage will likely impact operations at all outpatient pharmacies in the region, Kaiser Permanente said in a statement. Californians who rely on Kaiser's pharmacies were urged to fill their prescriptions ahead of the Nov. 15 walk off.

Company officials said they "hope to reach an agreement with the Guild prior to November 15," as they are still negotiating contracts with the guild.

Kaiser's hospitals will remain open, officials said.

"We encourage you to avoid refill delays by using our free mail order delivery service," the company said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.