CALIFORNIA, USA — A tentative deal has been reached between Kaiser Permanente and the unions Friday about a week after the largest health care strike in the U.S.
"The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente. We are thankful for the instrumental support of Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su." the union coalition wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Kaiser Permanente also confirmed the deal with a Facebook post. The ratification of the agreement will start on Oct. 18 and once ratified, the agreement will be effective as of Oct. 1, 2023.
"The new 4-year agreement will offer Coalition-represented employees competitive wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable job training opportunities that support their economic well-being, advance our shared mission, and keep Kaiser Permanente a best place to work and receive care," Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.
Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s largest insurers and health care system operators, with 39 hospitals nationwide. The non-profit company, based in Oakland, California, provides health coverage for nearly 13 million people, sending customers to clinics and hospitals it runs or contracts with to provide care.
The largest health strike lasted from 6 a.m. Oct. 4 through 6 a.m. Oct. 7 when more than 75,000 health care workers walked out of hospitals in California, Virginia, and three other states over wages and staffing shortages.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system's employees nationally, approved the strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Unions representing Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7% each year in the first two years and 6.25% each year in the two years afterward.
Kaiser, which turned a $2.1 billion profit for the quarter, said in an earlier statement that it proposes minimum hourly wages between $21 and $23 depending on the location. The company said it also completed hiring 10,000 more people, adding to the 51,000 workers the hospital system has brought on board since 2022.
Union members say understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits but hurting patients, and executives have been bargaining in bad faith during negotiations.
The workers’ last contract was negotiated in 2019, before the pandemic.
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