SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Alliance of Health Care Unions announced Saturday that a tentative agreement on a four-year contract has been reached with Kaiser Permanente.
"The Alliance of Health Care Unions fought to preserve a Kaiser Permanente where patients can count on excellent patient care and service. This has guided our work for 24 years. This agreement will mean patients will continue to receive the best care, and Alliance members will have the best jobs," said Hal Ruddick, Executive Director, Alliance of Health Care Unions. "This contract protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member."
According to a press release from Kaiser Permanente, here's what's part of the agreement:
- Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through 2025 in every region for all Alliance-represented employees
- Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low co-pays for prescriptions and office visits
- Retirement benefits: The Agreement maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical
- Bonus opportunities: Introduction of the Alliance Bonus Plan, which provides annual payouts for achieving new mutually agreed to objectives to address affordability
- New safe staffing and workload language: Will ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care every time and in every place
- Opportunities for career growth: Alliance-represented employees will continue to have excellent career development and advancement opportunities
“This landmark agreement positions Kaiser Permanente for a successful future focused on providing high-quality health care that is affordable and accessible for our more than 12 million members and the communities we serve. It also underscores our unwavering commitment to our employees by maintaining industry-leading wages and benefits,” said Christian Meisner, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Kaiser Permanente. “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.”
According to Kaiser, if ratified, the agreement will have an effective date of October 1, 2021.
According to the United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals, they represent about 1,300 members in Northern California. UNAC/UHCP said the agreement avoids a strike with its union, but other strikes may happen with other unions in the area.
Friday, ABC10 reported the Guild for Professional Pharmacists is planning a one-week strike starting on Monday, Nov. 15.
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