75K Kaiser Workers Walk Off in Healthcare’s Largest Strike

More than 75,000 unionized workers of Kaiser Permanente launched a strike today, marking the largest strike of healthcare workers in US history.

The workers represented by a coalition of eight unions walked off the job Wednesday after expressing concerns about staffing shortages, clinician burnout, and inadequate compensation. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents over 85,000 healthcare workers, said it did not reach an agreement with the health system by 6:00 AM PDT covering nurses, medical technicians, and support staff.

Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s largest health systems with 39 hospitals nationwide. The health system also provides coverage through its insurance plans for nearly 13 million people.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions approved a three-day strike in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. A one-day strike was approved in Virginia and Washington DC.

The strike includes licensed vocational nurses, home health aides, ultrasound sonographers, and technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy, and emergency departments. Physicians are not participating in this strike. In Virginia and Washington DC, the strike includes optometrists and pharmacists.

Kaiser Permanente said its hospitals and emergency departments would remain open during the strike and would be staffed by “contingency workers.” The health system also told news sources on Wednesday that “management and coalition union representatives are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement.”

Strikes have been popping up across the nation and across industries this year as workers deal with a shaky economy and labor shortages post-pandemic. Healthcare, in particular, has experienced record-high levels of clinician burnout and persistent clinician shortages since the height of COVID-19.

The unions of Kaiser workers have been pressing for better wages of at least $25 per hour and more staff to support operations. They say the health system needs to hire 10,000 new healthcare workers to fill current vacancies.

Unionized workers argue that understaffing is cushioning Kaiser Permanente’s bottom line despite detriments to patient care. Executives have also engaged in bad faith negotiations, resulting in the strike, according to the unions.

Kaiser Permanente reported $2.1 billion in net income during the second quarter of this year on more than $25 billion in operating revenue. However, the health system, like most other hospital operators in the US, is still encountering challenges with inflation, labor shortages, and higher expenses.

The Associated Press recently reported that Kaiser executives have proposed minimum hourly wages of between $21 and 23 next year depending on the location.

Kaiser executive Michelle Gaskill-Hames told AP its practices, compensation, and retention are better than its competitors despite widespread challenges to profitability. The health system’s focus is to invest the money it is bringing in in value-based care, Gaskill-Hames said.

She added that Kaiser only faces 7 percent turnover versus the industry standard of 21 percent.

Kaiser and the unions last negotiated a contract in 2019, before the pandemic.