Thousands of Kaiser Permanente Nurses Returning to Work after Monthlong Strike

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Thousands of unionized nurses and health care
professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawaii will
return to work today, ending a roughly four-week strike carried out amid
prolonged contract talks.
  

Officials with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of
Health Care Professionals said in a statement Monday there has been
``significant movement at the bargaining table'' over the past 48 hours,
prompting them to call for an end to the strike as of 7 a.m. Tuesday.
  

The union also called off all picketing activity on Monday as the
union and Kaiser ``finalize return-to-work agreements.''
  

The nurses' strike began on Jan. 26. Union officials called it the
``largest open-ended strike of registered nurses and health care professionals
in United States history.''
  

There were no immediate details available about the how close the two
sides were to reaching a contract agreement, or what issues may have been
resolved.
  

Kaiser officials said in a statement that the union has accepted the
healthcare system's offer of 21.5% across-the-board wage increase, calling the
development ``good progress'' that ``moves us closer to a contract agreement.''
Kaiser officials said the union had been asking for increases of up to 63% over
four years.
  

``We made it clear when we presented this (21.5%) offer on Oct. 2,
2025, that this was the maximum we could offer and keep care affordable for our
members and patients,'' according to Kaiser. ``Importantly, the increase is
higher than any other health care provider in the country and keeps our
employees at above market pay and among the best paid caregivers in the
country.''
  

The roughly 31,000 members of the UNAC/UHCP had vowed to stay on
strike until a fair contract agreement was reached. UNAC/UHCP members include
registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners,
midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists,
dietitians and other specialty health care professionals.
  

``We're striking because Kaiser has committed serious unfair labor
practices and because Kaiser refuses to bargain in good faith over staffing
that protects patients, workload standards that stop moral injury and the
respect and dignity that Kaiser caregivers have been denied for far too long,''
registered nurse Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said previously.
  

Camille Applin-Jones, senior vice president at Kaiser Permanente
Southern California, previously described Kaiser's latest contract offer as
``one of the strongest nursing contract offers in California this year'' once
step increases and local adjustments are factored in.
  

``Despite the union's claims, this strike is about wages. This open-
ended strike by UNAC/UHCP is unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the
table. The strike is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients -- the very
people we are all here to serve,'' Applin-Jones said.
  

The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Kaiser with
the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company walked away from the
bargaining table in December and attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national
bargaining process. The union has been bargaining with Kaiser since last May.
  

Kaiser officials said Monday: ``Our bargaining with UNAC/UHCP and each
of the Alliance of Health Care Unions continues at local tables. We are
continuing to make progress and remain optimistic about reaching contract
agreements soon.''

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