31,000 healthcare workers give notice of strike at Kaiser on Jan. 26

Nearly three months after 31,000 healthcare workers ended a five-day strike against Kaiser Permanente in the Western U.S. without a labor agreement, a second walkout is planned on Jan. 26 at medical facilities in California and Hawaii after negotiations stalled in December.

The United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals (UNSC / UHCP) said Thursday, Jan. 15, that it delivered a 10-day notice to strike against Kaiser facilities beginning Jan. 26. At issue in the negotiations with Kaiser are safe staffing issues, timely access to quality care, fair wages and “respect at the bargaining table,” according to a statement from the union.

By law, health care unions must give employers at least 10 days’ notice before a strike to ensure continuity of patient care and allow hospitals to prepare.

Kaiser spokesman Carol Soudah was not immediately available for comment on preparations the hospital chain is making for the strike.

Last October’s strike, the largest ever for Kaiser unions, began with the healthcare giant flying in thousands of replacement staff from around the country to fill critical patient care jobs. Pay for those temporary workers ranged from $78-$130 an hour based on the job requirements, according to interviews with healthcare professionals who say they were retained by AMN Healthcare Services Inc., a Dallas-based temporary strike staffing company.

Frontline registered nurses and health professionals will picket at nearly 20 hospitals and over 200 clinics — from Los Angeles and San Diego to Oakland and Honolulu. UNAC/UHCP represents 31,000 union health care professionals at Kaiser and is part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which bargains a national contract for 23 local unions covering dozens of hospitals and hundreds of clinics across the United States.

Union spokeswoman Meghan Murphy said picket locations include Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Anaheim, Baldwin Park, Downey, Fontana, Irvine, Los Angeles, Ontario, Riverside, South Bay in Harbor City, West Los Angeles and Woodland Hills.

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.

The vast majority of UNAC/UHCP union members work in California, where one in four residents receive care from Kaiser. UNAC/UHCP also represents workers in Hawaii, where Kaiser serves 272,000 health plan members.

Kaiser labor contracts expired Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, with several local unions giving 10-day strike notices in early October. Their action set in motion the five-day strike beginning Oct. 14, with thousands walking the picket lines daily at Kaiser’s medical facilities in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

The nurses and healthcare professionals on strike in October also included 4,000 workers represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals at Kaiser facilities in Oregon and Washington, and the United Pharmacists of Southern California, which led to the closure of some Kaiser pharmacies, according to Kaiser’s website.