Kaiser Permanente union coalition warns of potential second strike

A coalition of unions representing more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees is threatening to go on strike again, after carrying out what the labor groups said was the largest strike of health care workers in U.S. history against the hospital network last week.

The union coalition announced late Monday it has put Kaiser on notice that a follow-up strike will occur from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8 if sufficient progress is not made in contract negotiations by the end of October, saying "outsourcing, in particular, has emerged as a major sticking point."

A spokesperson for the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said the strike could include an additional 3,000 health care workers, bringing the total to 78,000.

Last week's strike lasted from Wednesday through Friday, and impacted hundreds of Kaiser hospitals in several states, with picket lines in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The union coalition said if the second strike occurs, it would be "similar to the first," involving medical facilities in each of those states except Maryland.

The Kaiser employees represented by the union coalition remain without new contracts, which expired Sept. 30. 

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The health care workers' unions are calling for increased staffing levels at Kaiser Permanente hospitals, saying the facilities are in the midst of a "short-staffing crisis" that is unsafe and could lead to patients facing dangerously long wait times, mistaken diagnoses and neglect. The unions also accused the hospital conglomerate of committing unfair labor practices.

The coalition is asking for a 24.5% raise for members over the course of the four-year contract, protections against subcontracting and outsourcing, the right to organize a union at any hospital systems Kaiser might acquire, a boost to workers' performance sharing plan and increased medical benefits.

At the time the first strike launched, Kaiser was offering 16% and 12.5% wage increases for coalition employees over the life of the contract, depending on their location. 

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The employer also offered to redesign its performance sharing plan with minimum payout opportunities and the potential for a maximum payout of $3,750; updated its outsourcing offer in a way it says addressed many coalition concerns; and included additional employee development funding and improvements to retiree medical benefits.

Kaiser has said there is an acute shortage of health care workers nationwide, but despite that challenge, it has been able to hire more than 50,000 frontline workers in the last two years. The company said it reached a goal with the union alliance in April to hire 10,000 new people for coalition-represented jobs, and it expects to reach that target by the end of this month.

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In response to the coalition's warning of another strike, Kaiser said in a statement it "remains committed to reaching an agreement that is good for our employees, our members, and our organization, and we will continue to bargain in good faith with the Coalition."

Talks between the two sides are set to resume on Thursday.