As Strike Date Nears, Kaiser Permanente Unions’s Contract Expires Without Agreement

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions announced that its labor groups and Kaiser Permanente, the largest nonprofit healthcare provider in the country, were not able to reach an agreement before their contract expired on Saturday night. 

The unions said that Kaiser bargained “in bad faith” over issues including across-the-board raises, protection against subcontracting and outsourcing.

Kaiser and its unions may be headed toward an agreement in areas like remote work and increased training, the unions said.

The negotiations are ongoing, but if an agreement is not reached, the strike will begin on Wednesday. This would be the largest healthcare strike in history, with more than 75,000 healthcare workers walking out across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The unions said hundreds of its leaders have received training on running a picket line.