Kaiser Permanente, Alliance of Health Care Unions Reach Tentative Agreement, Avoiding Strike

On Saturday, November 13, 2021, Pasadena-headquartered Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract, covering nearly 50,000 Kaiser Permanente health care employees in 22 local unions, and strengthening the Labor Management Partnership.

When ratified, the agreement will ensure will avoid a strike which had been scheduled for Monday.

The Alliance and Kaiser Permanente have agreed to form a national Affordability and Competitiveness Task Force with specific targets to find innovative ways to address issues of affordability while continuing to work together to protect high-quality patient care, according to a statement issued jointly by both sides.

“The Alliance of Health Care Unions fought to preserve a Kaiser Permanente where patients can count on excellent patient care and service. This has guided our work for 24 years. This agreement will mean patients will continue to receive the best care, and Alliance members will have the best jobs,” said Hal Ruddick, Executive Director, Alliance of Health Care Unions. “This contract protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member.”

 

“This landmark agreement positions Kaiser Permanente for a successful future focused on providing high-quality health care that is affordable and accessible for our more than 12 million members and the communities we serve. It also underscores our unwavering commitment to our employees by maintaining industry-leading wages and benefits,” said Christian Meisner, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Kaiser Permanente. “These were challenging negotiations, but this tentative agreement demonstrates the strength of our Labor Management Partnership and the unique success it can achieve when we work together.”

 

Details of the tentative agreement include:

 

•                    Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through 2025 in every region for all Alliance-represented employees.

 

•                    Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low co-pays for
prescriptions and office visits.

 

•                    Retirement benefits: The Agreement maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical.

 

•                    Bonus opportunities: Introduction of the Alliance Bonus Plan, which provides annual payouts for achieving new mutually-agreed to objectives
to address affordability.

 

•                    New safe staffing and workload language: Will ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care every time and in every
place.

 

•                    Opportunities for career growth: Alliance-represented employees will continue to have excellent career development and advancement
opportunities.