United Steelworkers Local 7600, Allies Plan Demonstration in Pasadena Over Contract Dispute with Kaiser Permanente

Members of the United Steelworkers Local 7600, which represents more than 7,000 medical workers at 72 Southern California Kaiser Permanente, are planning to host a demonstration in Pasadena Saturday following months of contentious contract negotiations, organizers said.

The “March for the Future of Health Care” is scheduled for noon at Memorial Park, 85 E. Holly Street, just down the road from a Kaiser Regional Offices facility, the USW said in a written statement.

Participants will march to Pasadena City Hall, where they will hear from speakers including AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and USW International Vice President Fred Redmond, who heads up bargaining for the USW’s health care sector, representatives said.

They will be joined by members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals and the United Food and Commercial Workers, according to the statement. “They, along with the USW and several other local unions, belong to the Alliance of Health Care Unions, who have been bargaining for a new contract with Kaiser Permanente management since this past spring.”

Members of the USW Local 7600, based in the Inland Empire, voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike, according to President Michael Barnett.

“Health care workers are facing record levels of burnout after 20 months of the COVID pandemic,” he said at the time. “We urge Kaiser Permanente management to come to the table and bargain a fair contract that addresses chronic understaffing and safety issues rather than forcing workers into a labor dispute by insisting on dangerous cost-cutting measures.”

Saturday’s planned demonstration “is a chance for workers across unions and fields to stand together and remind the industry that our solidarity cannot be broken,” Barnett said.

Kaiser Permanente released a statement by Arlene Peasnall, senior vice president of human resources.

“Kaiser Permanente is indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States. We have the longest-running and most successful labor management partnership in the nation,” Peasnall said. ” As the largest health care union employer in the U.S. — with nearly 75% of our employees working under collective bargaining agreements — we have always strived to work cooperatively and constructively with the unions that represent our employees.”

“Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions began national bargaining in April 2021. Although our national contract expired at the end of September, we have continued to meet with the Alliance and bargain in good faith,” Peasnall said.

Kaiser Permanente would receive a 10-day notice prior to further action regarding a potential strike, USW representatives said.

USW Local 7600’s membership includes roughly 7,400 Kaiser employees in positions including pharmacists, licensed vocational nurses, appointment clerks, medical assistants, phlebotomists, dietary aides and many others, according to the union.