Strike notices from three different unions come after the workers rejected an updated contract proposal from the system. They have the support of partner Kaiser Permanente unions across the country, several of which are also planning or voting on additional demonstrations. (UNAC/UHCP)
Almost 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers plan to kick off an open-ended strike on Nov. 15, according to Thursday night announcements from the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7600 and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (OFNHP).
The three labor organizations say they have submitted 10-day notices to the health system and that the strike is set to impact 366 facilities in Southern California alone. The groups together comprise registered nurses, pharmacists, industrial workers and other healthcare workers.
The dispute is driven by a new round of contract negotiations, with the unions saying that Kaiser Permanente’s offers include insufficient pay increases that do not address short staffing issues that will harm the organization over the next few years.
UNAC/UHCP said that talks between the parties sputtered out again on Tuesday when Kaiser Permanente delivered an updated proposal the union described as “something of a trojan horse maneuver to push through its two-tier wage proposal, poorly camouflaged by sub-par wage increases and bonuses.”
According to the union, the updated offer bumped a 1% wage proposal for current employees to 2%, a 2% lump sum for the first two years of the contract and then an additional lump sum that would come at the cost of a 15% cut to future members’ wages and benefits.
“For weeks, we’ve been beating back a two-tier wage package which would impact our ability to hire, recruit and retain during a severe shortage of nurses, health care workers and professionals—wage proposals that resemble those of a slash-and-burn corporation, not the leading health care provider that our members helped build,” UNAC/UHCP President Denise Duncan said in a statement.
“For health care providers, a strike is always a….
Read full story [icon name=”arrow-right” prefix=”fas”] Source: Nearly 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers set to strike Nov. 15. Tens of thousands more mulling their own demonstrations | FierceHealthcare
Our First Amendment rights are the pillars of our society. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential.
As Americans, we each hold a tremendous responsibility to stand up for these rights. Help us spread truth and tradition by sharing The Epoch Times with your friends. Subscribe to The Epoch Times today!