Kristen Hwang at Cal Matters reports more than 31,000 Kaiser Permanente Unionized Health Care Workers remained on Strike this week as the open-ended walkout entered its fourth week, disrupting patient appointments, surgeries and treatments across California and Hawaii. Bargaining teams for Kaiser and its Workers have resumed negotiations after weeks of stalemate, but no agreement appears imminent. This is the latest of a number of major Strikes to have roiled Kaiser in recent years, including a 10-week Strike by Mental Health Workers in 2022 and a 2023 dispute mediated by the then-U.S. Secretary of Labor. The Strike, which started on January 26th, is an effort by one of the organization’s largest Unions to improve wages and staffing conditions. Members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals have never before walked off the job. The Union, which is an umbrella organization for multiple local Chapters, represents Nurses, Physical Therapists, Midwives and other Health Professionals. Workers accuse Kaiser of violating staffing agreements and worsening patient care. They are demanding a 25% raise over four years, arguing the wage increase is needed to retain and recruit Employees and account for the steep inflationary pressures of the past few years.

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Photo Courtesy Of The United Nurses Associations Of California’s Facebook Page.