Antioch councilman, retired police lieutenant, only union member in the race adds United Steelworkers Local 326 to list

Antioch, CA – On Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, Mike Barbanica, candidate for Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors District 5, announced the endorsement of United Steelworkers Local 326. Barbanica comes from a long line of union workers, including his father and father-in-law who were Teamsters and his grandfather, uncles, and cousins who were members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Barbanica joined the Retail Clerks union (now known as United Food and Commercial Workers) at just 16 years old, and he is currently a member of the Teamsters.

United Steelworkers Local 326 is a local branch of America’s largest industrial union, with 1.2 million members and retirees. They are responsible for negotiating labor contracts, advocating for workers’ rights, and providing services and support to members such as grievance resolution and organizing.

“We are proud to endorse Teamster and Councilman Mike Barbanica for Contra Costa County Supervisor,” said Tyson Bagley, President of United Steelworkers Local 326. “As the son and grandson of union workers and a union member himself, we know that Mike has the right values and right experience to keep delivering for Contra Costa workers and their families. We trust that at the county level, he will prioritize growing good-paying union jobs and always fight to protect our workers and their rights.”

“I am honored to have earned the trust and endorsement of the United Steelworkers Local 326,” Barbanica said. “Growing up in a union family, and as a proud union member myself, I have always supported unions because I have seen firsthand how they improve lives and help working people reach their dreams. On the Board of Supervisors, I will continue to put working families first and that means fighting for greater health care access, more affordable housing, and keeping our community safe and secure.”

Barbanica is running for Contra Costa County Supervisorial District 5, which spans the north shore of Contra Costa County, including the cities of Hercules, Martinez, Pittsburg and portions of Antioch and the unincorporated communities of Alhambra Valley, Bay Point, Briones, Rodeo, Pacheco, Crockett, Tormey, Port Costa, Mt. View, Vine Hill, Reliez Valley, and Clyde.

Barbanica is a 21 year veteran of the Pittsburg Police Department, where he retired in 2007 as a police lieutenant and earned the Bronze Medal of Valor Award for his service. Barbanica and his team were credited by the police chief with bringing about a 20% decrease in crime. Barbanica and his wife Kristine are the owners of Blue Line Property Group where they help local families access affordable housing. In 2020, Barbanica, a Democrat, was elected to the Antioch City Council and currently represents District 2.

For more information on Mike Barbanica for Contra Costa County Supervisor, please visit www.mikebarbanica.com.

About Mike Barbanica

Democrat Mike Barbanica is a veteran of the Pittsburg Police Department, where he served 21 years and retired in 2007 as a police lieutenant. On the force, Mike ran a street level narcotic and crime unit that was credited with reducing crime by 23% in Pittsburg.

In 2020, Mike was elected to represent District 2 on the Antioch City Council where he’s been cracking down on dilapidated properties, improving public safety, and getting small businesses the funds they need to succeed.

Mike and his wife Kristine are the owners of Blue Line Property Group, where they help local families access affordable housing. Mike has received numerous awards for his teaching and coaching of others, including the California and Hawaii Region “Outstanding Brokerage of the Year” and the region’s “Broker of the Year.” He also authored an international bestselling book.

With over 20 years of experience protecting our community as a police officer and now an elected Councilmember with a thriving small business, Mike is running for Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to ensure Contra Costa County is a place where every family has equal opportunity to thrive and to use his experience to tackle the housing crisis, ensure we get serious about public safety, and build a stronger community for all who call Contra Costa County home.

Mike is also active in his community. He is a member of the Elk’s Club, the local Knights of Columbus, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, the National Association of Realtors, the Pittsburg Italian American Club, and other service organizations.

Mike and his wife Kristine raised their three children in the Antioch community and are grandparents to four grandchildren.

Will also allow for light manufacturing

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, following public comments mostly by local union workers in support of the warehouse projects on E. 18th Street, the Antioch Council had a few questions and comments. The project is owned by the San Francisco-based DECA Companies.

“I didn’t want large truck traffic going westbound into the city,” District 3 Councilman Mike Barbanica said. (See related article)

“The conditions of approval require signage to direct trucks to go east to 160,” said the project developer’s representative.

“Are these regulatory signs or suggestion signs?” Barbanica asked.

Where the signs go, what the verbiage will be and the regulatory aspect will be determined in discussions with city staff, the project representative shared.

District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson’s only concern was regarding the landscaping, that it be drought tolerant.

“Everything post-colonialism is evasive in this country. A little-known fact, Goldilocks broke into a house, ate all they food, destroyed they property and refused to leave. Just wanted to point that out. I think it is important, as we look to the future to work locally. It’s important to a person’s quality of life,” said Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said.

In response to comments by members of the public about being able to work locally instead of traveling to job sites on Highway 4 she said, “It’s probably one of the worst freeways in the East Bay according to my experience. Capitalism demands that people be poor so that other people could be rich. We can make sure that industry comes to the city to make those jobs a reality.”

District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock said, “I like these sites because of the local hire.”

Referring to the union workers who spoke in favor of the project, tonight she said, “it gives them back their quality of life by being at home.”

“Did we resolve the native plant thing?” Mayor Lamar Thorpe asked.

“We made a commitment we would improve our native plant species,” the developer’s spokesman said.

All five motions on the E. 18th Street East Warehouse Project passed on 5-0 votes.

The council also approved all five motions for the West Warehouse Project on 5-0 votes.

More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanent healthcare workers win landmark new contract

On heels of historic strike, on-the-ground engagement from Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su helped bring sides to agreement 

Frontline healthcare workers secure deal for critical workforce investments that bolster patient care 

The 4-year tentative agreement increases wages, expands job training, and improves performance sharing plan; now goes to employees for ratification

From Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions:

LOS ANGELES – More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers reached a historic tentative agreement today for a new contract that will bolster patient safety and make critical investments in the healthcare workforce at hundreds of Kaiser facilities across California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The deal was reached on the heels of Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su traveling back to her home state of California to engage in the most recent talks. Su arrived Thursday evening to successfully help the sides bridge the gap on key lingering issues.

“We’re incredibly grateful to acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su and the Biden administration for supporting workers’ right to collective bargaining. Acting Secretary Su was instrumental in advancing talks and helping to facilitate a successful conclusion to these negotiations,” said Sarah Levesque, Secretary-Treasurer of OPEIU Local 2.

“What the parties have achieved here in Oakland demonstrates, once again, that collective bargaining works. When workers have a voice and a seat at the table, it can result in historic gains for workers, their employer, and our country,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. “The President and I congratulate the parties on reaching a mutually beneficial deal that delivers important stability for this critical workforce, for Kaiser Permanente, and for the patients in their collective care.”

The landmark deal follows months of tireless advocacy from thousands of frontline healthcare workers.

“This deal is life-changing for frontline healthcare workers like me, and life-saving for our patients,” said Yvonne Esquivel, a pediatric medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Gilroy, California. “Thousands of Kaiser healthcare workers fought hard for this new agreement, and now we will finally have the resources we need to do the job we love and keep our patients safe.”

Details of the tentative agreement include:

• Addressing the staffing crisis by raising wages by 21% over four years to better retain current healthcare workers
• Establishing a new healthcare worker minimum wage – $25/hr in California and $23/hr in other states where Kaiser Permanente operates 
• Protective terms around subcontracting and outsourcing, which will keep experienced healthcare workers in jobs and provide strong continuity of care for patients
• A wide variety of initiatives to invest in the workforce and address the staffing crisis, including streamlining hiring practices, increased training and education funding, mass hiring events, and a commitment to upskill existing workers and invest in the training of future healthcare workers. 

“Millions of Americans are safer today because tens of thousands of dedicated healthcare workers fought for and won the critical resources they need and that patients need,” said Caroline Lucas, Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. “This historic agreement will set a higher standard for the healthcare industry nationwide.”

In California, the tentative deal has set a new potential bar for negotiations already underway at Prime Healthcare and other area health systems. Nearly 2,000 Prime workers are concluding a five day unfair labor practice strike today as their management threatens and intimidates workers, and refuses to bargain in good faith to fix unsafe working and patient care conditions caused by the short-staffing crisis.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions represents 85,000 Kaiser healthcare workers in seven states and the District of Columbia. In April, the Coalition began its national bargaining process ahead of the September 30th contract expiration. The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente had last negotiated a contract in 2019, before healthcare workers found themselves on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic that has worsened working conditions and exacerbated a healthcare staffing crisis.

From Wednesday, October 4 to Saturday, October 7, 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers held an unfair labor practice strike. The actions, led by workers across multiple states and in Washington, D.C., constituted the largest strike of healthcare workers in U.S. history. On October 9, Coalition unions issued a second 10-day notice for a strike that would have commenced on November 1 and included an additional 3,000 healthcare workers in Seattle. 

Frontline healthcare workers in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are expected to begin voting to ratify the agreement starting October 18. 

Kaiser Also Announces Agreement

OAKLAND, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are pleased to jointly announce that in the early hours of October 13, 2023, we reached a tentative agreement for a renewed National Agreement, bringing the nearly seven months of contract negotiations to conclusion. 

The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente wish to thank Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su for her instrumental involvement in bringing negotiations to a close.

The tentative agreement now goes to the more than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente employees who are represented by Coalition unions for ratification. The ratification process will begin October 18. Once ratified, the agreement will have an effective date of October 1, 2023.

The new 4-year agreement will offer Coalition-represented employees competitive wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable job training opportunities that support their economic well-being, advance our shared mission, and keep Kaiser Permanente a best place to work and receive care.

The tentative agreement:

• Establishes new minimum wages over three years for Coalition-represented employees, that will reach $25/hour in California and $23/hour in other states where Kaiser Permanente operates
• Provides guaranteed across-the-board wage increases totaling 21% over four years
• Enhances employees’ Performance Sharing Plan with minimum payout opportunities and a substantial maximum payout opportunity
• Increases investments in professional development and job training, and includes other initiatives to help address the staffing crisis in health care

 Further details of the agreement will be made available later. 

The Coalition unions have withdrawn their notices for a November strike. 

About the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions unites more than 85,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.7 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information visit about.kp.org.

Could occur Nov. 1 – 8

Kaiser Permanente “will continue to bargain in good faith with the Coalition”

By Allen D. Payton

Ahead of continued negotiations scheduled for Thursday and Friday the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions issued the following press release on Tuesday, October 10, 2023:

As an acute and dire staffing crisis continues at hundreds of their facilities, Kaiser executives have been served official notice that another significant work action by their employees could be possible from November 1 to November 8, 2023. Those employees remain concerned about unsafe staffing levels, the company’s labor law violations, securing adequate wages to stay on the job and attract new workers, and the company’s outsourcing threats against workers just recently hailed as heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outsourcing, in particular, has emerged as a major sticking point in negotiations, as Kaiser executives have refused to agree to common sense limitations on subcontracting and outsourcing, which keep experienced healthcare workers in jobs and provide strong continuity of care for patients.

“It’s simple: Kaiser executives need to be investing in healthcare workers right now amidst this short staffing crisis, not discarding them through a variety of expensive outsourcing schemes,” said Tamara Chew, a Healthcare Plan Representative, Kaiser Permanente, Roseville. “I can’t understand why anyone in the Kaiser boardroom thinks corporate outsourcing threats are the way to treat a workforce that just a short time ago were being hailed as heroes.”

Frontline healthcare workers say they will wait until November 1 for any potential further strike action, when an additional contract covering workers in Seattle expires, and to give Kaiser executives more time to organize themselves around viable proposals. The Seattle contract’s expiration on October 31, 2023 at midnight would enable another 3,000 healthcare workers also impacted by the Kaiser short staffing crisis to join strike lines in another major west coast metropolitan area. Workers in southern Washington state were part of the initial wave of action, and now those actions could be taking place at Seattle facilities, representing a significant potential expansion of the labor actions at Kaiser. Seattle is one of Kaiser’s newer emerging markets and an area that has been targeted by the company for future corporate growth.

If healthcare workers strike again on November 1, the strike will begin at 6 AM local times and continue until November 8, 6 AM local times.

Healthcare workers have made clear they hope not to strike again and that while taking the legal steps necessary to prepare for that possibility, they are primarily focused on encouraging Kaiser executives to follow the law and to listen to the needs of patients and healthcare workers who are buckling under the current short staffing crisis within Kaiser facilities. Bargaining resumes on October 12 and October 13.

“For months, Kaiser executives failed to listen to the feedback from frontline healthcare workers about the need for executives to follow the law in negotiations and about the impacts that the Kaiser short staffing is having on patients,” said Caroline Lucas, Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. “This week, Kaiser executives will have another opportunity to listen to frontline staff, to follow the law in formal discussions, and to begin investing in ways that will solve the Kaiser short staffing crisis.” 

The Kaiser workers are united within the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, a coalition of eleven unions that spans Washington, D.C. to the U.S. West Coast. 

That coalition expects to hold a media briefing following the conclusion of this Friday’s negotiation sessions, unless those sessions continue further into the weekend, at which time an alternate briefing time may be announced. 

Similar to the first strike, a potential second strike would involve workers from Kaiser facilities in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 

It would include frontline healthcare workers employed as registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, emergency department technicians, radiology technicians, ultrasound sonographers, teleservice representatives, respiratory therapists, x-ray technicians, optometrists, certified nursing assistants, dietary services, behavioral health workers, surgical technicians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, transporters, home health aides, phlebotomists, medical assistants, dental assistants, call center representatives, and housekeepers, among hundreds of other positions.

Background:

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions represents 85,000 Kaiser healthcare workers in seven states and the District of Columbia. In April, the Coalition began its national bargaining process ahead of the September 30th contract expiration. On September 22nd, Coalition unions representing 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers gave Kaiser executives 10-day notices for an unfair labor practice strike beginning Oct. 4. Last week’s actions led by workers across multiple states and in Washington, D.C. constituted the largest strike of healthcare workers in U.S. history, running from Wednesday, October 4 – Saturday, October 7, as frontline healthcare workers from hundreds of Kaiser facilities took to picket lines decrying the company’s unfair labor practices and chronic short staffing practices. On October 9, Coalition unions issued a second 10-day notice for a strike that may commence on November 1. The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente last negotiated a contract in 2019, before healthcare workers found themselves on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic that has worsened working conditions and exacerbated a healthcare staffing crisis.

At issue, healthcare workers say, are a series of unfair labor practices related to bargaining in bad faith, along with simmering staff concerns related to unsafe staffing levels that can lead to dangerously long wait times, mistaken diagnosis, and neglect. Outsourcing threats by Kaiser executives have also emerged as a sticking point in negotiations. After years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, Kaiser healthcare workers are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Workers say that Kaiser is committing unfair labor practices and also that understaffing is boosting Kaiser’s profits but hurting patients. In a recent survey of 33,000 employees, 2/3 of workers said they’d seen care delayed or denied due to short staffing. After three years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Kaiser has reported ​​$3 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year. Despite being a non-profit organization – which means it pays no income taxes on its earnings and extremely limited property taxes – Kaiser has reported more than $24 billion in profit over the last five years. Kaiser’s CEO was compensated more than $16 million in 2021, and forty-nine executives at Kaiser are compensated more than $1 million annually. Kaiser Permanente has investments of $113 billion in the US and abroad, including in fossil fuels, casinos, for-profit prisons, alcohol companies, military weapons and more.

—————-

Kaiser Responds

In response, Kaiser Permanente issued the following statement: “We have received notice from the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for a potential second strike, beginning November 1 to November 8. We are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on October 12 and Kaiser Permanente remains committed to reaching an agreement that is good for our employees, our members, and our organization, and we will continue to bargain in good faith with the Coalition.”  

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions unites more than 85,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.

Largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history spans hundreds of hospitals and facilities across the nation including Antioch

Outsourcing and under-staffing emerge as key sticking points

Bargaining scheduled to continue Oct. 12

On Friday morning, October, 6, 2023, SEIU-United Health Workers union issued the following announcement:

More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in multiple states are continuing their historic three-day strike to protest unfair labor practices and Kaiser executives’ failure to bargain in good faith over unsafe staffing levels and outsourcing protections at hundreds of Kaiser hospitals and facilities across the United States. 

In Contra Costa County, the strike includes workers at Kaiser facilities in Antioch, Richmond and Walnut Creek. During the strike at Antioch Kaiser, today – part of a nationwide action – Antioch resident Angela Glasper, who has been a Kaiser employee for 35 years working as an optical services clerk, said, “We’re not backing down.”

The strike at Kaiser facilities expanded from coast to coast this week, following months of bad faith bargaining activity by Kaiser executives and repeated appeals by frontline workers for Kaiser executives to make the kinds of investments in staffing that could help stem employee turnover and reduce growing patient wait times. 

The strike began in DC and VA at 6AM ET on Wednesday morning at 6AM EST, expanded to CO at 6AM MT, then culminated with tens of thousands of workers striking in CA, OR, and WA at 6AM PT. It is already the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history. The current strike is expected to conclude on Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 6:00 A.M. It is possible that the coalition will issue a 10-day strike notice after Saturday, which could lead to further striking by Kaiser employees after those ten days if Kaiser executives continue to commit unfair labor practices and bargain in bad faith. 

Additional bargaining sessions were scheduled by the parties this morning for the dates of Thursday, October 12 and Friday, October 13, 2023.

Kaiser Permanente confirmed that in the following statement issued Friday morning, Oct. 6: “The next bargaining session has been scheduled to begin on October 12. We look forward to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages and benefits, and ensures our high-quality care is affordable and available to meet our members’ needs.”

Outsourcing of critical healthcare duties has become a key sticking point in negotiations in recent days, as Kaiser executives have refused to put limitations on subcontracting and outsourcing, which keep experienced healthcare workers in jobs and provide strong continuity of care for patients.

“Now more than ever Kaiser Permanente needs to retain and attract qualified healthcare professionals. Outsourcing and subcontracting would have the opposite effect,” said Kathleen Coleman, Medical Assistant Message Management, Arapahoe Primary Care in Colorado.

“Frontline healthcare workers continue to await meaningful action by Kaiser executives to address our key priorities, including safe staffing, outsourcing protections for incumbent healthcare workers, and fair wages to reduce turnover,” said Gwendolyn Holloway, a Contact Lens Technician at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center.

Workers on strike include those employed as licensed vocational nurses, emergency department technicians, radiology technicians, ultrasound sonographers, teleservice representatives, respiratory therapists, x-ray technicians, optometrists, certified nursing assistants, dietary services, behavioral health workers, surgical technicians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, transporters, home health aides, phlebotomists, medical assistants, dental assistants, call center representatives, and housekeepers, among hundreds of other positions.

WHAT: 75,000 healthcare workers are on strike at Kaiser Permanente hospitals across the U.S. 

WHEN: Today, Friday, October 6th, 2023 @ 6AM – Afternoon times TBD  

WHERE: Hundreds of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and facilities in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

ANTIOCH: Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center, 4501 Sand Creek Road, Antioch

RICHMOND: Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center, 901 Nevin Avenue, Richmond

WALNUT CREEK: Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center, 1425 S Main Street, Walnut Creek

BACKGROUND

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions represents 85,000 Kaiser healthcare workers in seven states and the District of Columbia. In April, the Coalition began its national bargaining process ahead of the September 30th contract expiration. On Sept. 22, Coalition unions representing 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers gave Kaiser executives 10-day notices for an unfair labor practice strike beginning Oct. 4. The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente last negotiated a contract in 2019, before healthcare workers found themselves on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic that has worsened working conditions and exacerbated a healthcare staffing crisis.

At issue, healthcare workers say, are a series of unfair labor practices related to bargaining in bad faith, along with simmering staff concerns related to unsafe staffing levels that can lead to dangerously long wait times, mistaken diagnosis, and neglect. After years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, Kaiser healthcare workers are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Workers say that Kaiser is committing unfair labor practices and also that understaffing is boosting Kaiser’s profits but hurting patients. In a recent survey of 33,000 employees, 2/3 of workers said they’d seen care delayed or denied due to short staffing. After three years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Kaiser has reported ​​$3 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year. Despite being a non-profit organization – which means it pays no income taxes on its earnings and extremely limited property taxes – Kaiser has reported more than $24 billion in profit over the last five years. Kaiser’s CEO was compensated more than $16 million in 2021, and forty-nine executives at Kaiser are compensated more than $1 million annually. Kaiser Permanente has investments of $113 billion in the US and abroad, including in fossil fuels, casinos, for-profit prisons, alcohol companies, military weapons and more.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions unites more than 85,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

SEE 10/4/23 3:30 PM UPDATE: While bargaining ended without a contract settlement 5 tentative agreements reached

“Operations continue as normal”

Kaiser Permanente Statement on National Bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions

Kaiser Permanente and leaders and members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions were bargaining through the weekend to reach an agreement.

We continue to make progress on key issues such as a redesigned performance sharing plan with updated payout opportunities. Last week we reached tentative agreements in four key areas:, travel for continuing education, the use of temporary workers such as traveling nurses, tracking of staffing vacancies, and dispute resolution.

It is important to know that while the current national agreement expired at midnight PDT on September 30, operations continue as normal, and we will continue to honor all current contract provisions. Contract expirations do not mean a strike will happen. We remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement and avoid an unnecessary strike, which the Coalition unions have called for starting on Wednesday morning, Oct 4.

Wages

We lead total compensation in every market where we operate, and our proposals in bargaining would ensure we keep that position. In some places, a Kaiser Permanente employee leaving for a similar job at another organization would face a 20-plus percent pay cut, and lower benefits.

Included in our current offer are guaranteed across-the-board wage increases and a proposed $21 minimum wage in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, the Mid-Atlantic States (Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia), and Hawaii starting in 2024; and a $23 minimum wage starting in 2024 in California.

Hiring and Staffing

Despite the acute shortage of health care workers nationally, we have been able to hire more than 50,000 frontline employees in the last two years: 29,000 people in 2022, and another 22,000 so far this year. Included in this year’s new hires are more than 9,800 people hired into jobs represented by the Coalition. Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition agreed in April to a goal of hiring 10,000 new people for Coalition-represented jobs by the end of 2023. We expect to reach the 10,000 new hire goal by the end of October, if not sooner, and we won’t stop there. We are committed to addressing every area of staffing that is still challenging. Additionally, our attrition rate of 7% is roughly a third of the industry average and continues to fall. These achievements underscore the value of a Kaiser Permanente job and reinforce our position as a leading health care employer.

Potential Strike Starting Wednesday

In the case that a strike does begin on Oct. 4, we have contingency plans in place to ensure members continue to receive safe, high-quality care for the duration of the strike. Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Kaiser Permanente members can get updates on appointments, pharmacy guidance and where to get care on kp.org.

We’ll continue to bargain in good faith until we reach a fair and equitable agreement to ensure Kaiser Permanente continues to attract and retain the best people in health care — and remains a best place to work and get care. And that includes meeting our responsibility to continue to balance taking care of our employees and being more affordable to our members.

October 4, 2023 3:30pm UPDATE:

After 6 months of bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, including a marathon effort that went through last night and into today, our bargaining sessions unfortunately ended without a settlement, and the Coalition strikes began.

While we have not reached a contract settlement, we have been able to reach a number of tentative agreements in bargaining, and our offers to date address the unions’ priorities, including:

• Across-the-board wage increases in all markets over the next four years.
• Updating the Performance Sharing Plan to include a minimum payout opportunity and potential for up to a $3,750 payout.
• Offering minimum wages of $23/hour in California and $21/hour in markets outside of California.
• Continuing and enhancing our existing excellent health benefits and retirement income plans.
• Renewing our strong tuition assistance and training programs, and increasing funding of the education trusts.

We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities.

Together, we have faced the toughest challenges over the past three years. Kaiser Permanente, our industry, and our employees are now operating in a new cultural, labor, and post-pandemic environment that we are all working hard to understand. We are committed to finding workable solutions for this new environment that meet our responsibility to balance taking care of our employees and being affordable to our members.

We will coordinate with Coalition leaders to reconvene bargaining as soon as possible. We will work hard to reach an agreement so that together, we can all return to delivering on the mission of Kaiser Permanente for the benefit of our members, patients, employees, physicians, customers, and communities.

Meeting our shared staffing goal

On the same day that the Coalition strikes began, we’re pleased to confirm that we’ve met our goal of hiring 10,000 new Coalition-represented employees by year-end – and it is only October 4th. We’re not done yet. We are committed to addressing every area of staffing that is still challenging.

As a reminder: In April we agreed with the Coalition to a joint goal of hiring 10,000 people by the end of this year into jobs the Coalition cares about. We agreed this would be a great success if we could hire that many people into Coalition roles by the end of this year. We hit the goal three months early.

In total over the past two years, Kaiser Permanente has hired more than 50,000 people to join our teams.

Meeting our members’ needs

The health and wellbeing of our members and patients is our top priority. Because we are such a large organization, with multiple ways that members can access care, the impact of the strike is different at various locations. 

We have robust plans in place to ensure members continue to receive safe, high-quality care during the strike.

All our hospitals and emergency departments remain open. Our facilities will continue to be staffed by our physicians, trained and experienced managers, and our great staff. Thousands of qualified and trained contract staff are joining our Kaiser Permanente teams this week as well, to help meet our members’ and patients’ needs. We thank those Coalition-represented employees who have chosen to come to work and care for our patients, members, and communities.

Members who need urgent or timely medical care should continue to seek it at our hospitals and medical facilities. A strike should not dissuade anyone from seeking necessary care.

We will contact members affected by any necessary changes in our services. We may need to reschedule non-emergency and elective services in some locations out of an abundance of caution. Our members can follow any important updates to our care delivery on kp.org.

By Renée Saldaña, SEIU, Press Secretary, SEUI – United Healthcare Workers West

OAKLAND, Calif. – Bay Area unions IFPTE Local 20 and OPEIU Local 29 have approved a sympathy strike in support of the unfair labor practices strike at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical offices in California being called for by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West between October 4-6.

A “sympathy strike” occurs when one union supports another union that is directly involved in a labor dispute.

“Kaiser’s unfair labor practices against SEIU-UHW in our local bargaining have not been remedied,” said Erica Chinchilla, a respiratory therapist at Kaiser Antioch. “A sympathy strike is a powerful act of solidarity where workers strike to support or aid another group of workers. We appreciate our Coalition partners’ willingness to stand with us as we protest these unfair labor practices committed by Kaiser in local bargaining against SEIU-UHW and its members.”

SEIU-UHW members include frontline workers such as respiratory care practitioners, dietary, environmental services, and nursing staff. OPEIU Local 29 represents office, technical and professional employees at Kaiser Permanente. IFPTE Local 20 represents clinical lab scientists, home health therapists, optometrists, genetic counselors, and other technical and professional employees at Kaiser.

Laboratory scientists provide information medical doctors need to properly diagnose and treat patients, as well as ensure correct blood products are given to patients during surgery or an emergency. Kaiser has not informed IFPTE Local 20 of coverage plans of this important work.

Unions in Oregon, Southwest Washington, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., which are part of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, are also planning unfair labor practices strikes at the same time.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.

75,000 U.S. healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions protest claims of unfair labor practices

By Isaac Reese, 617 Media Group

10/4/23 7:00 P.M. UPDATE: “Frontline healthcare workers are awaiting a meaningful response from Kaiser executives regarding some of our key priorities including safe staffing, outsourcing protections for incumbent healthcare workers, and fair wages to reduce turnover. Healthcare workers within the coalition remain ready to meet at any time. Currently, the strike continues, and there are no sessions scheduled at this hour,” said Caroline Lucas, spokesperson, Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in multiple states are now on strike to protest unfair labor practices and Kaiser executives’ failure to bargain in good faith over unsafe staffing levels at hundreds of Kaiser hospitals and facilities across the United States. 

Over the course of just three hours, the strike at Kaiser facilities expanded from coast to coast, following months of bad faith bargaining activity by Kaiser executives and repeated appeals by frontline healthcare workers for Kaiser executives to make the kinds of investments in staffing that could help stem employee turnover and reduce growing patient wait times.  

The strike began in DC and VA at 6AM ET this morning, expanded to CO at 6AM MT, then culminated with tens of thousands of workers striking in CA, OR, and WA at 6AM PT.

In the vast majority of locations, barring an agreement, the strike is expected to last for three days. It is already the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history. 

Healthcare workers are taking the work action to protest Kaiser executives’ bad faith bargaining, which is getting in the way of finding solutions to solve the Kaiser short-staffing crisis by investing in its workforce.

In recent days, Kaiser executives maintaining aggressive threats of outsourcing became a sticking point in negotiations, especially at a time when the company is failing to retain key employees. 

“Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to us and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis,” said Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center. “I see my patients’ frustrations when I have to rush them and hurry on to my next patient. That’s not the care I want to give. We’re burning ourselves out trying to do the jobs of two or three people, and our patients suffer when they can’t get the care they need due to Kaiser’s short-staffing.”

Strike lines are set up at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical office buildings across the country, including California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C. 

Workers on strike include those employed as licensed vocational nurses, emergency department technicians, radiology technicians, ultrasound sonographers, teleservice representatives,  respiratory therapists, x-ray technicians, optometrists, certified nursing assistants, dietary services, behavioral health workers, surgical technicians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, transporters, home health aides, phlebotomists, medical assistants, dental assistants, call center representatives, and housekeepers, among hundreds of other positions.

BACKGROUND

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions represents 85,000 Kaiser healthcare workers in seven states and the District of Columbia. In April, the Coalition began its national bargaining process ahead of the September 30th contract expiration. On Sept. 22, Coalition unions representing 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers gave Kaiser executives 10-day notices for an unfair labor practice strike beginning Oct. 4. The Coalition and Kaiser Permanente last negotiated a contract in 2019, before healthcare workers found themselves on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic that has worsened working conditions and exacerbated a healthcare staffing crisis.

At issue, healthcare workers say, are a series of unfair labor practices related to bargaining in bad faith, along with simmering staff concerns related to unsafe staffing levels that can lead to dangerously long wait times, mistaken diagnosis, and neglect. After years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, Kaiser healthcare workers are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Workers say that Kaiser is committing unfair labor practices and also that understaffing is boosting Kaiser’s profits but hurting patients. In a recent survey of 33,000 employees, 2/3 of workers said they’d seen care delayed or denied due to short staffing. After three years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels.

Kaiser has reported ​​$3 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year. Despite being a non-profit organization – which means it pays no income taxes on its earnings and extremely limited property taxes – Kaiser has reported more than $24 billion in profit over the last five years. Kaiser’s CEO was compensated more than $16 million in 2021, and forty-nine executives at Kaiser are compensated more than $1 million annually. Kaiser Permanente has investments of $113 billion in the US and abroad, including in fossil fuels, casinos, for-profit prisons, alcohol companies, military weapons and more.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions unites more than 85,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington

Kaiser issued a statement last month responding to the then-threatened strike.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.