Kaiser Permanente reached a tentative deal with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions Friday following a 3-day strike last week, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) tweeted.
The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente. We are thankful for the instrumental support of Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su.
— SEIU-UHW #United4All (@seiu_uhw) October 13, 2023
A full announcement will follow shortly. pic.twitter.com/KOAFNXhP87
SEIU-UHW is a union of more than 100,000 hospital & clinic workers in California where Kaiser Permanente is headquartered.
SEIU Local 105 Denver released a statement Friday confirming the tentative agreement, which includes a 21% total wage increase over four years for healthcare workers and strong outsourcing protections.
It's a four-year deal, according to a news release from Kaiser Permanente Friday. It establishes a new minimum wage over three years for union employees that will reach $25 an hour in California and $23 an hour in other states. It also enhances employees' performance sharing plan and increases investments in professional development and job training.
This brings nearly seven months of contract negotiations to a potential close, fueled by workers walking off the job across the country.
Around 3,000 Colorado Kaiser workers were a part of that strike- deemed the largest demonstration of healthcare workers ever in the U.S. Employees cited unfair labor practices and unsafe staffing levels at the company as their basis for walking off the job. During contract negotiations, workers were not only asking for more pay but also more staffing, citing shortages within Kaiser.
The company said every healthcare provider across the U.S. is facing staffing shortages and the company feels a strike was not justified.
SEIU Local 105 Denver did write, though, "we aren't done yet; for this historic agreement to take effect, Kaiser workers across Colorado will vote in the coming weeks to ratify the tentative agreement."
Kaiser Permanente reiterated the deal now goes to the more than 85,000 company employees who are represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for ratification. That process begins Wednesday, October 18.
