Kaiser nurses to return to work Tuesday after four-week strike, bargaining continues

After four weeks on strike, nurses and health care professionals represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP)  will return to work Tuesday across Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawai’i. The work stoppage was the largest open-ended strike of registered nurses and health care professionals in United States history, according to the union.  

Over the past 48 hours, significant movement at the bargaining table prompted union leaders to send the employer a notice of unconditional return to work. According to the union, returning members to their patients and their livelihoods is the clearest path to securing a final agreement and building on the progress achieved during the strike. 

UNAC/UHCP has formally notified Kaiser Permanente that the strike will conclude effective Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 a.m. PT and 7 a.m. HT. 

There will be no picket lines on Monday, Feb. 23, as the union and employer finalize return-to-work agreements. 

On Jan. 26, 2026, 31,000 members of UNAC/UHCP went on strike after national negotiations with Kaiser stalled. Since March 2025, UNAC/UHCP has been in contract negotiations with the health care provider, as the union representing frontline caregivers seeks a contract with provisions to address staffing shortages and impacts to patient care.