Kaiser Permanente workers end five-day strike, negotiations set to resume

31,000 Kaiser Permanente registered nurses and health care professionals across California and Hawaiʻi represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) concluded their five-day strike on Sunday.

The strike, which began Oct. 14 at more than 500 Kaiser hospitals and clinics sought safe staffing and better pay.

The union reports the Joint Commission’s new standards on staffing, released during the strike, will reshape the landscape of contract negotiations moving forward. “It elevates safe staffing from an employer ‘choice’ to a patient safety standard. This shift strengthens caregivers’ position when negotiations resume,” according to a union news release.

“The Joint Commission has finally said what nurses have known all along: unsafe staffing is unsafe care,” said UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales, RN. “Employers like Kaiser can no longer treat staffing like a budget line. It’s now a national patient safety mandate— and UNAC/UHCP will make sure it’s enforced.”

Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions have jointly agreed to resume bargaining on Oct. 22–23. “The focus will be on economic issues as wages continue to be the primary issue in negotiations,” according to the health care provider.

“We remain committed to reaching an agreement that provides strong wage increases and enhances high-value medical plans and retiree benefits, while balancing our obligation to deliver high-quality care that remains affordable,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.

UNAC/UHCP reports it will return to the National Bargaining table with Kaiser Permanente on Oct. 28 and 29.

“We stood strong for five days and made sure the world heard us,” Morales said. “This strike wasn’t just about numbers on a contract — it was about the right to provide safe care to every patient who walks through those doors.”

“This strike may be over — but the fight for patient safety is not. Caregivers are returning to work united, energized, and ready to keep up the pressure for a fair contract that puts patients first,” according to a union news release.