More than 40,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers began a strike Tuesday morning across the West Coast.
The strike marks the largest action in the history of the union representing the workers, the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP). Over 500 hospitals across the West Coast – mainly in California, Oregon and Hawaii – are affected by the walkout, including several in the Los Angeles area.
“Kaiser employees are launching a 5-day strike against Kaiser Permanente — not because they want to, but because they have to,” the union said in a media release.
Of the union’s 46,000 striking members, a total of 31,000 are California-based. They include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty health care professionals.
A total of five L.A. area Kaiser Permanente locations will see picket lines pop up between Tuesday morning and Sunday morning, when the strike is set to end. They are:
- Kaiser South Bay Medical Center: 25825 Vermont Avenue, Harbor City
- Kaiser Woodland Hills Medical Center: 5601 De Soto Avenue, Woodland Hills
- Kaiser Riverside Medical Center: 10800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside
- Kaiser Baldwin Park Medical Center: 1011 Baldwin Park Boulevard, Baldwin Park
- Kaiser Downey Medical Center: 9333 Imperial Highway, Downey
Other major California hospitals affected by the strike are Kaiser San Diego Medical Center and Kaiser Oakland Medical Center.
“For months, UNAC/UHCP has bargained in good faith to address unsafe staffing, stagnant wages, and deteriorating patient care conditions. Kaiser’s public messaging highlights a ‘21.5 percent wage increase over four years,’ but what it doesn’t mention is years of wage freezes during record inflation, cuts for new union members and the real daily impact these conditions have on patient care,” the union said. “This story isn’t just about numbers — it’s about patients, burnout, and a health care system at a breaking point. While Kaiser is issuing polished statements and buying expensive ads, frontline health care workers are struggling to be heard and prepared to share their firsthand stories.”
A statement from Kaiser Permanente alleges that the walkout is “unnecessary and disruptive,” while countering that the healthcare giant has made a “strong, comprehensive offer” to the union.
The statement added that up to 7,600 nurses, clinicians and other staff will be onboarded to work during the strike. Additionally, over 1,000 Kaiser employees are said to have volunteered to be reassigned to work in strike-affected facilities.
Last year, thousands of mental health workers at SoCal Kaiser Permanente hospitals went on strike over wages, pension restoration and allowances for more time with patients. In 2023, Kaiser Permanente workers staged the largest healthcare walkout in U.S. history, when more than 75,000 workers took to the picket lines.
Normal operations at all the Kaiser Permanente locations affected by the latest walkout are expected to resume at 7 a.m. Sunday.
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