News and Bargaining Updates

Progress on racial justice, safety and dispute resolution; KP digs in on destructive staffing and economic positions

With contract negotiations entering their final scheduled days next week, our bargaining team made progress on racial justice, patient and worker safety, and improving dispute resolution. But KP clung to destructive, unsustainable positions on economics and staffing. The final national bargaining sessions are next Wednesday, September 8, through Friday, September 10.

DAILY BARGAINING UPDATE | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Today the Alliance released a new analysis of KP’s two-tier wage proposal. If implemented, the KP proposal would see newly-hired USW mobility techs, housekeeping attendants, and dietary aides in the Inland Empire earning less than California minimum wage! KP’s proposed two-tier system would only make the wage injustice in the Inland Empire worse.

In the past few weeks we have received many questions about incentive pay and why certain classifications are receiving incentives for additional shifts and not everyone.

The Union has been strongly urging KP Regional and Local Senior Leaders to reinstate the incentive agreements reached during the winter surge, and also to include additional classifications.

8/19/21

The Alliance and USW local 7600 met to discuss KP’s announced vaccine mandate. KP should have spoken with us prior to announcing this policy as this is not how partners act. We have agreed to bargain over the effects and implementation of this policy.

Our priorities in bargaining include:

Today our local bargaining committee met with local KP management for our 9th day of bargaining. In the morning, our subcommittees reported out on their work. Significant progress has been made is several areas including: 

8/11/2021

All USW 7600 LVNs

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region is experiencing a high increase in patient census resulting in an increased demand for staffing. Faced with this challenge, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (KFH), Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) leadership and USW 7600 agreed to temporarily offer an "Extra Shift Incentive" to induce employees in the above-mentioned classifications to work additional shifts.