News and Bargaining Updates

For people who have RSVP'd for the Riverside bus only.

 Please send a text message to phone number 77820 with the total number of bus seats you need. 

Bus Information
Meet no later than 9:30 am at:
Farrell’s Ice Cream
3610 Park Sierra Dr,
Riverside, CA 92505

For people who have RSVP'd for the Ontario bus only.

  Please send a text message to phone number 77820 with the total number of bus seats you need. 

Bus Information
Meet no later than 9:30 am at:
Ontario Medical Center – OVASC
2295 Vineyard Ave
Ontario, CA 91761

Last week, three of the Alliance’s largest unions – UNAC/UHCP, USW Local 7600, and OFNHP – announced that over 95% of each union’s members voted to authorize a strike. This week, two more locals announced their members also voted overwhelmingly to authorize strikes – UNITE HERE Local 5 in Hawaii, and UFCW Locals in SCAL.

Collectively, these five unions represent 36,000 Alliance members eligible to strike now. Another 2,450 UFCW Local 1996 members in Georgia are currently voting, and 760 members of UFCW Local 21 in Washington may vote soon.

Our powerful vote to authorize our bargaining committee to send a 10-day notice to strike if necessary kicked off a wave of momentum across our union and joined our cause with unionized workers across the country. In the coming weeks, we expect more than 40,000 Kaiser Permanente (KP) health care workers nationwide will be ready to do whatever it takes for our patients and our workers.

We Stand Up and Fight Back!

The USW has a proud history of standing with our Locals in the toughest fights.

You've made it clear through our strike assessment, feedback during our town halls and by participating in Union Solidarity Days that you will not settle for anything less than the fair contract we all deserve.

We continue to review KP's proposals, but will move forward with a vote to determine whether to grant our local negotiators the authority to institute a strike if necessary.

Our National Agreement with KP expired as of midnight on October 1. All Alliance union members’ pay, benefits, and conditions of employment are protected under the National Labor Relations Act and working without a contract poses no risk to union members.

After a long negotiation yesterday, Kaiser refused a routine 30-day contract extension and tried to silence us by insisting on extreme conditions for an extension. Contract extensions are a routine matter, and the stability and predictability would have benefited the employer. But KP’s extreme bargaining positions have prevented us from coming to a tentative agreement, and now KP execs are doubling down on obstruction. 

Kaiser Permanente’s bargaining strategy is not just outside the norm from the past twenty-four years of our Labor Management Partnership—it’s an aggressive move that is rarely employed by even the worst union busters. Kaiser Permanente executives won’t move off confrontational bargaining tactics, fake claims about our wages, and a two-tier wage scheme that will never be accepted by our unions.

Make no mistake: this is a pattern. KP refused an extension, just as they have refused to move from their insulting two-tier proposal that does nothing to address chronic short staffing and burnout.

Our predecessors fought for a Kaiser Permanente with the best jobs and the best care. We are more committed than ever to honoring that legacy. We will not back down. Now more than ever, we need to be vocal and united. The employer will try to divide us because KP knows that 52,000 Alliance members working together are unstoppable. 

Kaiser’s latest attempt to silence us failed, but it was a clear signal of weakness and fear. Every time we post on social media, wear our union colors and stay visible, we show this employer that we will do whatever it takes for our patients and our professions. 

With unity and determination, and the growing support of our patients and elected leaders, we will win a contract that protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member - no matter how long it takes.  

Our contract expired at midnight and we are now working without an agreement.

KP ultimately would not agree to our offer to extend the agreement while we continue to negotiate.

Kaiser can’t keep staffing issues and wage disparities in the shadows.

We will continue to move forward with our strike authorization vote.