News and Bargaining Updates

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region is experiencing a high Urgent Care and Emergency Department patient census resulting in an increased demand for staffing as a result of COVID-19 imp

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

Please reply to the confirmation text message from #77820 with the total amount of bus seats you need or if you need to cancel by midnight. 

Bus Information
Meet no later than 9:30 am at:
Wendy’s
16984 Valley Blvd
Fontana, CA 92335

10/25/21

Our bargaining committee, along with the Alliance, continues to hold the line for a 4% across-the-board wage increase as we bargain this week. KP has responded with / substandard increases. This is unacceptable!

It is time to bring our fight to the public as we prepare for a strike! Come to our March on October 30 in Pasadena to Show KP we will not stand for this! The Local has arranged buses from Fontana, Ontario, Victorville, Palm Desert, and Temecula. RSVP as soon as possible to let us know you are coming and to save a spot on the bus!

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.

Join union health care workers from across the region as we speak up for our patients and our professions at the March for the Future of Health Care on October 30, in KP SCAL’s backyard, beautiful Pasadena, California.

Guests of all ages are welcome to attend the event just keep in mind we will be marching from one location to another to prepare accordingly.

Please complete the form to RSVP and let us know you plan on attending.

Transportation to the March:

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.