Striking Kaiser Permanente employees hold signs as they march in front of the Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center on October 06, 2023 in Vallejo, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Kaiser Permanente employees on Friday threatened further strikes if executives don’t meet their demands over health-care staffing and job outsourcing.
Greater than 75,000 Kaiser employees are scheduled to finish a three-day work stoppage in California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon at 6 a.m. Saturday local time. The present strike, which began Wednesday, is alleged to be the most important walkout by health-care employees in U.S. history.
Nearly 60,000 of the employees currently on strike are in California where Kaiser is headquartered.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions threatened further strikes if demands aren’t met. Staff will provide 10 days notice before walking out again, the coalition said in an announcement.
Bargaining sessions between employees and Kaiser executives are scheduled for next Thursday and Friday.
Disagreements over job outsourcing have turn out to be a serious sticking point in recent negotiations, in response to the coalition. It accuses Kaiser of refusing to limit outsourcing and subcontracting jobs.
Kaiser, the most important health-care nonprofit within the U.S., said Thursday that tentative agreements have been reached in several areas and that the corporate is committed to negotiating a recent contract.
Staff are also demanding long-term investments to extend staffing amid a workforce shortage. The coalition of unions has said the short-staffing crisis has led to unsafe working conditions which can be affecting the standard of care patients receive.
