Kaiser unions launch nationwide strike over low pay, staffing

Join the picket line at Kaiser Cascade Park in Vancouver, WA

(Oct. 4, 2023) — The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which unites more than 85,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in seven states and the District of Columbia, are working without a contract after management refused to address wage increases and chronically low staffing at the bargaining table. Today, the workers began a 3-day Unfair Labor Practice strike in multiple states, including in southwest Washington.

(Kaiser Washington healthcare workers, who work in other parts of Washington state, have a different contract and are currently voting on whether to authorize a strike.)

TAKE A STAND — Show your solidarity with striking Kaiser workers by joining the picket line at the Kaiser Permanente Cascade Park Medical Office, 12607 SE Mill Plain Blvd in Vancouver, WA, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Click here for details or to RSVP.

On Sept. 22, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions‘ National Bargaining team submitted a 10-day notice to Kaiser Permanente executives that Coalition unions are calling for their first Unfair Labor Practice strike, and some sympathy strikes, starting Oct. 4 at 6 a.m. through 6 a.m., Oct. 7, 2023. More than 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers will be united in this work action across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington DC – making it the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history.

SEIU 49, which represents Kaiser healthcare workers in Oregon and southwest Washington, sent a strike notice is for ALL members to strike (not work) during that period, although they have established pickets at just five main locations:

• Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Ore.
• Kaiser Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, Ore.
• Kaiser Interstate Campus in Portland, Ore.
• Kaiser North Lancaster Medical Office in Salem, Ore.
• Kaiser Cascade Park Medical Office in Vancouver, Wash.

“Our strike is to send a strong message to Kaiser Executives to bargaining in good faith and solve the staffing crisis that is exacerbated by low pay,” reads SEIU 49’s Kaiser strike page. “We want our patients and community to see us out on our strike lines in big numbers to show how serious this is.”

Meanwhile, Kaiser Permanente pharmacy workers in Oregon and southwest Washington, represented by UFCW Local 555, have been on a 21-day Unfair Labor Practice strike since Sunday, Oct. 1 over similar issues. There are currently no picket locations in southwest Washington for that strike.