OFNHP, allied unions reach tentative agreement with Kaiser

More than 60,000 healthcare workers in multiple states would be covered by the tentative agreement if ratified by members

PORTLAND, OR (March 24, 2026) — More than 60,000 healthcare workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with Kaiser Permanente, including more than 4,000 workers in Southwest Washington and Oregon. Lauded as a “historic” victory by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (AFT Local 5017), representing the Pacific Northwest workers, the tentative agreement (TA) secures significant wage increases, benefit improvements, and a greater voice on the job. OFNHP’s previous contract with Kaiser expired in September of 2025.

Workers bargain both local agreements as OFNHP and a national agreement as part of the Alliance of Healthcare Unions, more than twenty local unions representing healthcare workers at Kaiser locations across the Western U.S. and beyond. Per OFNHP, the national TA builds on six previously reached local agreements that improve working conditions in the PNW.

The TA comes after Southwest WA and Oregon healthcare workers joined 40,000 of their siblings to strike Kaiser Permanente for five days in October. It was the biggest healthcare strike of 2025, uniting workers across Hawaii, California, Oregon, and SW Washington in the fight for better working conditions and improved resources for patient care. At the time, Kaiser’s statements to media attempted to pressure the workers into accepting a subpar wage offer, saying that paying a fair wage would cause the healthcare company to raise prices on patients, despite holding $66 billion in reserves. But healthcare workers, recognizing that low pay and rough working conditions are the central drivers of the nationwide staffing crisis, refused to back down. When Kaiser refused to bargain the national agreement early this year, workers in California and Hawaii again struck Kaiser, with the PNW workers picketing in February as well.

Kaiser healthcare workers picketing a Sunnyside Medical Center in February. Photo: OFNHP

In advance of member voting, OFNHP shared some highlights of the tentative agreement. If ratified by the members, the contract would lock-in the largest wage increases ever secured in national bargaining.

“The new agreement provides 21.5% in across-the-board wage increases over a three-year and eight-month contract, with many workers receiving market adjustments in the first year that will bring total increases to over 30% for some classifications,” wrote OFNHP in a news release.

The TA includes improvements to benefits and working conditions; IVF would be a covered benefit for all OFNHP-represented workers and tuition reimbursement would be expanded. Healthcare workers would also be entitled to paid lactation breaks and improved accommodations, and a provision in the agreement ensures workers would have a voice in the development or deployment of AI tools in the workplace.

In a win for building worker power, the tentative agreement also aligns contract expiration dates for all OFNHP Kaiser bargaining units.

“After an incredibly long and difficult campaign, our members have secured a contract that reflects the strength of our solidarity and the essential work we do every day,” said OFNHP President Sarina Roher. “This agreement protects the benefits we fought for over decades, delivers major wage increases that begin to recognize the value of healthcare workers, and aligns our contracts across six units so that we can continue building worker power with greater unity and strength. Kaiser tried to break our solidarity, but instead our members stood strong alongside more than 62,000 Alliance union siblings across the country.”

Voting on the tentative agreement begins today and runs through March 30.