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Kaiser Permanente reached a tentative agreement with more than 75,000 of its health care workers on Friday, a week after a three-day strike that disrupted appointments and services at many hospitals and clinics, according to an announcement from union officials.
The labor dispute was the latest in a series between healthcare organizations and their employees, many of whom reported feeling exhausted and frustrated by severe staffing shortages after the pandemic.
“The frontline healthcare workers of the Kaiser Permanente Coalition of Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente. We are grateful for the instrumental support of Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su,” union leaders. Announced on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
Kaiser Permanente officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More details were expected later Friday. The deal was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Kaiser Permanente health plans cover 13 million people in eight states through its own network of hospitals and doctors.
A week ago, several low-wage workers participated in a 72-hour strike. Employees included medical assistants, lab technicians, receptionists and healthcare staff who picketed around dozens of Kaiser buildings, waving signs demanding: “Kaiser: Put patients first” and “Respect and value workers.” Of the health”.
The work stoppage forced Kaiser to move many appointments online and postpone procedures that were not considered urgent, such as colonoscopies or mammograms. The company brought contingency workers to hospitals and urgent care centers, but more than 50 labs in Southern California were closed and dozens of other facilities across the West Coast closed or limited their hours. Union leaders called it the largest health care worker strike in recent U.S. history.
The Kaiser impasse caught the attention of Ms. Su, the Biden administration’s acting labor secretary, who traveled to San Francisco to meet with officials on both sides of the negotiations, with the goal of helping broker a deal. Still, the parties did not return to the negotiating table for more than a week after the strike began and talks broke down; The labor coalition threatened another strike (this one lasting a full week) in early November if the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement beforehand.
Kaiser’s new deal comes at a crucial time in the healthcare labor market, after a major exodus of staff across the industry has left the supply of workers far short of demand. The dynamic has created a sense of urgency for both sides: Workers trying to treat patients amid staffing shortages are reporting record levels of burnout, while their employers are under pressure to preserve their workforce and offer packages that attract to new workers.
Analysts say the situation has most likely given union workers a chance to become more involved at the bargaining table, and many are taking advantage of the opportunity. More than a dozen health care worker strikes have taken place this year in New York City, California, Illinois, Michigan and elsewhere.
About 1,500 healthcare workers began a five-day strike against Prime’s St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California, on October 9, citing dangerous understaffing practices. Pharmacy staff workers at some Walgreens stores in Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Massachusetts walked out the same day, citing workloads so excessive that they could not safely fill prescriptions. Without a formal union, they organized on Facebook and Reddit.
The New York State Nurses Association entered into a new contract with Mount Sinai Hospital, which includes a nurse-to-patient ratio enforcement mechanism.
But companies like Kaiser are under pressure to limit their spending, and the organization emphasizes that it needs to make sure its care is affordable. The organization, which had operating revenues of $95.4 billion, reported an operating loss of 1.3 billion dollars in 2022. In recent months, Kaiser has returned to profitability.