Kaiser strike ends as health care giant reaches tentative deal with unions

Kaiser strike ends overview: 

• Who: Kaiser Permanente reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with a group of around 75,000 union workers who went on strike earlier this month. 
• Why: Kaiser and the workers failed to reach an agreement on a new contract when the previous one expired Sept. 30. 
• Where: Kaiser Permanente has employees nationwide. 

Kaiser Permanente employees who went on strike earlier this month tentatively agreed on a new four-year contract. 

The new contract will raise employee wages by 21% over that time and create a minimum wage of $25 in California and $23 in other states. 

The unions representing the roughly 75,000 striking workers announced the deal during a joint statement with Kaiser on Friday, Law360 reports. 

Kaiser also reportedly committed to investing in better training for its workers and agreed to limits imposed on its ability to outsource and subcontract work. 

Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West — which represents around 60,000 of Kaiser’s 85,000 unionized workers — said during a news briefing the workers are pleased with the deal, Law360 reports. 

“Although it’s been bumpy, and we’ve obviously had our challenges, there is a commitment on the part of the unions that comprise the coalition to genuinely say to Kaiser, we want to rebuild the partnership,” Regan said during the briefing. 

Kaiser contract negotiations centered around ongoing staffing crisis

The negotiations were reportedly focused on resolving an ongoing staffing crisis, with the health care giant committing to onboard new health care workers to help alleviate the situation. 

Union leaders initially criticized Kaiser for allegedly being unwilling to commit to solving the staff shortage issue but now applaud the company’s plan to confront the problem, Law360 reports. 

In addition to SEIU-UHW, Kaiser’s union workers were reportedly represented by unions comprising the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, including the Office and Professional Employees International Union and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. 

Kaiser’s union workers were on strike from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new deal prior to the previous contract expiring Sept. 30, Law360 reports. 

In other Kaiser news, a consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. in May over claims it intercepted the website interactions of its patients and disclosed the information to third parties such as Google, Bing and Twitter, among others. 

What are your thoughts on Kaiser reaching a tentative agreement with its union workers? Let us know in the comments. 

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