A settlement has been reached between the Oakland-based health care provider Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions representing more than 80,000 Kaiser workers, the union and company both announced Wednesday.
If ratified by workers in the 11-union coalition, the four-year agreement would ward off a nationwide strike that had been set for Oct. 14.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said the agreement includes 3 percent raises in each of the four years for workers in California, Oregon and southern Washington.
Workers in Colorado, Hawaii, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and the rest of the state of Washington will receive a 3 percent raise the first year and 2 percent plus a 1 percent lump sum the following three years, with an opportunity to turn the lump sums into regular raises if the company hits specified financial benchmarks, according to the coalition.
The agreement also includes a workforce development program to provide educational opportunities for workers, funded with $130 million from Kaiser, the coalition said.
The two sides agreed to a list of jobs that cannot be outsourced or subcontracted for the four years of the deal, and preserved the existing retirement benefits, with some expansion of them in Hawaii, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
The agreement comes after nearly five months of active bargaining, and voting by members of the various unions is expected to be completed by the end of October, according to Kaiser.
“Reaching an agreement was not easy, it had lots of twists and turns, but in the end we accomplished what we set out to do — reach an agreement that is good for patients, workers and our communities,” said Georgette Bradford, a union member and ultrasound technologist at Kaiser in Sacramento.
Arlene Peasnall, interim chief human resources officer for Kaiser, called the agreement “a testament to the dedication, compassion and skill those employees bring to work every day and demonstrates that Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition have a shared commitment to affordability for our members.”
25 comments
well, what do you know… It was about $$$$$$
The raises weren’t the issue, it was outsourcing of jobs, tiered wages and benefits for new employees, and reduced retirement benefits.
yes… money…
Awesome! Congrats to my fellow co-workers. Another 12% pay raise in the next 4 years. Well done!$$$$$$$$$$
Your fellow nurses and CNA support you guys.
12% must be nice
Union heads just got a raise too 30% of your 12% oh and your fees went up
Gratz
I am sure the patients who now have to pay even more money and get same care as before will be thrilled
But yes bang your chest at their demise as you again used patient care to reap on the elderly and sick
So sorry you feel that way, for me it was not about the money at all, patient care has become poor, staffing has been cut down a lot and we have received many complaints. I love Kaiser always have, it is all about the patients for many of us, we want to provide great customer service hopefully this will help get us the help we need.
” … we want to provide great customer service … ” Then why are you all so rude to your “customers,” known elsewhere as “patients.”
If you’re not getting 3% at your job, you either need to learn some new skills, work harder, or find a new career path.
Greedy Union Executives are laughing all the way to the bank as Kaiser Members will be paying for their bonuses for years to come. And by the way, the Unions can and will threaten strike again even with the new agreements in place. SMH.
If it wasn’t for the Unions at Kaiser every other medical prover would be cutting employee pay to race to the bottom. It’s the union setting the benchmark for a living wage
or is the union contributing to the ridiculously high cost of medical care
KP is no longer a non profit. It is a business that deals with healthcare. I think they started out as a non profit though. When you net huge profits you should take care of your people.
Since apparently you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Kaiser Permanente is composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plans (nonprofit, public-benefit corporations), Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation), and the Permanente Medical Groups (for-profit professional organizations).
yeah Kaiser saved my dad’s LIFE.
Lower the premiums if you really care about patients. Can’t afford $75 visit every time plus lab, etc,. and high monthly rates for lowlife plan.
Thinking about dropping insurance if rates go up again for 2020 Rip off!
12% divided by 12 years is 3% per year, approximately the Cost Of Living increase. If your annual salary doesn’t match the COL you need to convince your employer to pay you more. That’s what unions are for.
TraumaRX—why don’t you enlighten us on what you are making as an annual salary right now…
$96.00 a hour as a Kaiser NP. Plus zero copay for double coverage.
@babs
Excalty.
The Flu shot season just started and the Kaiser Employees at Antioch were very helpful and nice.
Large Insurance premium rate increases coming!!!
It’s very sad what unions have become today. Totally self serving first then the employees second. Unfortunately, I believe we need unions. Because if we didn’t have them, we would need them…………Woof
@TraumaRx
Are you trying to spell “exactly”?
Looks to me like an honest typo. I know that sometimes when I type, my mind gets ahead of my fingers because I look at the keyboard first, then glance up at the screen to see what I typed (and make corrections)..
Babs: this settlement was not regarding nurses, Trauma RX was not in this settlement. So why ask this person how much they make? This union settlement was for employees such as gardeners, medical assistants, janitors, etc.They all deserve proper raises!
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