Over three days in October, 75,000 frontline healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente held an unfair labor practice strike. The actions, led by workers across multiple states and Washington, D.C., constituted the largest strike of healthcare workers in U.S. history.
In November, more than 85,000 healthcare workers who form the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract to bolster patient safety, make critical investments in the healthcare workforce, and set a higher standard for the healthcare industry nationwide. Approved with 98.5% of the members’ votes, the four-year contract is in effect at hundreds of Kaiser facilities across California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The following is an interview with Christian Siguenza, a laboratory assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and a member of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW).
Can you start by telling me more about your role with Kaiser Permanente? How long have you worked there? What does your job entail, and what’s it like working for the company?
I’m a lab assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Baldwin Park, California. This October marked my 15th anniversary at Kaiser, and during all these years, I've witnessed the ebb and flow of challenges of working in healthcare. In my role, a typical day involves drawing blood from patients who visit the lab, processing specimens for various tests, and handling blood draws for overnight hospital admissions. It's a crucial position that plays a pivotal role in ensuring patients get the proper diagnoses to get the care that they need.
In early October, more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in multiple states went on strike for three days. Can you tell me more about the issues at your workplace that led workers to strike?
Healthcare workers have been grappling with understaffing, a problem that existed even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove many caregivers to leave their jobs. Many of us were overworked, stretched thin, and struggling to give our patients the care they deserve. We also felt we weren’t being respected or listened to by our employer. The short-staffing crisis and improving care for our patients became the rallying cry for us. Our pleas to address the staffing crisis fell on deaf ears, pushing us to a breaking point. Months of negotiations with Kaiser executives highlighted the second issue – the lack of good-faith bargaining, which eventually led us to call for an unfair labor practice strike. It wasn't an easy decision, but we knew it was necessary to make our voices heard and to force Kaiser executives to acknowledge the severity of the crisis in patient care. The strike lasted three days, during which tens of thousands of us healthcare workers stood united, demanding change for ourselves and our patients.
After the strike, Kaiser Permanente and the unions met at the bargaining table and eventually reached an agreement. You were part of the SEIU-UHW’s bargaining team, elected by your co-workers to lead negotiations with management. Can you tell us more about how the negotiations unfolded and how the union succeeded in striking a deal with the company?
We’d negotiated with Kaiser executives for several months before we were forced to strike due to their bad-faith bargaining. We felt like they weren’t listening to us. The turning point in negotiations came after Kaiser executives witnessed the strength and determination of tens of thousands of healthcare workers standing together on the strike line to fix the short-staffing crisis and advocate for better patient care. Then, over three intense days, which included the facilitation of the US Labor Secretary Julie Su, we hammered out an agreement that addressed our concerns.
Workers voted to ratify the new 4-year contract. What are some of the gains that workers won in this new deal? What does the new contract mean for healthcare workers covered by the new agreement?
One of the key victories was a 21% wage increase over the next four years, a significant win for employees who had long struggled to make ends meet, which will help keep and attract healthcare workers who are in high demand. The agreement also includes various measures to address the short-staffing crisis, including a plan to fill vacancies and a renewal of the labor-management partnership between Kaiser and the coalition of unions. Recognizing the financial hardships many healthcare workers face, the contract includes a $25 minimum wage increase over the coming years. Additionally, the contract includes avenues for more employee training and education and acknowledges the need for healthcare workers to continue growing in their careers.
Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Lancaster, California. Image Source | CC BY-SA 2.0
Among the 85,000 members in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, more than 98% voted to ratify the deal. Why do you think the new agreement was so popular among members of the unions?
Healthcare workers face daily struggles in supporting themselves and their families, including trying to live paycheck to paycheck. This contract provides them with some much-needed relief and breathing room. Over the past few decades, the cost of living has risen while wages have stayed stagnant. Aside from higher wages and protections to our benefits, we successfully negotiated terms allowing employees to advance their education at Kaiser, offering a valuable opportunity for personal and professional growth. Most importantly, the contract includes various initiatives to tackle the healthcare worker staffing crisis, including accelerated hiring processes and a commitment to upskill existing workers and invest in the training of future healthcare workers. These were all significant factors in motivating employees to envision a better future for themselves and their patients and vote to ratify the agreement.
Have the issues that led workers to strike been resolved by the new deal?
While the issues we faced haven't magically disappeared, there's now a tangible path forward. It's a step-by-step process, but the commitment to addressing these issues is now enshrined in our contract - though our work isn’t finished, and we need to make sure our employer abides by the agreement.
The October strike was the largest strike among healthcare workers in U.S. history. How did the unions involved organize such a wide-scale and historic strike?
It took a lot of hard work and sacrifice from every healthcare worker who participated in the strike. We prepared for months in advance to educate union members on their rights and what we could achieve by working together and standing in solidarity. Every union member shared a common goal – confronting the short-staffing crisis and securing a contract that properly values healthcare workers. I'm proud to have been part of a movement that stood up for workers, patients, and the integrity of our healthcare system. The road ahead may still have challenges, but we feel confident in our ability to build a better future for patients and healthcare workers everywhere.
This interview was a collaboration between SEIU-United Health Workers West and the Power at Work Blog.
Cover Image Source: SEIU-UHW.
