Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in Washington vote to authorize strike
WA Kaiser workers to vote on strike authorization
The Washington union of Kaiser Permanente workers could soon join the national strike.
SEATTLE - Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in Washington on Friday voted to authorize a strike if they don't reach a deal by the end of October.
Also on Friday, unions representing Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in other areas, including Oregon, SW Washington and California, reached a tentative agreement. The contract for these workers expired sooner that Kaiser healthcare workers in the Puget Sound region.
"We’re proud of the agreement we’ve reached nationally, but Kaiser Permanente Washington healthcare workers are still fighting for a contract that protects Washington workers and patients," said Jane Hopkins, registered nurse and president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. "The staffing crisis in Washington means Kaiser needs to do more here than a phased-in wage increase. We need to catch up and keep up. We are calling on Kaiser executives to reach a new contract with our 3,000 members that urgently addresses the issues we’re facing in Washington in time to avert a strike."
Healthcare workers' concerns in Washington include unsafe staffing levels that lead to dangerously long wait times, misdiagnoses, and neglect, as well as concerns over staffing models and equity in the workplace, according to the union.
File Photo, Kaiser Permanente. (KTVU)
The three-day strike last week involving 75,000 workers in multiple states, excluding Western Washington, officially ended last Saturday and workers returned to their jobs in Kaiser’s hospitals and clinics that serve nearly 13 million Americans.
"The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente as of this morning," the coalition posted Friday morning. "We are thankful for the instrumental support of Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su."
Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, California, confirmed the deal in a social media post.
The unions had said bargaining sessions had been scheduled for this week.