Nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, dieticians, rehab therapists and other health care workers are striking against Kaiser Permanente throughout California and Hawaii as they demand better pay and staffing.
Roughly 31,000 workers kicked off the strike Tuesday morning, which is expected to last until 7 a.m. Sunday.
In Orange County, health care professionals – represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals – are striking at the Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center near the 91 freeway.
Union officials say patient care could be threatened if trends continue and criticized the wages while Kaiser apparently holds billions of dollars in reserves.
“Stagnant wages and unsafe staffing threaten both the workforce and the high-quality care patients depend on. Kaiser currently holds $66 billion in reserves — much of it accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when frontline caregivers sacrificed their health, families, and, in some cases, their lives,” reads a Monday news release emailed by union officials.
Nick Partida, a registered nurse in the emergency room at Kaiser Irvine, said his colleagues are financially struggling.
“I can throw a rock in any direction in my department and hit somebody who has a second job,” Partida said in a Tuesday phone interview, adding he’s been with Kaiser for over 10 years. “People are not only getting a second job, people are living the bedside entirely.”
Kaiser Permanente officials say the employees are making more than peers at other companies and the current labor proposal offers raises and enhanced benefits.
“Alliance-represented employees currently earn, on average, 16% more than peers elsewhere. Our latest offer increases their already above-market wages by an additional 21.5% over the 4-year contract. The offer also enhances employees’ high-value medical plans and retiree benefits — benefits that have long made Kaiser Permanente an employer of choice. We value every member of our team and our history of collaboration with labor unions,” reads a Monday statement.
Hilary Tordai – a certified nurse midwife who works at Kaiser hospitals in Anaheim and Irvine – said she and many of her colleagues are living paycheck to paycheck.
“That sounds ridiculous when you think about what your paycheck is, and it goes completely almost every month and it doesn’t feel good to be tenured in such a strong powerful organization yet not feeling any protection or support,” Tordai said in a Tuesday phone interview.
Patida said open positions would be easily filled if their pay was more than peers at other health care companies.
“If we were truly that gold standard still, people would be knocking the doors down to get in here,” Patida said, adding that he and his colleagues in the emergency room are overbooked.
Company officials say anything over that 21.5% pay increase they offered the union will drive up health care costs.
“Anything beyond 21.5% will require us to further increase rates for our members and customers at a time when health care costs are increasingly unaffordable and many are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage. We have a responsibility to do the right thing for our employees and our members and customers,” reads a Tuesday emailed statement.
Tordai disputes Kaiser Permanente’s position.
“They’re threading a whole bunch of what I would call propaganda to the community and the members,” Tordai said. “I think that’s a poor excuse given the amount of surplus this company has, the amount of profit this company makes every year.”
Union officials say inflation has exceeded the wage increases secured four years ago.
“When the 2021 National Agreement was signed, no one could have predicted historic inflation. Since then, inflation has risen 18.5%, while our members received just 10% in across-the-board wage increases, barely half of what was needed to keep up,” reads a Sunday news release.
Company officials say the union is using patient care concerns as a way to get pay increases.
“The Alliance’s campaign uses strong language, pickets and strike threats to rally support. They say their goal is to protect patients by ensuring better care and staffing, but the real issue is wages — they are demanding significantly higher increases than our 21.5% offer. Their claims about Kaiser Permanente’s quality and staffing don’t reflect the facts. Alliance-represented employees work closely with us every day in teams focused on improving care,” Kaiser Permanente officials said in a Tuesday emailed statement.
“Our nationally recognized integrated care model consistently delivers better health outcomes. Recently, the National Committee for Quality Assurance rated our private and Medicare plans highest — or tied for highest — in every region we serve.”
Orange County’s Recent Labor Disputes
Tuesday’s strike marks another chapter of recent labor disputes seen in Orange County over the past few years.
Over the summer, grocery workers at Stater Bros. voted to authorize a strike – a first in company history – as they demanded better wages and benefits, which was secured by union officials in the dog days of summer.
[Read: Grocery Union Gears Up For Potential Strike Against Stater Bros.]
A couple months ago, public works employees in Garden Grove rallied for better pay and benefits outside city hall – including advocating for themselves during public comment at the city council meeting, drawing the ire of some council members.
[Read: Garden Grove Public Works Crews Rally for Raises]
Last year, Disneyland employees overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike and held demonstrations outside of the iconic theme park – eventually landing a deal that sees a minimum wage of $24 an hour and other benefits.
[Read: Disneyland Workers May Soon Strike at ‘The Happiest Place on Earth]
In 2023, hotel workers throughout Southern California held a series of rolling strikes – employees striking for a short period of time at different locations – as they demanded higher wages, eventually securing substantial raises in 2024.
[Read: Southern California Hotel Workers Get Raise After Months of Striking]
Hospitals to Stay Open
Kaiser Permanente officials say their facilities will remain open – planning for the scenario months ago.
“In some cases, we are shifting appointments to virtual care (phone, video, e-chat) and may need to reschedule certain appointments, elective surgeries and procedures. Our facilities will be staffed by physicians, experienced managers and trained staff with added licensed contract professionals as needed,” reads a Tuesday email statement from company officials.
Kaiser is also bringing in some back up.
“We are onboarding up to 7,600 nurses, clinicians and other staff to work during the strike, the majority of whom have worked at Kaiser Permanente before. In addition, more than 1,000 of our employees have volunteered to be reassigned to work in strike locations.”
Tordai – the nurse midwife who works Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Anaheim and Irvine – says patient care will be impacted.
“I just received word from a colleague that they’re having physicians do nursing roles right now and I just do not know how they can continue to provide quality consistent safe care to their members,” she said in a Tuesday news interview.
Patida also said patient services are going to be impacted.
“I can’t think of one part or one aspect of health care that isn’t affected,” he said. “You cannot bring people off the street and expect them to do the jobs of people that have been here three, 10 even 20 years.”
Union officials say Kaiser’s spending priorities don’t translate to patient care.
“Kaiser resists fair pay and refuses to fix staffing, even as it pours money into expansion projects in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina. Without solving its staffing missteps at home, these expansions risk leaving current health plan members facing delays in appointments, treatment, and recovery.”
Kaiser Permanente officials say the strike is unnecessary.
“Despite our best efforts to reach a fair agreement that supports our employees and sustains high-quality, affordable care, some of the Alliance unions have called a strike that serves no one, least of all, our members and patients. Importantly, not all of the Alliance unions currently in negotiations will be taking part in the strike; those that do represent about 43,000 workers. Many of our staff have shared that they do not intend to take part in the strike,” reads Tuesday’s emailed statement.
Tordai said despite Tuesday’s fall storm, scores of employees are striking at the Anaheim Medical Center.
“The turnout has been amazing,” Tordai said. “We’re all here anyway with our ponchos and our hats and our boots.”
Union officials said at one point, 1,300 people picketed outside of the Kaiser hospital at the Anaheim Medical Center on Tuesday morning.
Partida also said strike turnout was high.
“With the weather, this is far more than I expected to see,” he said. “That just goes to show where people’s brains are at, where their hearts are at.”
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.