Kaiser Permanente Workers End Month-Long Strike, Return to Work Tuesday

Approximately 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in California and Hawaii are ending their four-week strike and returning to work Tuesday. The union cited significant progress in contract negotiations, though specific details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Roughly 31,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawaii will clock back in on Tuesday, bringing their month-long work stoppage to a close as union leaders report meaningful progress in contract talks.

The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals announced Monday that “significant movement at the bargaining table” led to their decision to suspend the walkout. Union officials have not revealed specifics about what breakthroughs occurred during recent negotiations or outlined terms of any preliminary agreement.

“According to the union, returning members to their patients and their livelihoods is the clearest path to securing a final agreement and building on the progress achieved during the strike,” the organization stated.

Kaiser Permanente management has not yet responded to the union’s announcement about ending the work stoppage.

The labor action, which launched on January 27, represents the second significant strike by this union in recent months. Workers previously walked off the job for five days in October, leading to resumed talks that ultimately stalled in December.

Striking employees, including pharmacists, midwives and rehabilitation therapists, argued their compensation has failed to match rising costs of living while understaffing issues prevent adequate patient care.

Union members sought a 25% pay boost spread across four years, claiming their current wages lag behind comparable positions by at least 7%.

The healthcare giant had offered a 21.5% raise over the same timeframe. Company representatives argued their unionized staff already earns 16% more than industry counterparts on average, and meeting striker demands would force higher costs onto patients.

Medical facilities stayed operational throughout the strike, though some face-to-face appointments moved to telehealth platforms and certain non-urgent procedures were postponed.

Based in Oakland, Kaiser Permanente runs one of America’s biggest nonprofit healthcare networks, providing services to 12.6 million patients across 600 medical facilities and 40 hospitals, primarily in western states.

Meanwhile in New York City, nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital system voted Saturday to accept a new contract, ending their own strike that lasted over a month.

Two additional major New York hospital networks, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, resolved their nursing strikes earlier this month through contract deals with the same union.