31,000 Kaiser Nurses Plan to Strike Across California and Hawaii, From SF to San Diego
- 31,000 Kaiser nurses and health care professionals across California and Hawaii have issued a 10-day notice to strike, with walkouts possible from San Diego to Oakland and even Honolulu starting January 26.
- Safe staffing, wages, and stalled contract negotiations are at the center of the dispute, following the expiration of the union’s contract and an unresolved unfair labor practice charge.
- The strike could impact care at dozens of hospitals and hundreds of clinics, making it one of the largest potential health care labor actions of the year.
More than 31,000 frontline nurses and health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente have issued a 10-day notice of intent to strike, according to a Press Release obtained by Nurse.org. The notice is setting the stage for a possible Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike beginning Monday, January 26.
The notice was delivered by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), which represents Kaiser employees across California and Hawaii. If the strike proceeds, picket lines are expected at nearly 20 Kaiser hospitals and more than 200 clinics, stretching from Los Angeles to San Diego, Oakland to Honolulu.
Who Is Involved
UNAC/UHCP represents a wide range of licensed and specialized health care professionals, including registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists, physician assistants, midwives, therapists, dietitians, and speech-language pathologists.
The union is part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, a coalition that negotiates a national contract on behalf of 23 local unions covering Kaiser facilities from Hawaii to Washington, D.C.
Most UNAC/UHCP members work in California, where approximately one in four residents receives care through Kaiser Permanente. In Hawaii, Kaiser serves about 272,000 health plan members.
Why a Strike Now?
The strike notice follows the release of a new UNAC/UHCP report examining Kaiser Permanente’s financial practices. According to the union, the report highlights billions of dollars in financial reserves and investments at Kaiser, while frontline workers and patients continue to experience chronic understaffing and delayed access to care.
Union leaders argue that Kaiser, which operates as a tax-favored nonprofit, has continued to pursue expansion projects nationwide while claiming it cannot afford staffing improvements or wage increases at existing facilities.
Contract negotiations between UNAC/UHCP and Kaiser expired on September 30. The two sides previously experienced a five-day work stoppage in October 2025. Since then, negotiations have reportedly stalled, with no bargaining sessions held for over a month.
In December, UNAC/UHCP filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging Kaiser attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process and interfered with good-faith negotiations that had been ongoing since May 2025.
Legal Requirements and Patient Care
Under federal law, health care unions must provide at least 10 days’ notice before initiating a strike. This requirement is intended to allow hospitals time to prepare and maintain continuity of patient care.
Union leaders say the notice is both a legal obligation and an opportunity for Kaiser to return to the bargaining table before a strike begins.
Core Issues Cited by the Union
UNAC/UHCP has identified several key issues driving the strike authorization:
- Safe staffing: Workers report that ongoing shortages and increasing workloads are contributing to care delays, increased risk of errors, and widespread burnout across clinical roles.
- Wages and economic security: The union says Kaiser’s wage proposals do not keep pace with rising costs of housing, food, and health care, contributing to retention challenges.
- Retirement security: Many health care professionals represented by the union do not have pensions, raising concerns about long-term financial stability after physically demanding careers.
- Bargaining process concerns: UNAC/UHCP alleges Kaiser has used disputes over union communications to halt negotiations and apply pressure outside the agreed-upon bargaining structure.
What Union Leaders Are Saying
“We’re not going on strike to make noise,” said Charmaine S. Morales, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP. “We’re authorizing a strike to win staffing that protects patients, win workload standards that stop moral injury, and win the respect and dignity Kaiser has denied for far too long.”
Morales added that the union believes the situation could be resolved if Kaiser returns to the negotiating table. “Kaiser can end this whenever they choose by coming back to the table and bargaining in good faith,” she said.
What Happens Next
If negotiations do not resume, the strike could begin as scheduled on January 26. Union leaders say the goal remains reaching an agreement, not prolonging labor action.
For nurses and health care professionals watching closely, the situation highlights broader industry tensions around staffing, burnout, nonprofit health system finances, and the growing role of labor action in health care advocacy.
As the deadline approaches, all eyes will be on whether Kaiser Permanente and UNAC/UHCP can reach a resolution before picket lines go up.
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