Kaiser Strike Ends With 21.5% Raise for 31,000 Health Care Workers

The four-week strike involving 31,000 UNAC/UHCP health care workers has officially ended. Union leadership accepted the 21.5% wage offer with strengthened staffing protections and made an unconditional offer to return to work while local bargaining continues. The strike, which began January 26, 2026, is considered the largest open-ended nurses strike in U.S. history.

Union leaders emphasized that wages were only one piece of a broader package aimed at improving patient safety, recruitment, and retention across Kaiser Permanente facilities.

“The union accepted the 21.5% across-the-board wage increase because every UNAC/UHCP member deserves to see that improvement — and because it is part of a broader package that includes real gains on safe staffing, recruitment, and retention,” union leadership said in a statement.

A Hard-Fought Agreement

According to UNAC/UHCP, the agreement did not come easily.

The union accused Kaiser Permanente of walking away from the bargaining table, refusing to bargain in good faith, and filing delays that prolonged negotiations. Those tactics, union officials said, made it critical to secure enforceable contract language that locks in staffing protections.

Four weeks on the picket line was not a decision members took lightly. Union leaders said workers struck because Kaiser was not moving on key patient safety issues.

“Wages were never the only thing on the table,” the union stated. “Members fought — and will continue to fight — for the protections that shape patient care and professional integrity.”

What Health Care Workers Won

Union members highlighted several staffing-related wins they say will directly impact patient care:

• Ending “paper staffing”: Kaiser will no longer be able to count charge nurses or break relief nurses toward required patient ratios. The union says this ensures that when a nurse is assigned to a patient, that nurse is fully available to provide care.
• Creation of an internal nurse registry: The contract establishes a new internal system to deploy registered nurses to short-staffed units — including overnight shifts — to address dangerous staffing gaps.
• Preservation and expansion of safeguards: The agreement maintains existing staffing protections and extends safer staffing standards into clinic and ambulatory settings, areas union leaders say are increasingly critical to patient safety.

Accountability and Enforcement

Union leaders were sharply critical of Kaiser’s conduct during negotiations, describing the health care system — which reported $76 billion in revenue — as prioritizing finances over frontline safety concerns.

When Kaiser presented its wage offer, union officials argued it was framed as a “maximum offer” intended to shut down further conversations about staffing and workload issues.

UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales, RN, said from the outset that the strike centered on what the union characterized as unfair labor practices and Kaiser’s refusal to bargain in good faith over staffing concerns.

“We are back inside Kaiser facilities today. Our eyes are open and our commitment to our patients has never been stronger,” Morales said in a statement. “We went up against a $76 billion organization that tried to silence us with money while ignoring safety. We didn’t let that happen. We won real protections for our patients, and we will enforce every single one of them.”

Kaiser previously described the strike as “unnecessary” and accused union members of using patients as leverage — a claim the union strongly disputes.

Who Was Involved

UNAC/UHCP represents a wide range of licensed and specialized health care professionals, including:

• Registered nurses
• Nurse practitioners
• Nurse anesthetists
• Midwives
• Physician assistants
• Rehab therapists
• Dietitians
• Pharmacists
• Other frontline health professionals

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 across the U.S.

In addition to UNAC/UHCP members already striking, the union says pharmacy and laboratory workers represented by UFCW locals are preparing to join in separate walkouts, further increasing pressure on Kaiser management.

Why the Strike Escalated

The strike follows continued contract negotiations that, according to union leaders, have been stalled for more than a month.

UNAC/UHCP claims Kaiser walked away from the national bargaining table and replaced negotiations with what it describes as misleading communications.

“Kaiser has ghosted us,” said Geraldine Doronio, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) at Kaiser Moanalua and member of UNAC/UHCP’s CRNA bargaining team.

Union representatives also argue that Kaiser has emphasized a proposed 21.5% national wage offer, while downplaying what they describe as major proposed cuts to retirement and health benefits.

Staffing and Retention Concern

Frontline workers say Kaiser’s refusal to address staffing, scheduling, and retention is worsening care delays and pushing experienced clinicians out of the system.

“Despite what they may say publicly, Kaiser has not reached out to us to bargain,” said Stacy Eldridge, MS, a registered dietitian at Kaiser in Bakersfield and a member of the UNAC/UHCP bargaining team. She added that she is concerned about how long patients are waiting for care.

UNAC/UHCP also points to Kaiser’s financial reserves, arguing that the system has the resources to improve staffing and working conditions.

Why Strike?

The strike 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 argued 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.

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.

For nurses and healthcare professionals watching closely, the situation highlights growing national tensions around safe staffing, retention, and the role of labor action in healthcare systems.

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