Labor issues have come to the fore in numerous industries in 2023 with the autoworkers of the UAW union and the writers in the Hollywood strike taking most of the headlines with their high profile picket lines.
But one industry that was crucial to getting the country through the covid pandemic is experiencing labor strife after a coalition of eight unions representing 75,000 employees saw their labor contract expire Saturday night after months of failed negotiations.
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Employees of Kaiser Permanente — the largest healthcare operator in the country which operates a hospital network with over 300,000 personnel across 39 hospitals — could strike as soon as Wednesday if a deal is not reached before then.
“Contract expirations do not mean a strike will happen. We remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement and avoid an unnecessary strike,” the company told CNN. “We have contingency plans in place to ensure members continue to receive safe, high-quality care for the duration of the strike.”
Meanwhile the SEIU-UHW, which represents nearly 60,000 of the potentially striking workers, says that Kaiser executives have been "bargaining in bad faith over solutions to the Kaiser short staffing crisis," and that the union is fighting for the safety of its workers and patients.
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"Kaiser executives have failed to issue an economic proposal that would adequately address the Kaiser short staffing crisis," said Caroline Lucas, executive director of the Coalition for Kaiser Permanente Unions.
"In fact, the current position of Kaiser executives will accelerate the short staffing crisis that is having disastrous consequences for patients within the Kaiser network."
Their demands?
The workers want a $25 per hour minimum wage, raises that keep up with inflation, an improvement to their benefits package and the hiring of more workers.
The union is looking for a four-year contract that raises pay 7% during the first two years and 6.25% in the second half of the contract. They also want workers to be eligible for an annual performance bonus that would equal a percentage of their annual wages if goals are met.
Meanwhile, Kaiser says it has proposed a minimum bonus payment "to protect our employees from receiving no payout," but the bonuses would be dictated by employee performance as well as the hospital's financial performance.
Kaiser has paid $276 million in bonuses over the last three years and another $800 million in housing and child care aid and covid-19 leave, according to USA Today. The company also says it pays above-market wages and has proposed a minimum wage of $21 per hour with a 14% wage increase over four years.
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