The Truth About Kaiser’s Offer
A Special Message from UNAC/UHCP Executive Director Joe Guzynski
Union Family,
Each day, you carry the weight of your professions — the trust, responsibility, and compassion that come with caring for others. And in return, you’ve been flooded with deceptive emails from Kaiser Permanente executives, with the help of slick consultants.
Their intent is clear: to weaken our unity and weaken our resolve. They are speaking to us as if we are naive, gullible, and short-sighted. But UNAC/UHCP has never fallen for petty maneuvers like these. We have become one of the most-respected unions in health care because we hold ourselves—and those we bargain with—to the highest standards. So, let’s set the record straight.
Kaiser keeps pumping out emails and PR spin, trying to convince you that this strike isn’t necessary, and that their offer is “strong.” This is no surprise. Their consultants specialize in manufacturing psychological strategies designed to make you feel satisfied—even grateful—with less than you deserve. And with less inflation relief than other unions are receiving.
But you know better. You experience the short staffing. You feel the burnout. You know what it’s like to stay after your shift because there’s no one else to take the next patient. You see the gap between what Kaiser says and what Kaiser does.
Let’s discuss wages
Please don’t be fooled by Kaiser’s latest message and its pretense of generosity. Yes, the wage proposal may look good on the surface—but it does not make up for the losses you have already absorbed, nor does it match what Kaiser has already provided to other unionized employees.
The truth is clear: Kaiser’s offer falls short—about 3.5% less than what is fair by any objective standard. And far less than you deserve. It is important to understand this shortfall and the facts surrounding the issue.
Historic inflation
When we negotiated the 2021 National Agreement, none of us could have predicted the onset of inflation that reached the historically high rate of 9%. To address this, in 2022 and 2023, Kaiser executives granted significant wage increases to other unions but refused our request to do the same for UNAC/UHCP.
They did the right thing in every other case, except ours. As a result, while the cost of living soared, our members’ real wages fell. Real wages refers to the amount of money a worker earns after adjusting for inflation, expressing your actual ability to pay for food, housing, and anything else. Unfortunately, during these negotiations, Kaiser executives still insist on leaving our members behind.
Our members deserve equal treatment and a contract that truly keeps pace with the high cost of living in California and Hawaii. Our wage proposal recognizes these costs, restores what was lost, and recognizes your value.
In contrast, Kaiser’s wage offer reflects a persistent failure to acknowledge the financial shortfall and address the lack of fairness. For years, this pattern has impacted our members financially, fueled turnover, and put more strain on patient care while Kaiser protects its margins. That ends now.
We have been patient. We have bargained in good faith and with urgency. But we will not accept a deal that leaves anyone behind, fails to keep pace with the cost of living, or falls short of what Kaiser already gave others. Our negotiating goals are simple: reverse the losses, reach absolute parity, and invest in retention and staffing.
Billions in KP Reserves
The official Kaiser spin is that they are restricted by “member affordability” and the “economic environment.” Let’s take an honest look at their “economic environment.” In 2021, when we last negotiated, Kaiser had $44 billion in reserves. That number has shot up to more than $66 billion, for fiscal year ending in 2024.
Moreover, Kaiser has aggressively expanded in Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
They’re not exactly going through tough times. All this, while our own members—the people making these profits possible—had to live on salaries that don’t keep pace with the rising cost of living. That’s not economic constraint. It’s a moral failure. We must not and will not allow Kaiser to take advantage of us. To do so would set a dangerous precedent.
What Kaiser leaves out
Kaiser’s current wage proposal is only one piece of a much larger problem. Kaiser executives continue to hide the full picture behind talking points and PR spin. See the truth about their proposals here: unacuhcp.org/kaiser-offers. And remember, it’s what they don’t say that matters most:
Additional wage issues
• Kaiser is pushing for significant wage cuts for Certified Nurse Midwives in Northern California.
• Kaiser is trying to eliminate long-standing pay practices, resulting in longer hours for less pay.
• Kaiser continues to deny PAs equal pay as Nurse Practitioners in Northern California, an established industry standard.
Retirement benefits
• Kaiser refuses to provide basic pension benefits to hundreds of UNAC/UHCP members who deliver care every day.
• Kaiser is pushing for severe retirement reductions to CNMs and PAs in Northern California, CRNAs in Northern California and Hawaii, and Child Life Specialists in Southern California.
• Kaiser is pushing for steep benefit cuts to CNMs, PAs in Northern California, and CRNAs in Northern California and Hawaii.
Job security
• Kaiser has rejected our proposal for basic job security, denying thousands of UNAC/UHCP members the stability of a no-cancellation provision that would protect income and ensure consistent care for patients.
Staffing shortages
• Kaiser has failed to address safe staffing, refusing our patient-centered proposals, which would reduce burnout, retain experienced caregivers, and protect quality care.
As you can see, these are not minor disagreements or theoretical bargaining topics. They expose a pattern of choices that devalue our members, weaken our workforce, and put patient care at risk. This is unacceptable.
UNAC/UHCP members have spoken
You’ve told us exactly what you need to care safely for your patients and sustain your profession. And that’s how your bargaining teams created our goals. These goals came from listening to thousands of members one-on-one, to affiliate leaders who shared your stories, and to the statements we heard in strike informational meetings and bargaining surveys. Our priorities are shaped by every conversation, comment, and concern. And we intend to make sure Kaiser finally listens.
But here’s what Kaiser is banking on: that a portion of our membership who are not directly affected by these issues—yet—will lose commitment to strike. And to those members, I’d like to address you directly—from the heart, as part of our union family:
If Kaiser succeeds in exploiting even one group of our membership this time—no matter how big or small—they will only be emboldened to prey on other groups next time. They will not hesitate to undermine other members’ wages, pensions, and more at the first chance they get. When President Charmaine Morales says, “An injury to one is an injury to all,” it is not just a slogan: It’s a warning and a truth. That’s why our solidarity isn’t just symbolic, it’s one of most-important guiding principles of UNAC/UHCP.
If Kaiser’s actions matched their supposed values, we wouldn’t be here—but they don’t. That’s why your action is more critical than ever. This fight isn’t just for you—it’s for your coworkers beside you on every shift, for the new graduate just beginning their career, and for the colleague who’s been carrying an impossible workload for too long.
We stand united
History shows us that every meaningful improvement in wages, staffing, and job security has only been won when we stood together and demanded better. And this moment is no exception. We must meet it with unity and power.
Next week, we march together knowing that our unity and unbreakable commitment to one another will compel Kaiser to finally make things right. We must ensure that Kaiser closes the gap between their rhetoric and reality. The power to do that lies with all 31,000 of us. Each of us plays a vital role. When we march—for ourselves, for each other, and for the patients we serve—we strengthen our union, shape the future we share, and uplift the communities that depend on us.
—Joe Guzynski, JD, MA, is the UNAC/UHCP Executive Director and Lead Negotiator