31,000 UNAC/UHCP REGISTERED NURSES AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ISSUE 10-DAY NOTICE TO STRIKE AT KAISER PERMANENTE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 15, 2026
CONTACT: press@unacuhcp.org

**Photos and videos of Kaiser nurses’ recent strike available here, courtesy of UNAC/UHCP**

31,000 UNAC/UHCP HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ISSUE 10-DAY NOTICE TO STRIKE AT KAISER PERMANENTE

Picket lines planned from Los Angeles to San Diego, Oakland to Honolulu at nearly 20 Kaiser hospitals and 200 clinics

Strike notice follows release of new report on Kaiser’s financial practices and the harm caused to patients

LOS ANGELES – The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) has delivered a strike notice to Kaiser Permanente executives. The Unfair Labor Practice strike is set to begin on Monday, January 26th.

31,000 Kaiser frontline registered nurses and health professionals will strike at more than two dozen hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii. At stake, workers say, are safe staffing levels, timely access to quality care, fair wages, and respect at the bargaining table.

 
UNAC/UHCP represents the 31,000 union health care professionals at Kaiser and is part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which bargains a national contract for 23 local unions covering dozens of hospitals and hundreds of clinics from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. 

The strike notice follows a new report released by UNAC/UHCP earlier today detailing Kaiser’s billions of dollars in reserves and questionable financial investments, while patients are being harmed by chronic understaffing and delayed access to care.

As Kaiser — a tax-favored nonprofit — fails in its obligations to caregivers and patients, it is also focusing aggressively on expansion projects across the country, despite claims it cannot afford necessary staffing improvements and wage increases at home. UNAC/UHCP’s contract with Kaiser expired on Sept. 30, and the union previously took to the picket lines for a 5-day work stoppage in October 2025. 

Now, negotiations have been stalled for over a month as Kaiser management has refused to return to the bargaining table. In December, the union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Kaiser, alleging the employer has attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process and interfere with good-faith negotiations that had been underway since May 2025.

By law, health care unions must give employers at least 10 days’ notice before a strike to ensure continuity of patient care and allow hospitals time to prepare.

UNAC/UHCP members include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians, and other specialty health care professionals. 

The vast majority of UNAC/UHCP union members work in California, where 1 in 4 residents get their care from Kaiser. UNAC/UHCP also represents workers in Hawaii, where Kaiser serves 272,000 health plan members.

“We’re not going on strike to make noise. 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,” said Charmaine S. Morales, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP.

“Kaiser can end this whenever they choose by coming back to the table and bargaining in good faith. Until they do, we are done waiting. Striking is the lawful power of working people, and we are prepared to use it on behalf of our profession and patients.”

CORE ISSUES DRIVING THE STRIKE

• Safe staffing: health care worker shortages and escalating workloads are contributing to dangerous delays in care, increased risk of error, and burnout across critical clinical roles.
• Fair wages and economic security: Kaiser’s offer doesn’t keep up with the skyrocketing cost of housing, food, and health care. Years of stagnant wages are driving health workers out of the profession, worsening staffing issues across the system.
• Retirement Security: Many professionals lack pensions. After a lifetime of physically demanding work, caregivers deserve dignity and stability in retirement.
• Respect at the bargaining table: Kaiser is using a feigned concern about the union’s lawful and protected communication to halt negotiations, sidestep the bargaining structure, and pressure union decision-making outside of the established process.

With the latest call for a strike, UNAC/UHCP is demanding Kaiser return to the bargaining table in good faith and seeking greater transparency and oversight of nonprofit healthcare systems. 

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United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) represents more than 40,000 registered nurses and healthcare professionals in California and Hawaii, including optometrists; pharmacists; physical, occupational and speech therapists; case managers; nurse midwives; social workers; clinical lab scientists; physician assistants and nurse practitioners; hospital support and technical staff. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO.