Contracts & Bargaining
Front row, pictured left to right:
Christina Perryman, PT, MPT
Kelli Rubidoux, PT, DPT
Middle row, pictured left to right:
Sandra Chun, RT, MBA
Mariam Butler, PT, DPT, lead negotiator
Latoya Washington, PT, DPT
Denver Nino, OTD, OTR/L
Back row, pictured left to right:
Lorraine Panganiban, PT, DPT, UNAC/UHCP staff representative
Daniel Eriksson, PT
Kristen Jenkins, RN, UNAC/UHCP staff representative
Bianka Tulgar, PT, MPT
Not pictured: Edward Palafox, PT, DPT
Bargaining Report and Town Hall Meetings
October 3rd marked our 28th bargaining session.
We met with management virtually on friday afternoon and started by re-affirming our position that per diem therapists are health care professionals who are covered by our UTSC contract. Therefore, they have the same rights as all health care providers covered by our CBA to know their schedule per CBA (1732). We are still waiting on a response to our UTSC wage proposal.
We will have a brief UTSC town hall meeting on Monday, October 6 at 7:30pm to recap our bargaining to date. Please CLICK HERE to register for our town hall meeting.
Immediately following our UTSC town hall on Monday will be UNAC/UHCP’s strike town hall beginning at 8pm. The strike town hall will also be held on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 8am, and again at 8pm. During this town hall important frequently asked questions will be addressed. Please CLICK HERE to register for the meeting that best suits your schedule.
Throughout bargaining we have consistently demanded safe staffing, fair pay, retirement security, and dignity for caregivers and patients. At this point, it’s time to show our power on the strike line.
➡️ Sign up for your strike shifts today to receive the exact dates, duration, and times of the strike. Every presence matters. When we stand strong on the picket lines, we send a message that cannot be ignored: We are the professionals who make Kaiser work, and we will not back down: STRIKE! WE’RE READY!
Bargaining Report
September 30 marked our 27th bargaining session.
We started at 8:30 AM and we went until 12 midnight. Though we achieved two Tentative Agreements to improve some aspects of compensation, we are still waiting on a response to our UTSC wage proposal.
A key win from this session is a significant improvement for part-time and per-diem therapists: going forward, they will move on the wage grid at 1,600 compensated hours — a meaningful reduction from the previous 2,080-hour requirement. This change means that step increases will be reached more quickly, ensuring fairer compensation for our members’ ongoing contributions.
We also secured new language addressing job changes from higher to lower classifications.
Under this Tentative Agreement, therapists who move from a senior to a clinical specialist role, or from a clinical specialist to a staff position, will retain their current tenure step on the applicable wage scale at the time of transfer. Crucially, their anniversary date and accrued hours will not reset with a change in classification.
We have scheduled another virtual bargaining session for Friday, October 3 to address some open items.
As always, we appreciate our UTSC members’ ongoing support throughout this long negotiation process!
Bargaining Report
After 26 sessions of bargaining, we signed a Tentative Agreement (TA) on a non-economic package on Friday, September 26, 2025.
This comprehensive package includes several important additions and clarifications:
While we did receive a response to our economic proposals, a significant gap remains between labor and management on these issues. Labor wants significant improvements to our economics to reflect and honor the work we do as clinicians and to close the wage disparity. Management doesn’t hold this same interest. As a result, the economic proposal remains open.
We remain committed to advocating for fair and equitable outcomes as we move forward.
We currently do not have any future UTSC bargaining sessions scheduled, but remain committed to bargaining for a fair contract for our members.
Our next UTSC Bargaining Update Town hall will be held on Monday, September 29, 2025 at 8:00pm. Please join us to learn the latest on local and national bargaining.
Bargaining Report
Bargaining continued this week in Downey as we met with management on September 18 and 19.
We spent significant time discussing home health acuity and reached Tentative Agreement (TA) on the issue. Acuity, with a modification to OASIS transfer remains the standard for clinician workload.
We also reached a Tentative Agreement for the Home Health Professional Practice Committees to explore a “visits per week” voluntary pilot.
Management delivered to us their responses to all outstanding proposals we had previously passed to them, in certain cases months ago, in a comprehensive take-it-or-leave-it package. However the package proposal falls far short in delivering fairness and security for our members.
When bargaining began in April we jointly agreed to seek solutions to identified areas of interest using a collaborative approach in the spirit of our Labor Management Partnership (LMP). In the 25 bargaining sessions held since then our team has put in the effort to honor that commitment. We have explained our positions thoroughly and repeatedly when called for. The nature of bargaining is that the most important and usually hardest to resolve priorities do not get addressed until near the end, but those issues are discussed over time and have been thoroughly reviewed by the time the end arrives. It is thus greatly disappointing to our team to receive a package proposal that leaves out much of what we have offered as solutions to the most important issues and falls back into the corner of restating management preferences.
Our team verbally rejected the package proposal from management and asked that they come back with something we may be able to accept when we meet again next week.
Thank you very much to Peter Tam, PT from West LA who joined us in person. We appreciate your support and the support of all UTSC members as we go through this bargaining process!
Bargaining continues on Friday, Sept. 26 (location TBD). We encourage all members to continue showing support for UTSC by attending as observers. Your presence makes a difference—thank you for standing with us.
Registration to attend bargaining is available on MemberLink.
Bargaining Report
This week over three days of bargaining on September 8, 9, and 12 we covered a lot of ground and reached Tentative Agreement (TA) on two issues:
In addition we made progress towards refining contract language related to promotional and non-promotional transfers, and optimizing schedule utilization, stressing the importance of placing the right clinicians in the right roles to best support patient care.
We also furthered dialogue on fostering a culture of safety—one that encourages employees to report errors and near misses without fear of retaliation, while promoting balanced accountability in system design and improvement.
Lastly, we presented a counterproposal in response to management’s interest in enhancing productivity within the home health setting.
Our 25th bargaining session is scheduled for next Friday, September 19, 2025, at Independence Park in the Downey Service Area.
We encourage all members to continue showing support for UTSC by attending as observers. Your presence makes a difference—thank you for standing with us.
Registration to attend bargaining is available on MemberLink.
Bargaining Report
On Wednesday, September 3 our UTSC bargaining team held our 21st bargaining session at Independence Park in Downey. We continue to have extensive conversations on issues still unresolved and are working to find resolutions.
This week our team passed a counter proposal to management to address and update language pertaining to Bereavement and Personal Sick Leave so that it more clearly aligns with California state law.
In addition management made a retraction of changes they had previously made to their proposal regarding per diem language.
We still have not received a response to our economic proposal. For reference we passed our economic proposal to management in June. We have and continue to stress this as a high priority item to our members.
Thank you to the observers who joined us this week, Jay Caesar Advincula, BHRNA President, ICU RN, and Olivia Guevara, UNAC/UHCP Staff Representative. We appreciate you both for joining us in support.
Bargaining continues next week in Los Angeles at the Intercontinental hotel on Monday Sept. 8 and Tuesday, Sept. 9. Members are encouraged to join us in person if you are able to do so. Registration to attend bargaining is available on MemberLink.
UNAC/UHCP Treasurer Moises Alarcon and member observers join the UTSC bargaining team on Friday, August 29.
On Friday, August 29 our UTSC bargaining team held our 20th bargaining session at UNAC/UHCP Headquarters in San Dimas. UNAC/UHCP Executive Officer Moises Alarcon joined us in person as did five observers from Home Health. Thank you to Allen Lee, Uma Gulvady, Candice Shearer, Gretchen Trumpf, and Jenny Lee for your participation!
Management passed an amendment and side letter to supplement their previous Outpatient Staffing/Workload Schedule Utilization (SU) proposal. The proposal and new amendment/side letter are under consideration but not agreed to.
Our team passed a new proposal which updates the National Certification Recognition to include more certifications. We also passed a counter to management’s prior proposal on bereavement leave.
We still have not received a response to our economic proposal that we proposed back in June. Management has been made aware that this is of the highest priority to our members.
A UTSC bargaining virtual town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2 at 7:30pm. Please join the town hall to receive the latest info available on the status of negotiations.
Please register in advance to attend this town hall.
Our next bargaining session will be on Wednesday, September 3 at Independence Park, followed by two days at the Intercontinental hotel in downtown Los Angeles on September 8 & 9. Members are encouraged to join us in person if you can. Registration to attend bargaining is available on MemberLink.
Show that you are ready to do whatever it takes to win a fair contract that protects our patients, uplifts our communities, and secures our professions.
Tens of thousands of UNAC/UHCP members have already signed the Unity Petition. Now it’s time to take the pledge.
Already pledged? Encourage your co-workers to join you.
Bargaining continued this week on August 18 and 22 at the Intercontinental hotel in downtown Los Angeles, coinciding with Alliance National Bargaining also underway at the Intercontinental.
Management passed two proposals to our team, regarding:
• Home Health acuity
• Outpatient schedule utilization
Both proposals were thoroughly reviewed and discussed upon receipt.
Non-promotional transfers were also discussed at length, and management responded to counter proposals we previously passed regarding:
• Bereavement Leave
• Paid Sick Leave for non-benefited health care providers
We have not yet received a response from management regarding our economic proposal.
Our team was proud to give management our unity petition today. More than 90% of our membership signed this petition showing our solidarity together in demanding safe staffing improvements, significant wage increases, and a fair contract reflecting the value we bring each and every day to our patients.
On next Tuesday, August 26 at 7:30pm our team is holding a virtual town hall meeting for members to receive the most up to date information on the state of bargaining. Please save the date and make plans to join this call.
Thank you to Cherlene Hung, OT, from Riverside and Lorraine McNaughton, PT, from Valley’s Home Health who joined us in person on Monday as member observers. We are also very grateful for the support from the many UNAC/UHCP executive officers who joined us at bargaining today: Charmaine Morales, President, Peter Sidhu, Executive Vice President, and Moises Alarcon, State Treasurer.
Our next bargaining session is on Friday, August 29 at UNAC/UHCP HQ in San Dimas. Members are encouraged to join us in person if you can. Registration to attend bargaining is available on MemberLink.
Since June, tens of thousands of UNAC/UHCP members have signed the Unity Petition—and we delivered those signatures to Kaiser to show we’re united for strong contracts.
On August 1, we rallied by the thousands across Southern California, sending a powerful message: we’re ready to fight for what we deserve.
Now it’s time to pledge your commitment to winning contracts that protect patients, uplift communities, and secure our professions.
Already pledged? Encourage your co-workers to join you.
Bargaining Report
We are pleased to announce that this week in bargaining, on August 4, we reached Tentative Agreement on Seniority when multiple status changes occur. For example to address what happens when a per diem employee changes to a benefited position, or vice versa.
We also held extensive talks about non-promotional transfers, aka: lateral job changes. This conversation is ongoing and shall continue to be a point of focus at our next session.
With only a few bargaining sessions remaining and several important topics yet unresolved we expect that at our next session Schedule Utilization/Patient Management time and Home Health Acuity will become focal points too.
Last but not least, we want to highlight and thank Nicole Lovett, JeeJee Llanos, and Cheryl Walker for joining us in person this week as member observers!
There are only three bargaining sessions remaining and we need your support now more than ever to help us achieve the best contract possible. Please join us! The next session is on Monday, August 18 at Downey Independence Park. Followed by Friday, August 22 at Independence Park, and then on Friday, August 29 at UNAC/UHCP HQ in San Dimas.
Registration to attend bargaining is found on Memberlink.
First Tentative Agreement (TA) Reached!
At today’s contract negotiations, we reached our first Tentative Agreement (TA) on grievance and arbitration. This language provides clear and structured guidelines for workplace dispute resolution and ensures members’ access to due process.
We also discussed Per Diem commitment and responded to management’s counter proposal about PD availability and scheduling. We look forward to management’s response.
Join Us at Future Bargaining Dates
🗓️ August 4 – Independence Park, Downey
🗓️ August 18 – Independence Park, Downey
🗓️ August 22 – Orange Pavilion, Orange
🗓️ August 29 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
Your presence is powerful! Join UTSC bargaining sessions as an observer! Show management that we are strong and engaged. Register on Memberlink.
💪 Your United Therapists of Southern California (UTSC) bargaining team has been at the table this week fighting for the strong contract our members deserve.
This week’s sessions included lively discussions around Schedule Utilization (SU). Although management has raised this topic repeatedly, they have yet to present any formal proposal. Rest assured, we’re prepared to thoroughly evaluate any language they bring forward to protect our members’ professional autonomy and work-life balance.
We also submitted our response to management’s proposal on California Paid Sick Leave, continuing to advocate for policies that respect the needs of therapists and ensure fair treatment.
Additionally, we made progress by reaching mutual understanding on Per Diem language, clarifying provisions that impact many of our members.
Our team remains committed to keeping you informed and securing a contract that values your expertise and contributions. Stay tuned for more updates—and thank you for your continued solidarity and support at the bargaining table!
Future Bargaining Dates
🗓️ July 18 – Independence Park, Downey
🗓️ August 4 – Independence Park, Downey
🗓️ August 18 – Independence Park, Downey
🗓️ August 22 – Orange Pavilion, Orange
🗓️ August 29 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
Join any UTSC bargaining sessions as an observer! Bargaining runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.—join us for any amount of time, even just an hour or two. Register on Memberlink.
Bargaining Report
We bargained twice this week, joined by one member observer on Wednesday and two on Friday.
❤️ We love it when members join us to watch and participate in bargaining.
We responded on Wednesday to management’s proposal to clarify the bereavement language.
🎆 Friday was Big Time!
Management kicked it off with a proposal to capture the state law regarding sick time off for the per diems and ACPs. Then UTSC dropped the mic 🎤 with the strongest economic proposal ever!
We provided a comprehensive compensation proposal to management. We highlighted member stories and the abundance of information about our therapists’ impacts on patient care, with overwhelming impacts to Kaiser Permanente’s organization.
Here’s what is on the table:
✒️ We need to show we are united and support these historic compensation improvements. All of us must sign the unity petition to show that we support these record-breaking improvements.
Contact your steward, contract specialist, or local officer to sign the unity petition today!
Bargaining Report
Yesterday, June 12, we continued to engage with Kaiser Permanente in ongoing conversations to improve and foster uniformed understanding of the collective bargaining agreement.
Our union proposed, discussed, and clarified bargaining unit seniority.
In response to management’s interest in updating the grievance and arbitration language, both parties continue to uphold its intent toward resolving disputes.
Management responded to our previous proposal regarding advance and specialty certification examination fees, which resulted in a dynamic debate regarding its importance to the organization. Our union will continue to engage in this area of interest in future bargaining meetings.
We continue to work toward passing responses to previous management proposals and are prepared to receive management’s responses to ours at the next bargaining session on June 25.
We remain committed to ensuring that any proposed changes support both high-quality patient care and fair, sustainable working conditions for our members.
As always, we encourage all members to consider joining us as observers at our next bargaining session on June 25. Your presence makes a difference and helps strengthen our collective voice at the table.
Please take note that the bargaining session on July 10 will be at the Orange Health Pavillion (OHP) in the Orange County Service area.
Bargaining Report
Today, June 6, Kaiser Permanente management presented a proposal to update bereavement leave language to align with KP policies and state law.
We engaged in conversation to clarify the need for any adjustments to the current language and will respond at a future date.
We are working toward passing responses to previous management proposals, and expect additional responses from the management team to ours at the next session on June 12.
As always, we remain committed to ensuring that any proposed changes support both high-quality patient care and fair, sustainable working conditions for our members.
We encourage all members to consider joining us as observers at our next bargaining session on Thursday, June 12. Your presence makes a difference and helps strengthen our collective voice at the table.
Bargaining Report
During our eighth bargaining session, UTSC was proud to have three home health therapists join as observers, bringing valuable frontline insight to the table.
Management presented data related to the Care at Home program, including summaries of therapists’ patient start and end times, productivity averages, and patient acuity levels.
While no formal proposals were introduced, management indicated they are developing ideas aimed at “maximizing efficiency,” which they plan to share in future sessions.
As always, we remain committed to ensuring that any proposed changes support both high-quality patient care and fair, sustainable working conditions for our members.
We encourage all members to consider joining us as observers at our next bargaining session on Friday, June 6. Your presence makes a difference and helps strengthen our collective voice at the table.
Bargaining Report
Our UTSC bargaining team met with management this week on May 22 and 23. We engaged in rigorous discussions to clarify areas of mild disagreement on issues related to CBA interpretation. Creating a shared understanding facilitates more accurate and transparent conversation about our contract proposals.
We are pleased to announce that we have reached consensus agreement on a Letter of Understanding (LOU) to update our CBA with gender neutral language.
Additionally management passed two proposals to our team about making changes to the per-diem commitment, and the grievance and arbitration process. Our team passed three proposals to management to secure time and safe spaces for lactation, add Just Culture language, and to enhance the scope of our tuition reimbursement application.
Our next bargaining session is on May 30. Please join us as a member observer if you can. Registration to attend is found on Memberlink.
This week, on May 9, our team continued bargaining our next contract with management. We engaged in a robust conversation about per-diem commitments and the language pertaining to that topic in our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This interest was brought forward as in interest of management. We will continue to discuss this at our next bargaining session on May 22 at Palm Court in Fontana. Please join us if you are able to do so as a member observer, registration to attend is found on MemberLink.
Town Hall May 13
Join us for a UTSC virtual Town Hall meeting on May 13 at 7pm. Our bargaining team will provide an update on bargaining and we look forward to responding to any questions you may have.
To attend the meeting please register on Zoom. After registering you will receive a confirmation email about how to join.
Future Bargaining Dates
May 22 – Palm Court, Fontana
May 23 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 30 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
June 6 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
June 12 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
June 25 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
June 27 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
July 8 – Orange Pavilion, Orange
July 10 – Palm Court, Fontana
July 11 – Independence Park, Downey
July 18 – Independence Park, Downey
August 4 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
August 18 – Palm Court, Fontana
August 22 – Orange
August 29 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
Join us in person
Join our UTSC bargaining sessions as an observer! Register on MemberLink.
Bargaining typically begins at 9 a.m. and concludes by 5 p.m. You are not required to stay the entire day. Feel free to join us when you can even if only for an hour or two.
Bargaining Report
In bargaining this week, on April 29, our primary focus was to ensure that all of our interests for bargaining were known and memorialized in writing. Our team completed the task of compiling our list of interests in its entirety, clarified through discussion with management questions they had, and the table is now set to continue bargaining our next contract with an eye towards implementing improvements for our membership.
Future Bargaining Dates
Friday, May 9 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 22 – Palm Court, Fontana
May 23 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 30 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
Join us in person
Our team appreciates your support as we bargain our next contract. Please join us in person as a member observer if you can! Register to attend on Memberlink.
Bargaining typically begins at 9 a.m. and concludes by 5 p.m. You are not required to stay the entire day. Feel free to join us when you can even if only for an hour or two, or all day, the choice is yours!
Thank you to May Saez, PT and Uma Gulvady, PT for joining UTSC bargaining this week as member observers!
Finalizing our Interests
This week on April 23-24 our team met with management to continue bargaining our next contract. Importantly, we completed identification of our interests so that they are known and we can work on them as we proceed deeper into this bargaining cycle. Establishing our interests ensures that we are able to address the important needs of UTSC’s membership and secure an improved contract.
Two UTSC member observers attended the session on April 24, May Saez, PT and Uma Gulvady, PT. Thank you both for coming out and showing your support! We hope that you found the experience informative. All UTSC members are invited to join bargaining as observers. If you can’t come in person then you can show support by wearing blue on bargaining days! Every little effort counts.
Future Bargaining Dates
Tuesday, April 29 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 9 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 23 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
May 30 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, San Dimas
Join us in person
Our team appreciates your support as we bargain our next contract. Please join us in person as a member observer if you can! Register to attend on Memberlink.
Bargaining typically begins at 9 a.m. and concludes by 5 p.m. You are not required to stay the entire day. Feel free to join us when you can even if only for an hour or two, or all day, the choice is yours!
Bargaining Begins
2025 bargaining has begun in earnest with our team meeting management’s team on April 3, 2025 at UNAC/UHCP Headquarters in San Dimas.
We conducted the initial work of identifying issues during our meeting with management on April 3 and that work will continue at our next session on April 23.
UTSC bargaining dates in April
April 23 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, Room 120
April 24 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, Room 148
April 29 – UNAC/UHCP HQ, Room 120
Member support and engagement with the bargaining process delivers a powerful message to management that we are united and will stand strong together to get the improvements in our contract that we all deserve.
Show your support by wearing your UNAC/UHCP gear on bargaining days! If you don’t have union branded gear you can simply wear blue shirts or polos to show solidarity. And, if you are interested in buying some swag you can easily do so at our online store.
Join us in person to observe bargaining!
Our team always appreciates having you with us as we bargain with management. Your support empowers us at the table and shows management that the members are paying attention to what they do.
Please join us if you can. You must register to attend via Memberlink.
All bargaining sessions are open to all members. We typically bargain from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but some of the time is spent in caucus. If you would like to attend a bargaining session, please be advised you will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Southern California Kickoff
We’re ready to work toward a contract that strengthens our labor-management partnership and ensures the best care for our patients. Nearly 30,000 registered nurses and healthcare professionals across Southern California are coming together to advocate for wages that attract, retain, and respect the dedicated professionals who keep Kaiser Permanente at the forefront of healthcare.
Representing registered nurses, pharmacists, rehab therapists, optometrists, dietitians, audiologists, health educators, and speech-language pathologists, we know that delivering high-quality care starts with safe staffing. When teams are fully supported, patients receive the best care, and professionals can work at the top of their licenses.
Almost all Southern California KP contracts expire on September 30, 2025. These negotiations are a key opportunity to strengthen our workforce, improve patient outcomes, and reinforce the partnership that has provided high-quality care to Kaiser Permanente patients.
Together, we are committed to solutions that support healthcare professionals, enhance patient care, and uphold our shared mission. Stay engaged—this is our moment to make a real difference.