31,000 KAISER NURSES AND HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES ENTER WEEK TWO OF STRIKE: “OUR EXCELLENCE EARNED MAGNET STATUS — NOT KAISER’S SUPPORT”

31,000 Kaiser Nurses and Health Care Employees Enter Week Two of Strike: “Our Excellence Earned Magnet Status — Not Kaiser’s Support”

Legislators join picket lines as nurses expose Kaiser’s misleading ads and demand enforceable staffing protections

LOS ANGELES — Registered nurses and health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente represented by United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) are entering the second week of an unfair labor practice strike that will continue until a fair contract is reached. The strike, at Kaiser facilities across California and Hawaii, was called in response to Kaiser’s use of delaying tactics at the national bargaining table.

Today, Monday, Feb. 2., picketing resumes as prominent “Voices For Care” pickets are taking place at Kaiser Downey, where Kaiser is slated to undergo part of its Magnet hospital process, and at Kaiser South Sacramento, where state legislators will show their support directly, underscoring the political momentum behind nurses’ fight for safe staffing and patient care protections. Limited bargaining at the local level is expected to resume this week.

WIDESPREAD POLITICAL SUPPORT AS STRIKE CONTINUES 

The 31,000-member strike, currently the largest health care strike in the United States, has garnered unprecedented legislative support in both states. All major California gubernatorial candidates visited picket lines, demonstrating broad political recognition of the critical issues at stake for patient care. Hawaii elected officials have visited strike lines there. 

WHAT IS MAGNET STATUS AND WHY KAISER’S CLAIMS MISS THE POINT 

The strike enters its second week as Kaiser Downey undergoes its Magnet redesignation process, with frontline caregivers challenging Kaiser’s use of nursing awards to dismiss legitimate workplace concerns.

Magnet designation is the highest national honor for nursing excellence, awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to hospitals that demonstrate superior patient care, nursing innovation, and professional nursing practice. Magnet hospitals are recognized for better patient outcomes, lower mortality rates, higher patient satisfaction, and safer care environments. The designation requires hospitals to show evidence of nurse empowerment, shared governance, and adequate staffing — all factors that directly impact patient safety and quality of care.

Kaiser has publicly pointed to its Magnet status as proof that “nurses’ staffing concerns are unfounded.” UNAC/UHCP nurses say this completely misses the point: Magnet status reflects their professional excellence and dedication, not Kaiser’s adequate support or staffing practices.

NURSES SPEAK OUT: MAGNET REFLECTS OUR WORK, NOT KAISER’S SUPPORT 

Nurses deeply involved in Kaiser Downey’s Magnet process are challenging Kaiser’s narrative that awards and quality scores negate their legitimate workplace concerns:

Corina Zana, RN, a charge nurse at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, said, “Magnet designation represents more than an award. It is a recognition of the exemplary work frontline nurses provide every day through dedication, commitment, and hard work. Frontline nurses — once recognized as ‘heroes’ — find themselves advocating for the resources necessary to safely care for patients.” 

Erika Castro, RN, a nurse who has been with Kaiser for almost five years and contributed to the CAUTI (catheter-associated urinary tract infection) cart initiative that eliminated hospital-acquired infections on her floor, stated: “Magnet should not only reflect nursing excellence but also employer support, which at this time we see a lack of.” Castro noted that while some nurses receive opportunities for professional development, “not all nurses have, and their knowledge is limited.”

Sonia Sanchez, RN, a charge nurse deeply involved with Magnet since the first designation and a co-lead for a high-level union-management team, emphasized the source of Magnet achievements: “This work was not directed or mandated by management. It came from nursing autonomy, shared governance, and a commitment to excellence in patient care.” While acknowledging some improvements over the years, Sanchez was clear: “Magnet reflects nursing excellence and professional practice—it does not negate the need for continued advocacy, accountability, or improvement.”

Mayra Flores, RN, a 21-year Kaiser veteran who has served as a shared governance co-lead for nearly 10 years, has contributed extensively to Magnet through quality initiatives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and unit-based improvements. “This work is important to me because it is supposed to represent a culture where nurses have a voice, practice at the top of their license, and are empowered to drive meaningful change,” she said. “Magnet is supposed to reflect the daily commitment our teams make every day while being supported by leadership, but this is not happening in many areas.”

EXCELLENCE ACHIEVED DESPITE UNSAFE CONDITIONS, NOT BECAUSE OF THEM 

UNAC/UHCP nurses emphasize that Kaiser’s use of Magnet designation to dismiss critical staffing and safety concerns fails to recognize a fundamental truth: nurses make Magnet status possible through their professionalism, leadership, and advocacy—often while absorbing unsafe working conditions. Several Kaiser hospitals have earned the nursing excellence designation since 2017, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when nurses were stretched beyond limits.

“We are proud of our Magnet status and patient outcomes. They reflect the extraordinary work nurses do every day, often despite chronic staffing strain, missed breaks, and unsafe assignments,” said Zachary Pritchett, RN, who served on the committee to reach Magnet status at Kaiser Los Angeles. “But the situation remains unsustainable. We are reaching the breaking point.”

Quality scores measure patient outcomes, not the daily workload, burnout, missed breaks, or inadequate staffing that frontline caregivers experience. Nurses maintain that excellent outcomes exist because nurses work harder to compensate for Kaiser’s profit-driven understaffing — not because problems don’t exist.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: KAISER’S MISLEADING AD CAMPAIGN

Kaiser Permanente has taken out extensive ads attempting to misrepresent nurse proposals and bargaining positions. UNAC/UHCP members are setting the record straight.

KAISER’S FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT WAGES 

Kaiser’s claim that the union proposal for nurses is a 60-plus percent wage increase is simply false. It’s a misrepresentation. Kaiser executives have inflated the numbers by rolling together step progressions, longevity adjustments, and compensation nurses already earn over time. That’s not a raise; that’s accounting gymnastics.

“The only wage proposal we have ever received that covers all the nurses in our southern California contract is the National proposal where Kaiser has offered 21.5%. Kaiser publicized that offer to the press,” said Vanessa Caballero, Representation Director for UNAC/UHCP. “We provided Kaiser a comprehensive package proposal that includes wage grid adjustments to reflect wages they are already paying other nurses at Kaiser in California, and it also includes addressing staffing concerns and following our contractual, legally enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios. Instead of countering, Kaiser managers tell the public 30 percent wage increases and strong staffing are on the table. So, where’s the 30 percent and where’s their commitment to proper staffing? We have no such proposal from Kaiser.”

“When we return to our local bargaining table on Tuesday, Kaiser should commit to continue bargaining every day thereafter until negotiations are settled, and Kaiser should agree to enforceable protections for patients and caregivers.”

The union has proposed that Kaiser address how far behind UNAC/UHCP Southern California nurses have fallen compared to Northern California Kaiser nurses, and even nurses within the Kaiser system in Southern California, as well as other competing hospital systems—despite doing the same work, under the same economic pressures, and often with far less support.

Kaiser has also failed to make meaningful staffing proposals. Nurses are being asked to do the work of two people, sometimes without adequate CNAs (certified nursing assistants), without break relief, and without charge nurses able to function in their actual role. That takes a real physical and mental toll, and it directly impacts patient care.

“This is classic Kaiser: pretend it can’t afford to meet its responsibility to patients because it would raise member premiums. That’s not true,” said Moises Alarcon, RN, Executive Treasurer of UNAC/UHCP. “If Kaiser can pay 10 top executives $45 million per year and hoard massive resources for legal battles and fancy ads against its own employees, it can afford to invest those resources into patient safety and fair wages.”

WHAT UNAC/UHCP ACTUALLY WANTS FOR PATIENT CARE 

UNAC/UHCP proposed clear, enforceable rules to ensure nurse-to-patient ratios are actually followed. Patients receive better care when only bedside nurses directly caring for patients count toward nurse-patient ratios — not charge (temporary supervisory) nurses, break relief nurses, or administrative nurses. Kaiser has refused to agree to detailed staffing charts showing exactly how many nurses of each type are needed.

Additional UNAC/UHCP proposals include:

• a joint task force to monitor whether staffing rules are being followed
• daily staffing reports shared with both Kaiser leadership and UNAC/UHCP representatives (Kaiser only wants to report to themselves.)
• an internal pool of specially trained nurses who can work at different locations where help is needed

THE CRITICAL ISSUE: KAISER WANTS NO ACCOUNTABILITY 

Even if Kaiser agrees to these staffing proposals, it wants union members to give up their right to legally enforce them. Kaiser’s proposed contract language says the union cannot file grievances, go to arbitration, or take legal action if those accountability measures aren’t met.

Kaiser could break the staffing agreement with no consequences, leaving nurses unable to fight back when units are understaffed, even though understaffing puts patients at risk and registered nurses’ licenses on the line.

“If Kaiser Permanente is committed to the mission of delivering high-quality care as it claims, it will stop using Magnet status to dismiss critical staffing concerns, stop running misleading ads, and do what’s right,” Caballero said.

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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.