Press Release: 30,000 Kaiser Permanente Health Care Professionals Authorize Strike

Friday, September 19, 2025

CONTACT: press@unacuhcp.org 

30,000 Kaiser Permanente Health Care Professionals Authorize Strike

“Safe Staffing, Fair Pay, Real Respect”

Los Angeles, CA – In an overwhelming majority vote, a union of 30,000 registered nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and other frontline professionals at Kaiser Permanente have authorized a strike, setting the stage for a major Kaiser walkout.

The strike vote, held by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), comes after six months of bargaining and six months of disrespect from Kaiser management, who workers say have repeatedly dismissed proposals to fix staffing, protect patients, and keep experienced caregivers at the bedside and everywhere else they are needed across the Kaiser system. 

“Kaiser is betting we won’t unite and push for the change that patients need,” said UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales, RN, who leads more than 40,000 health care professionals across California and Hawaii in the fight for access and equity. “This overwhelming vote proves them wrong. When we stand together, Kaiser will have no choice but to recognize the need to value our labor and ensure safe staffing and care.”

Wages Stagnate as Billions Flowed
Providers also note the sharp contrast between Kaiser’s billions in financial reserves and its stagnant wage proposals. Kaiser—the fourth-largest nonprofit in the world and the largest health care system in the United States—increased cash on hand from $40 billion to $60 billion during record inflation and the COVID era, which left many nurses and other caregivers crushed under the demands for care.

“Kaiser calls itself a nonprofit, but it’s acting like a corporation hoarding billions while refusing to respect the very workers who bring them patients, members, and accolades,” said UNAC/UHCP Executive Treasurer Moises Alarcon, RN, a seasoned union negotiator and frontline leader.

The Vote: Unity, Pressure, and Patient Care
By voting yes, tens of thousands of health care workers gave their bargaining team the authority to hold Kaiser accountable for its failure to partner on:

• Safe Staffing: Kaiser’s proposals must go further to give caregivers a voice as patient advocates and to guarantee staffing ratios, workload protections, and safe working conditions.
• Fair Pay: Kaiser’s proposals fall short when measured against inflation, housing costs, and rising expenses in our communities. Caregivers deserve raises that reflect not just competitiveness, but the real economic conditions they face.
• Respect at the Table: Kaiser management must end repeated “no interest” rejections on our patient care proposals and restore the meaning of “partnership.”

Known for its participation in the landmark labor-management partnership, Kaiser is now pouring its focus into expansion into other states, instead of taking care of the patients and members who have helped the nonprofit giant grow all these years.

Part of a National Wave
Unsafe staffing and burnout aren’t just local problems—they’re national. While fighting for strong local contracts, these UNAC/UHCP caregivers are bargaining as part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, a national group of 23 unions representing workers in more than 40 hospitals and hundreds of clinics from Hawaii to Washington, D.C.

Thousands more Kaiser employees in Oregon, Washington, and other states have been holding votes to authorize walkouts. A total of 46,000 Alliance healthcare workers could be on strike across the country this fall. 

The Message is Clear
“Patients can’t wait any longer,” said UNAC/UHCP Executive Director Joe Guzynski, the union’s chief negotiator. “Kaiser Permanente has had every opportunity to do the right thing. Instead, they’ve stonewalled, disrespected caregivers, and hidden behind management rights.”

With collective bargaining contracts expiring at month’s end, UNAC/UHCP continues to negotiate with Kaiser Permanente to reach agreements that ensure safe staffing, fair wages, and genuine respect for the professionals who keep this system running.

 

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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.