Thousands of Kaiser Permanente Workers to Protest on Labor Day in Hollywood as Strike Nears
Dozens of Workers to Engage in Civil Disobedience; Urge Healthcare Giant Get Back on Track before October Walkout
LOS ANGELES – With more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers set to strike nationwide in early October in the largest walkout in more than two decades, thousands of them – along with patients, clergy, elected leaders and community allies – will protest at 10 a.m., Monday, Sept. 2 at Los Angeles City College, 4133 Marathon St., against the healthcare giant’s unfair labor practices and shift from prioritizing patients and the community to profits and enriching top executives.
Following the 30-minute rally, workers will march one mile to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 4867 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, where dozens of them are expected to engage in civil disobedience by blocking an intersection near the facility.
“On the one day meant to recognize working people, it’s a shame that Kaiser Permanente is attacking the same employees who made it successful in the first place,” said Verna Hampton, a service representative at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in West Los Angeles. “We reject what Kaiser has become, and instead urge the corporation to join us in the fight to provide quality patient care and protect good, middle-class jobs that America needs.”
Similar Labor Day protests of Kaiser Permanente workers will be held in Oakland, Sacramento, Denver and Portland, Ore., where thousands more combined are expected to demonstrate against Kaiser’s failure to bargain in good faith.
While Kaiser Permanente is a “non-profit,” it has reported profits of $11 billion since Jan. 1, 2017, including $5.2 billion just in the first half of 2019. In addition, it has amassed more than $37 billion in reserves and pays at least 36 executives more than $1 million annually, led by CEO Bernard Tyson and his $16 million-a-year compensation.
The strike would begin in early October and affect more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente employees nationwide, of which 66,000 are based in California. It would be the largest walkout since 185,000 Teamsters went on strike at United Parcel Service in 1997.
In December 2018, the National Labor Relations Board charged Kaiser Permanente with failing to bargain in good faith. Since then, Kaiser has continued to bargain in bad faith and commit additional unfair labor practices.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions comprises unions in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Their national contract with Kaiser Permanente expired Sept. 30, 2018.
Workers want Kaiser Permanente to bargain in good faith and stop committing unfair labor practices, and are fighting for a new contract that would:
1. Restore a true worker-management partnership, and have Kaiser bargain in good faith;
2. Ensure safe staffing and compassionate use of technology;
3. Build the workforce of the future to deal with major projected shortages of licensed and accredited staff in the coming years; and
4. Protect middle-class jobs with wages and benefits that can support families.
WHAT:
Thousands of healthcare workers and allies will protest and march against the corporation’s unfair labor practices and shift from caring about the community to piling up enormous profits and enriching top executives. Dozens of them are expected to engage in civil disobedience by blocking an intersection near the Kaiser Medical Center in Hollywood.
WHEN:
Monday, Sept. 2
10 a.m.
WHERE:
Los Angeles City College (swap meet parking lot)
4133 Marathon St.
Los Angeles, Calif. 90029
Kaiser Permanente Statement to be Attributed to John Nelson,
Vice President of Communications
Kaiser Permanente and SEIU-UHW have been working together toward a mutually beneficial agreement, as part of the national bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions that began in April.
Unfortunately, SEIU-UHW leadership has decided to use the threat of a strike as a bargaining tactic, even though it is divisive and pushes everyone away from agreement rather than toward consensus. To make this tactic work, SEIU-UHW leadership engaged in a concerted campaign to misrepresent Kaiser Permanente’s bargaining proposal, even though that proposal is the result of collaborative bargaining with the union’s leadership.
Using everything from social media to press releases to workplace fliers, SEIU-UHW leadership has waged a no-holds-barred campaign designed to divide employees from management and mischaracterize Kaiser Permanente’s position.
In the union’s materials over the past several weeks, pay raises have been called pay cuts, and they have falsely claimed our employees’ pensions will be taken away. Guidelines for partnership behavior – previously agreed to by current union leadership – have been attacked as undemocratic and a violation of constitutional rights, all in the union’s effort to promote a strike vote.
To be clear, Kaiser Permanente has presented a contract proposal that would provide annual pay increases that would keep our employees compensated higher than market averages and maintain excellent benefits. Contrary to the union’s claims, no current employee’s defined benefit pension would be taken away, and employees who join in the future would receive market-leading defined contribution retirement benefits. Finally, the proposed partnership guidelines are based on mutual respect, and SEIU-UHW leadership already agreed to a similar version in 2018.
Unfortunately, for more than two years, the leadership of SEIU-UHW has been waging a powerplay within the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and demanding control. This behavior ultimately caused a split in the Coalition, and two-thirds of the unions withdrew from the group last year, eventually forming the Alliance of Health Care Unions. Kaiser Permanente bargained with and reached agreement with the Alliance last fall.
Currently, SEIU-UHW leadership is demanding a contract that is superior to the one reached with the Alliance and all our other contracts. The Coalition’s proposal would increase our wages on average 32% above the market over the next five years, adding a billion dollars to our labor costs.
At a time when we are working hard to keep our care affordable, the Coalition’s demands are not fair to our members and the communities we serve. Coalition-represented employees are already compensated 23% above market rates – we pay well but we will not allow further escalation above the market as we have some markets where our wage rates are challenging our ability to be affordable.
Despite the union leadership’s divisive tactics, we will continue to work toward a great new contract agreement that will benefit our employees and provide for a sustainable future as we continue work to make our high-quality, integrated model of care more affordable and accessible.
We are hopeful that our employees will value our proposal and that SEIU-UHW and the other Coalition unions will move forward with us to reach a new agreement. Our goal is to continue to make Kaiser Permanente a great place to give and receive care.
Proposed Contract Offer
Kaiser Permanente’s bargaining proposal would provide employees with the following best-in-class conditions:
- Solid wage increases. The average salary of Coalition-represented employees is already higher than market averages. Mindful of our goal to improve the affordability of health care and engage our employees in the effort, the current proposal provides guaranteed wage increases across the board each year through 2022 of 3% each year in Northern and Southern California.
- Opportunities for new hires. Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition are proposing a $40 million Workforce Development Fund and creation of new-hire training positions, all part of the solution to address the national shortage of health care workers and help develop the next generation of unionized workers in health care.
- Retirement security. The proposal preserves the existing defined pension plan along with other strong retirement benefits.
- Career mobility. The proposal includes a more robust tuition reimbursement program for employees that adds an additional $250 to travel funds.
- Affordable health care. The proposal includes a pharmacy utilization approach that incents employees to take greater responsibility for their health by rewarding them for increasing their use of mail-order prescriptions.
In contrast, just last year SEIU-UHW touted what it described as “strong wages and benefits” in the agreement it reached with Dignity Health that included lower wage increases (13% over 5 years plus a one-time 1% bonus) than being offered by Kaiser Permanente, and only $2.5 million for workforce development, as compared to $40 million in Kaiser Permanente’s current proposal. (Source: SEIU-UHW press release, March 2018, http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/26114)
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