31K Kaiser Permanente employees prepare to strike, citing staffing issues and low pay
Contract negotiations with the union representing workers at Kaiser Permanente stalled in December, and now the health system faces a massive labor strike. Some 31,000 workers from across its dozens of hospitals and clinics are planning to stay home starting on Jan. 26.
The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) said it delivered its 10-day notice to Kaiser’s leadership on Thursday, which expressed the intent of California and Hawaii workers to walk off the job on the start date.
The union launched a webpage to help its members prepare, which includes scheduled “strike school” classes to begin on Jan. 19. Notably, Kaiser employees with UNAC/UHCP have been without a contract since September, and attempts to resolve conflicts over a need for more staffing and higher wages have remained unresolved.
The union represents a variety of clinicians, including nurses, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehabilitation therapists, speech language pathologists and dieticians, among others. The lot contends that their demands are aimed at improving patient safety and reducing the epidemic of burnout among staff.
“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 said in a statement, “[Our] 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,” the group added.
In a statement of its own, the health system said it made a “historic” offer of a 21.5% wage increase, and is open to regional and local negotiations with union representatives to “enable unions to reach tentative agreements and ratify contracts for every bargaining unit.”
“We share a common goal of delivering wage increases, benefits improvements, and professional development opportunities to our workforce—and this path allows all parties to do that,” Kaiser wrote.
It accused UNAC/UHCP of being inflexible and refusing to “resolve the matter as requested, which has compromised the national bargaining process.”
Previous strike mobilized 46,000 employees
Without a temporary deal in place, the strike is expected to begin as scheduled next week, marking the second time tens of thousands of workers walked off the job in three months.
In October 2025, 46,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California, Oregon and Hawaii walked off the job as part of the same ongoing dispute between UNAC/UHCP and the integrated health system.
The demands then remain the same as they are now, as Kaiser’s 21.5% raise was already on the table.
This is a developing story.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.