CLICK HERE FOR A STRIKE FAQ AND RESOURCE GUIDE
IMPORTANT: STRIKE PICKET SIGN UP!
Our national agreement has EXPIRED and we are just DAYS away from our national unfair labor practice STRIKE starting on October 4th.
While we are seeing some minor progress and negotiations with Kaiser executives plan to continue through the weekend, our unity and preparation to strike against Kaiser’s bad-faith bargaining is going to make the difference in winning a strong agreement.
If a strike were to occur, it’s important for us to have a picket presence at all major patient-facing KP locations in Colorado to ensure our community honors our strike and our fight for safer staffing and better patient care.
Sign up today for when and where you will be on the strike line from 6AM on 10/4 and ending at 6AM on 10/7.
If you work from home, we encourage you to choose the picket locations closest to you to participate in during the strike.
UPDATE 16 – 10/3/2023
We are less than 24 hours away from the largest healthcare workers strike in U.S. History, and Kaiser is negotiating intensely… with Kaiser!
Yes, you read that correctly. At this point, the majority of the negotiating happening is between different camps within Kaiser executive leadership: those who want to avoid a strike and those who want to fight it out.
Because of the internal debate raging, we have not heard from Kaiser on an overall settlement package that deals with our top issues. This chaotic approach to negotiations is what has driven Kaiser’s bad-faith bargaining all along, but the dysfunction on their team has never been as stark as it has been over the last day.
Discussions have continued on some important issues. Yesterday we reached a Tentative Agreement on a 40% increase to our Education Fund. This will help expand the support for current Kaiser members to get the education and training needed to promote into higher paid classifications. There has also been slow movement and continued discussion on a range of other issues.
But what Kaiser executives need to get on the same page about is the major questions outstanding in these negotiations:
- Is Kaiser going to recognize the toll of the pandemic, the staffing crisis and record inflation on its workforce and agree to a respectful wage increase for everyone?
- Is Kaiser going to fix the perverse, broken PSP program that rewarded managers and executives for financial losses and gave frontline caregivers the shaft?
- Is Kaiser going to back off its scheme to throw hundreds of revenue cycle workers’ lives into turmoil by outsourcing the work to a for profit, low wage company.
- Is Kaiser going to grow as a high road, quality care, union wage and benefit healthcare provider? Or as a low road, non-union, race to the bottom corporation?
These are the questions still being debated in Kaiser corporate offices as you read this.
We have no choice but to prepare for the likelihood that Kaiser will continue to choose unfair labor practices over bargaining in good faith with us to solve the Kaiser Staffing crisis. And we are prepared!
The overwhelming majority of SEIU Local 105 members at Kaiser have signed up for a shift on the strike line! Bargaining team members are getting pulled out every hour to do interviews with media outlets, both local and national.
Members in the facilities are getting commitments from doctors, registered nurses, pharmacists, engineers and others to exercise their personal right not to cross our picket lines. Calls are pouring in from elected officials and community allies asking what they can do to support healthcare workers.
We are ready! Stay tuned for an update this afternoon.
SIGN UP FOR YOUR STRIKE PICKET LOCATIONS
There can be no agreement without significant movement from Kaiser on our main issues.
As of this update, we are still committed to our unfair labor practice strike starting TOMORROW at 6AM on 10/4 – and ending at 6AM on 10/7.
UPDATE 15 – 10/2/2023
Kaiser gave us 3 new proposals yesterday morning:
- Kaiser proposed wage increases of 3.5%/3%/3%/3% in Colorado, the NorthWest, Southern California, the Mid Atlantic, and Hawaii and 4%/4%/4%/4% in the Washington Region & Northern California.
- They agreed to renew our outsourcing and subcontracting protections for everyone except the revenue cycle, and they committed to not layoff any revenue cycle workers for 2 years.
- They made progress on remote workers – increasing reimbursement for wifi to $50 a month and phone to $20 a month, and if there is a return to facility work there will be 60 days notice, bargaining and if someone is unable to return they will have a 90 day extension of remote work during which they can spend half of their scheduled time with pay pursuing alternative positions.
We did not agree to their proposals. We have told Kaiser that we are not changing our wage proposal and that only a unified, respectful wage increase across the coalition will result in an agreement. We also let them know we are not interested in outsourcing the revenue cycle jobs.
We will continue to send updates as they happen.
SIGN UP FOR YOUR STRIKE PICKET LOCATIONS!
A lot of hard work is being done. Some progress is being made. But, make no mistake, there can be no agreement without significant movement from Kaiser on our main issues.
The fact that we are still so far apart on these key issues – and that Kaiser has delayed in responding to our proposals and must stop committing unfair labor practices – means that we are still committed to our strike starting at 6AM on 10/4 – and ending at 6AM on 10/7.
Please contact healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any questions.
UPDATE 14 – 9/30/2023
Negotiations between Kaiser executives and our Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions national bargaining team have continued all day Friday and Saturday. However, it is clear we will not be reaching an agreement before our contract expires this evening.
Since yesterday, minor progress has been made surrounding our middle priority tier of issues, but there have been no additional tentative agreements.
On the top four issues: across the board (ATB) increases, PSP, outsourcing protections, and acquisitions, we have not yet made the progress we need to reach a fair agreement.
Our Coalition is committed to bargaining through the weekend to reach an agreement that solves the Kaiser short-staffing crisis and fixes patient wait times.
In the meantime, Kaiser Executives’ bad-faith bargaining and unfair labor practices will continue to drive healthcare workers out of the industry and hurt the quality of care our patients deserve unless we take action.
That’s why as negotiations continue throughout the weekend, we must stand united with the tens of thousands of Kaiser healthcare workers across the nation and be ready to strike on October 4th, if necessary!
SIGN UP FOR YOUR STRIKE PICKET LOCATIONS!
A lot of hard work is being done. Some progress is being made. But, make no mistake, there can be no agreement without significant movement from Kaiser on our main issues.
The fact that we are still so far apart on these key issues – and that Kaiser has delayed in responding to our proposals and must stop committing unfair labor practices – means that we are still committed to our strike starting at 6AM on 10/4 – and ending at 6AM on 10/7.
Please contact healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any questions.
UPDATE 13 – 9/25/2023
Negotiations between Kaiser executives and our SEIU Local 105/Coalition bargaining team have continued all day Saturday and Sunday and late into the evenings and early morning hours. Depending on what the issue is, there have been various degrees of progress, as described below:
RED HOT issues where we are worlds apart and cannot imagine any kind of settlement without major movement on Kaiser’s part.
- Across-the-Board (ATB) Raises: Kaiser’s last proposal divides Coalition unions members both within California and in other states. We insist that we have one, unified, respectful raise settlement across our Coalition. We all have been through too much to leave anyone behind. Since it was our turn to make a counter proposal, our bargaining team voted to move the process forward with a new proposal of 6.5%, 6.5%, 5.75%, 5.75%.
- Kaiser management came in late last night with a wage proposal that continues to be divisive and unacceptable:
- Colorado, NorthWest, Southern CA, Mid Atlantic, HI = 3%, 3%, 3%,3%
- KP WA Region & Northern CA = 4%, 4%, 3%, 3%
- PSP Bonus: We continue to make it clear to Kaiser that the full value of our PSP bonus must be maintained and that there should be a minimum payout if goals are met, regardless of financial performance. They have not agreed to our full proposals.
- Subcontracting and Outsourcing: We have fought too many battles with Kaiser on this issue to trust that our jobs will be secure if we lose the protections in our current agreement. Kaiser told us in bargaining they want to eliminate our protections against subcontracting in the National Agreement starting October 1, 2023. It raises the question: What do they have planned for our jobs?
- Growing Together: We’re happy to support Kaiser growing as a unionized, high-wage, well-benefitted, quality care system. We are not going to sit by and accept them launching a huge expansion in other states as a non-union, low-road employer.
CRITICAL ISSUES for which there have been good discussion, but not clear where Kaiser is willing to land:
- Retiree Medical Benefits: Per the 2015 agreement, post-2016 retirees will transition to the Medical Premium Subsidy/HRA plan. The plan has generally worked well for the areas that have been part of it, but there are issues that need to be addressed to ensure that retirees have predictable, affordable health benefits in the future. We’ve had extensive discussions about the challenges and are waiting for Kaiser’s response on solutions.
- Workforce Development: Given the ongoing staffing crisis, the Coalition has requested Kaiser make a larger investment in the Education Funds that support existing employees’ training and promotion and Futuro Health, which trains members of the community, including many of our family members, to be the healthcare workers of the future. This would give us the opportunity to expand Futuro to the ROCs. Kaiser has made it clear that they are supportive of both funds but that they want to target funding and programming towards training people for the positions they project the greatest vacancies in the future. The Coalition is supportive of targeting some of the funding for the greatest projected need. We are waiting for a concrete proposal from Kaiser on funding amounts and other specifics.
Issues for which there has been actual progress:
- Remote Workers: Kaiser agreed to negotiate a policy with minimum standards for remote and hybrid workers (currently, the Coalition has over 10,000 workers in these categories). They have agreed to a 60-day minimum notice for moving people back to a facility – moving off their outrageous suggestion to only give two weeks’ notice. We are still working on a severance package for those who have been remote for a long time and cannot revert back to in-facility work, as well as an increase in wifi and phone reimbursement.
- Staffing: We are making progress on a long menu of initiatives that can improve hiring and promoting, including reducing TALEO “auto-rejects,” eliminating duplicative testing requirements, planning more mass hiring events, removing more experience barriers, greater labor input into department staffing levels, referral bonuses, more expedited bidding and a temporary slowing of transfers (that are not promotional or for higher FTEs) for a one-year period.
A handful of actual tentative agreements!
- Reduce Registry Use: We have agreement on language that, for the first time, commits Kaiser to reducing its use of expensive registry/traveler staff and to not using registry/travelers to meet regular workflow needs.
- Tracking Vacancies: Stronger reporting requirements on vacancies and the status of filling jobs to improve accountability.
- Travel for Continuing Education: An increase to $1,000 of the amount of our annual tuition reimbursement allowance ($3,000) that can be used for travel to courses, workshops, and conferences.
Next steps
A lot of hard work is being done. Some minimal progress is being made. But, make no mistake, there can be no agreement without a lot of movement from Kaiser on the top four RED HOT Issues. We have agreed with Kaiser to continue meeting till mid-day on Monday and then take a break till Friday morning and meet through the weekend to see if it’s possible to reach an agreement before our contract expires. We will continue to provide updates as we have them.
While it’s great to finally see some progress, we still have a long way to go. The fact that we are still so far apart on the key issues – and that Kaiser has delayed in responding to our proposals and must stop committing unfair labor practices – means that we are still committed to our strike starting at 6AM on 10/4 – and ending at 6AM on 10/7.
TOWN HALL
With just less than a week until our contract expires, and Kaiser executives still refusing to bargain in good faith, it’s clear that unless a drastic change occurs, we’ll have to go ON STRIKE on October 4th.
We know many members have questions about what this means and what happens next.
That’s why THIS Thursday, September 28th, we’ll be hosting another local virtual town hall for SEIU 105 members to hear updates from national and local bargaining, and get your questions answered.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 2023
TIME: 7PM – 8PM
WHERE: Virtually via Zoom, CLICK HERE TO JOIN
This is an opportunity for you to hear directly from members of your bargaining team and union leadership and ask questions about bargaining, going on strike, and Kaiser executives’ disrespect and unfair labor practices.
STRIKE CAPTAIN TRAINING
We want YOU to be a Strike Captain!
We need a team of dedicated member leaders to serve as “Strike Captains” to help make sure everyone walking off the job stays informed, organized, and safe throughout the strike. Strike Captains are crucial to the success of the strike and it’s easy to learn how to become one!
We currently have ONE MORE virtual Strike Captain Training opportunity for anyone who’s interested in becoming a leader at your facility during the strike. Additional training sessions will be scheduled as needed.
Please contact healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any questions.
UPDATE 12 – 9/22/2023
Strike Notice Delivered
This is an urgent update from your SEIU Local 105 KP Bargaining Team.
After months of national bargaining, actions across our facilities, and an overwhelming 99% YES to strike vote in Colorado, Kaiser executives are STILL refusing to listen to their healthcare workers and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short staffing crisis.
We reached these final scheduled national negotiations ready to hear responses from management to the fair proposals presented over the last several sessions by our 85,000-member Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, and reach a strong agreement for healthcare workers.
What was management’s response? We won’t address livable wages with all of your elected bargaining representatives.
As a result, your SEIU Local 105 bargaining team joined our Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions in delivering a 10-Day STRIKE NOTICE to Kaiser executives.
The unfair labor practice strike will start at 6AM on October 4th and end at 6AM on October 7th.
We wanted to provide this update as quickly as possible and will be sending further details and information on this bargaining session very soon. Please email healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any immediate questions.
TOWN HALL
With just over a week until our contract expires, and Kaiser executives still refusing to bargain in good faith, it’s clear that unless a drastic change occurs, we’ll have to go ON STRIKE on October 4th.
We know many members have questions about what this means and what happens next.
That’s why next Thursday, September 28th, we’ll be hosting another local virtual town hall for SEIU 105 members to hear updates from national and local bargaining, and get your questions answered.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 2023
TIME: 7PM – 8PM
WHERE: Virtually via Zoom, CLICK HERE TO JOIN
This is an opportunity for you to hear directly from members of your bargaining team and union leadership and ask questions about bargaining, going on strike, and Kaiser executives’ disrespect and unfair labor practices.
As a reminder, you can always view bargaining updates and FAQs by visiting the bargaining updates page on our website!
STRIKE CAPTAIN TRAINING
We want YOU to be a Strike Captain!
We need a team of dedicated member leaders to serve as “Strike Captains” to help make sure everyone walking off the job stays informed, organized, and safe throughout the strike. Strike Captains are crucial to the success of the strike, and it’s easy to learn how to become one!
We currently have ONE MORE virtual Strike Captain Training opportunity for anyone who’s interested in becoming a leader at your facility during the strike. Additional training sessions will be scheduled as needed.
Please contact healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any questions.
UPDATE 11 – 9/7/2023
Kaiser Makes Divisive, Sorely Inadequate Raise Proposal
Despite making $3 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year, Kaiser’s millionaire executives are trying to divide frontline workers instead of working with us to solve the crisis in patient care by providing raises that keep up with the cost of living for ALL of our members.
Here is Kaiser’s offensive wage raise proposal:
Colorado, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest, and Hawaii
- Year 1: 3%
- Year 2: 3%
- Year 3: 3%
- Year 4: 2%
Northern California and Washington
- Year 1: 4%
- Year 2: 4%
- Year 3: 3%
- Year 4: 3%
Southern California
- Year 1: 3%
- Year 2: 3%
- Year 3: 2%
- Year 4: 2%
- Lump Sums of 2% in years 3 and 4
None of these proposed raises are acceptable. They wouldn’t even come close to helping us keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living here in Colorado or regions across our coalition.
This is just the beginning of Kaiser’s divide-and-conquer strategy. All of us will fall further behind with raises that don’t keep up with the rising cost of living. After all we have been through working on the front lines with Kaiser, we deserve to move forward – not fall farther behind.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Kaiser:
- Proposed to slash our PSP bonus to less than half its current value;
- Has failed to respond to dozens of proposals intended to address the growing staffing shortage; and
- Continues to commit unfair labor practices.
The bargaining team rejects this proposal. With inflation and the rising cost of living as they are, this proposal would put us even further behind and make it even more difficult to hire the additional people we need to solve our understaffing crisis.
Angry? It’s time to stand UNITED and get STRIKE READY!
Colorado showed our unity with our 99% strike authorization vote last week. The rest of our 85,000-member Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are currently voting in their regions, and their strike authorization votes will last through mid-September.
In the meantime, we must continue to stand united and do our part to stay strike ready!
Here’s how you can do just that:
Join us for our SEIU Local 105 member town hall, where we’ll be giving more updates and answering any questions you may have. Please RSVP and include any questions you have for the bargaining team!
DATE: Monday, September 11, 2023
TIME: 7PM – 8PM
WHERE: Virtually via Zoom, RSVP for Meeting Link
Click here to sign up to be a Strike Captain and join a virtual training in the coming weeks.
Click here to find our Strike FAQ and Resource guide
Please contact healthcare@seiu105.org if you have any questions.
UPDATE 10 – 9/1/2023
🚨 THE RESULTS ARE IN: Your union has overwhelmingly voted YES to authorize an unfair labor practice STRIKE against Kaiser, if necessary!
That’s right. Over the past week, the majority of Kaiser workers from across Colorado took part in strike authorization voting, and more than 99% of you voted YES!
This is a huge achievement and shows Colorado is UNITED! This is not an easy decision, but the results are clear: healthcare workers have had ENOUGH! We’ve had enough of low wages, short staffing, and the impact it’s having on patients in our community. We’ve had enough of Kaiser’s unfair labor practices throughout national bargaining. That’s why we’re sending a strong message to KP.
We’re ready to strike, if necessary, for livable wages, better staffing, and quality patient care.
Why are we doing this? For our families, our patients, and our community.
It’s no secret how patients are feeling about increasingly longer wait times, and WE know why that’s happening: because Kaiser continues to leave our facilities understaffed and overworked. Our patients are our community, and our community is taking notice:
- The Denver Post took notice
- The Denver Gazette took notice
- FOX 31 took notice
- CBS Colorado took notice
Even elected officials from across our state have taken notice by joining us at our strike votes and sharing their STRONG support for us in this video.
Now let’s make sure more in our community see our fight. Share these news articles and follow all the posts on our Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
What happens now?
Strike authorization votes have wrapped up in Colorado, and if we DO go on strike, we will not go alone. Now, Kaiser workers in our 85,000 member coalition around the United States will also hold votes until mid-September. If our fellow healthcare workers also vote YES and a strike is necessary, we will all go together.
Our contract expires on September 30th, so any possible strike would not take place before this date. Our bargaining team will continue to show up until that happens, ready to bargain a STRONG contract for healthcare workers.
Our next national bargaining session will take place from September 6th – 8th. As always, we will send out bargaining updates as they occur, and they will always be available on the bargaining updates page on our website.
ARE YOU STRIKE READY?
While a strike has been authorized, going on strike is the last thing we want to do. It’s difficult, both financially and physically. That’s why your bargaining team is STRONGLY urging you to start taking the steps to make yourself STRIKE READY! That means taking time to consider things like:
- Monthly bills
- Day to day expenses
- Transportation
We’ve put together a page on our website with a helpful list of resources to help you before and during a strike. This includes tips for getting yourself strike ready, as well community resources to provide assistance, and how to answer questions from patients should we go out on strike. This page will be updated regularly.
Please take some time NOW to review this information, and to view the short video below from your bargaining team on what it means to be STRIKE READY!
UPDATE 9 – 8/24/2023
Welcome to the sixth update from your 2023 SEIU Local 105 national bargaining team.
This week at national bargaining, Kaiser management refused to meet with all the members of our coalition in attendance.
That’s right, with just 37 days left until our contract expires, and after posting $3.3 BILLION in profits this year, they just didn’t show up to speak to the healthcare workers who make this “non-profit” run every single day.
Our Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions presented our full wage and economic proposal in-person at the last bargaining session earlier this month. After telling healthcare workers they’re “overpaid,” how bad is management’s wage proposal if they won’t even present it to our coalition members?
The only two economic proposals made by management, one of them by email, were:
- To slash the value of our PSP by capping it at $1,400. They still do not want to guarantee a PSP payout for us, although managers would continue to get bonuses regardless of Kaiser’s finances.
- To only increase the minimum wage for workers of the coalition to $21 by the year 2026.
We were clear with Kaiser that these were not proposals we were going to accept.
This is unacceptable, bad faith bargaining, and it’s time for our 85,000-member strong Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions to stand up to Kaiser’s unfair labor practices, greed, and disrespect.
That’s why we are calling for an immediate strike authorization vote.
We know what they’re doing. Trying to divide us. Hoping we won’t stand strong for the contract we deserve.
- It’s time we remind them who makes Kaiser run.
- It’s time for healthcare workers across the country to make livable wages.
- It’s time to solve the staffing crisis, and fix patient wait times.
- It’s time for us to unite and not back down.
That’s why your national bargaining team recommends all SEIU Local 105 members vote YES to STRIKE, if we have to.
Strike Authorization Vote Locations and Times
Starting this Saturday, August 26th, through Friday, September 1st, voting locations will be open at facilities across Colorado for you to cast your strike authorization vote.
Visit seiu105.org/kpstrikecalendar for strike authorization vote locations and times. This page will be updated daily with any changes.
Important things to remember:
- You must be a SEIU Local 105 member to vote.
- You must cast your vote in person.
- You can cast your vote at any of the locations and times listed.
- If you work from home, we encourage you to find your nearest facility voting time and location to cast your vote.
For more information on how to be prepared for a possible strike, visit our FAQ and resource page at: https://seiu105.info/kpstrikeguide
UPDATE 8 – 8/2/2023
Our Economic Proposal to Kaiser
On Aug. 1, we presented a full, comprehensive economic proposal to Kaiser management. Here’s what we are asking for:
- Across-the-Board Wage Increases for ALL Regions: Year 1: 7%, Year 2: 7%, Year 3: 6.25%, Year 4: 6.25%. These raises would be greater than anything Kaiser has agreed to with any other unionized group, including the CNA and UNAC RNs, and are the largest raises we have ever asked for.
- $25/hr minimum wage across Kaiser.
- $1,500 minimum PSP payout – we deserve to be rewarded when we meet goals regardless of Kaiser’s financial goals.
- Maintain all healthcare benefits – NO TAKEAWAYS!
- Increase the funding amount for our retirement Healthcare Reimbursement Accounts to $2,500/yr.
- Close loopholes for unexpected plan change and increased costs for retirees.
- Committee on Retirement Investments – joint committee to work together around investments in the KP retirement system.
- Increase shift differentials & classification adjustments in all local bargaining.
- Increase KP’s contributions to all labor education funds to 0.7% of payroll
- $75 million per year for Futuro Health from community benefits funding – funding that Kaiser as a non-profit must use for community organizations that they can not use for worker wages or benefits.
So how did management react? They refused to respond.
That’s right. Refused. No proposals. No counters. No answers to our questions about hiring, about their finances, or about their non-union expansion plans in Pennsylvania. Kaiser management is trying to slowly drag out negotiations with us until the expiration of our contract, and it’s clear we need to continue to turn up the heat on them.
Last week, we had over 1,000 people join for our informational picket at Waterpark with news coverage across the state! Our action joined together with thousands of Coalition union members who held pickets in our first major public action of the contract campaign– with more than 375 media outlets covering our story.
We have to keep up that momentum to win the contract we deserve, and that means showing Kaiser we are ready to strike if necessary.
➡️ Click on this link to sign the online PLEDGE TO STRIKE!
➡️ Click here for a Strike FAQ and resource list to be prepared for a possible strike.
CKPU National Town Hall on August 10
Join 85,000 of your Coalition union family at 3pm PT // 4pm MT // 6pm ET — or — 6pm PT // 7pm MT // 9pm ET on Thursday, August 10 for:
- Details on our economic proposal to Kaiser and National Bargaining update
- Reports from our nationwide picket and solidarity actions
- The next step in our plan to secure strong raises and strong contracts
➡️ CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE TOWN HALL
UPDATE 7 – 7/13/2023
Welcome to the fourth update from your 2023 SEIU Local 105 bargaining team.
Kaiser’s post-pandemic message to healthcare workers: “You’re Overpaid!”
At bargaining this week, the “non-profit” that pays its CEO $16 million a year gave a clear message to the Medical Assistant raising a family on $48K a year in Denver: “You make too much money.”
It’s unbelievable. Kaiser pays 49 executives more than a million dollars a year, but they think a Medical Transporter in Aurora earning $42K a year is making Kaiser unaffordable. The corporation that has over $113 billion in investments – including questionable ventures around the world – believes they are paying healthcare workers $450 million a year too much in wages that are “over market.”
We will be submitting a full economic proposal – including wages – at our next bargaining session on August 1, but the fault lines in negotiations are becoming more and more clear. Our Coalition spoke about how we are falling behind, struggling to afford living where we work and losing ground to rising costs. Kaiser spoke about outsourcing more of our work to low-wage, for-profit companies – undermining middle-class jobs.
Why Can’t Kaiser See Our Value?
What’s good for us is good for Kaiser – but for some reason they can’t seem to see that.
- We want Kaiser to grow as a union company with leading wages, benefits and quality care. Instead, Kaiser is spending $5 billion of our patients’ premiums to launch a non-union, non-partnership company that will lower labor standards.
- We want a guaranteed PSP payout we can count on when we reach our goals. Kaiser is still defending their shameful decision to deny frontline caregivers our PSP while paying big bonuses to managers who work behind the Zoom camera.
- We want Kaiser to make meaningful investments in solving the staffing shortage: increase training funds, eliminate barriers to promotion, justify unposted vacancies, create paid externships, raise shift differentials that haven’t gone up in decades, provide referral/retention and recruitment bonuses, and dial back wasteful registry spending.
If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now: we have a fight on our hands, and Kaiser thinks we’re bluffing. Luckily for us, we’re not.
Join the Informational Picket Action!
Today at the end of bargaining, we delivered to Kaiser management our 10-Day notice to hold an informational picket on Saturday, July 29th at 11AM at the Waterpark facility at 2500 S Havana St, Aurora, CO 80014. It’s clear that the only way that we will get Kaiser to listen to us is to make some noise. And being visible on the busy streets by the Waterpark facility will make sure we are seen and heard! If you are off this Saturday, please join us!
Sign up for the picket today – the more of us that are out on the line, the better our chances to get the contract we deserve!
Note: Stay tuned for a Local Bargaining Update within the next week following our upcoming sessions with local management.
UPDATE 6 – 6/24/2023
Welcome to your third KP National Bargaining update from your 2023 SEIU Local 105 Bargaining Team. The session that wrapped up today was dedicated to discussing the Labor Management Partnership, and we made strong formal proposals to Kaiser management regarding the PSP and the future of the partnership.
Our Proposal to Kaiser
➡️ Click here to read our Coalition’s full proposal to management
Here are the highlights.
Staffing. Building on our agreement with Kaiser to hire 10,000 new workers into Coalition positions by the end of 2023, we proposed language around reducing registry work, creating paid externships, investing in training, and removing even more of the experience barriers Kaiser workers are facing to “grow our own” at Kaiser.
PSP. We made it very clear. We expect guaranteed minimum payouts every year, and we expect that management will share our goals and payouts so we never again have the situation where our bosses get a bonus for work we did.
Growth. We all want to see Kaiser grow and expand. But any new workers that come in under the Kaiser umbrella – whether it’s here in Colorado, California, or in Pennsylvania or wherever! – have to be part of the partnership and have the right to come together into a union.
Town Hall
We know we have to stand united and be strike ready to win a strong agreement, not just in Colorado but across our national coalition.
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about what’s next in bargaining and meet other coalition members at the virtual town hall next week on Thursday, June 29th!
Labor Standing Together
While we were in LA, we had the opportunity to join our sisters and brothers of UNITE HERE Local 11 Hotel Workers, who are fighting to afford living in the city where they work. This was an incredible way for us to witness and learn what it takes to build up to a strike.
Together, we blocked one of the main roads leading into LAX to make sure workers’ voices were heard, and three SEIU-UHW members even participated in civil disobedience and got arrested for the action. Si se puede!
UPDATE 5 – 6/22/2023
National Bargaining Updates
Today, the third session of National Bargaining began with our 85,000-member-strong Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The focus of this session is the Partnership.
Your SEIU Local 105 National Bargaining Team is here and ready to continue fighting for the priorities we know are essential to having a real partnership; industry-leading wage raises, solving the staffing crisis, and respect.
We’ve been showing our strength across Colorado with our button-up actions this past month, and we have to keep up that pressure! Remember to wear your buttons, update your virtual backgrounds, Purple Up on Fridays, and stay tuned for updates from this session in the coming days.
Coalition National Bargaining Town Hall
The staffing crisis at Kaiser has us at the breaking point. Family budgets are being stretched by inflation. Patient care is rushed and less personal. The Labor Management Partnership is hanging by a thread.
Meanwhile, Kaiser doubled its net worth in the last 5 years and is now sitting on nearly $60 billion in net assets.
85,000 Coalition union members are standing together with our National Bargaining team to make change. The plan to win the respect and contract we deserve includes you.
Find out more at the virtual town halls next week on Thursday, June 29th!
➡️ Click here to register for the 3 PM town hall.
➡️ Click here to register for the 6 PM town hall.
Local Bargaining Updates
While we continue our national negotiations, our bargaining at the local level kicked off on May 26th.
Your 2023 Local Bargaining Team includes, Janet Hobbs, Shelly Fowlkes, Patricia Johnson-Gibson, Passion Hillsmon, Maria Jostes, Tonya Stoner, Eric Coleman, and Jerod Truss.
In February, we sent out a local bargaining survey where you told us the key priorities we should bring to these non-economic negotiations in our region.
After the first two sessions, we’ve presented our positions on those key priorities with no movement from management so far. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for important updates and potential actions to win a strong local agreement.
UPDATE 4 – 5/12/2023
Here is your update for the May session of National Bargaining with our 80,000-member-strong Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.
This month’s session focused on how to address the staffing crisis, discussing Kaiser’s finances, and Kaiser’s recent announcement to acquire Geisinger Health and start a new company called Risant.
Why the Geisinger Health Acquisition and the Creation of Risant Matters
We called Kaiser out on the acquisition they announced last month of a Pennsylvania medical group called Geisinger Health and the creation of Risant, a new healthcare company that Kaiser intends to use to buy up health systems. With the announcement, Kaiser not only failed to discuss this plan with its unions, but we learned that Kaiser’s top leaders at the Medical Group weren’t even involved in the deal!
Kaiser’s behavior around the Geisinger acquisition has raised critical questions:
- Is Kaiser going to use rate increases to pay for the acquisition?
- Does it plan to start growing a non-union, non-partnership company within Kaiser that will create pressure to lower the standards of living for all of us?
- If they didn’t talk to their labor partners or even their doctors, what is it they’re trying to hide?
No matter what comes out of the rest of bargaining this round, it is clear we have to be ready to fight:
- We have to be strike ready and unified across our departments and facilities.
- We have to be ready to take political action to raise serious questions about Kaiser’s acquisitions, its impending rate increases, and the lack of transparency of its medical groups.
Kaiser Company & Employee Finances
Most of the second day of this session was spent on finances: Kaiser’s finances, the finances of our pension fund, and the finances of the workforce in a time of unprecedented inflation.
- Kaiser Finances. Kaiser CFO Kathy Lancaster and Senior VP Tom Curtin presented the challenges they see ahead in growing the membership, getting proper reimbursement for care, and managing rising expenses. Our coalition presented a counter perspective that emphasized Kaiser’s incredibly strong financial position when viewed over the last five years and highlighted Kaiser’s astounding investment income and management costs, spiraling executive compensation, and out-of-control payments to expensive outside contractors. Even though Kaiser lost money in 2022, it was an outlier, not the trend. Kaiser reported more than $21 billion in profit over the last five years, and their net worth doubled between 2018 and 2022 to $58.9B. Kaiser isn’t a company that’s struggling.
- Pension fund. Some good news that came out of this dialogue was the reporting that the KP pension plan is fully funded for the first time in decades. This means we can feel more secure that when it comes time to draw on our pension and retirement that it will be there for us. We also asked for and received a commitment from KP leaders for greater transparency around both our pension fund and our 401K investments.
- Employee finances. We also wanted to ensure that Kaiser management understood they are not the only ones who have to manage a budget. Every Kaiser worker is struggling to adjust their family budget to rising costs of living. Shamefully, Kaiser employs thousands of workers across the country who don’t make a $25/hr living wage.
Watch this video addressing the need to raise wages featuring one of our SEIU Local 105 Kaiser members:
Addressing the Staffing Crisis
We also heard a report back from the labor-management task force that created after Kaiser committed to 10,000 new hires into Coalition vacancies by the end of the year. Subgroups will be meeting weekly through the end of June to address internal delays in the bidding and hiring system, market limitations for harder-to-fill classifications, collaboration about high-volume hiring opportunities, and providing union leaders in the facilities input into core staffing models.
We are United to Solve the Staffing Crisis
Our bargaining team is fully committed to solving the staffing crisis by raising healthcare worker pay, including a $25/hr minimum, fixing our broken hiring process, and making a massive investment in education and training.
Next week, May 22-26, we are joining Coalition Unions for a week of action to show Kaiser execs that we are UNITED to bargain for better staffing. Contact your organizers or local stewards to receive a button to wear during the week of action!
Next National Bargaining will be June 22-24.
Get the latest updates by visiting the bargaining update page on our website: https://seiu105.info/kpupdates23
UPDATE 3 – 4/20/2023
Here’s your wrap-up from Day 3 of this KP National Bargaining opening session. After issuing our challenge for Kaiser to address the staffing crisis, we heard their answer today.
Kaiser has agreed to work with the National Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions on achieving the joint goal of hiring 10,000 new coalition employees by the end of 2023.
A national working team will be created to continue recommendations to reach this goal, and this team will report out at the next bargaining session on May 16th. This team will focus on addressing inefficiencies in the hiring processes, removing barriers, and reducing the time of internal bidding. The goal is to reduce the use of expensive contractors and fully staff all positions.
This is an encouraging step forward resulting from all of us speaking up and taking action across the region!
But this is just the beginning. We must keep up the pressure as we move to our next bargaining sessions in May, and continue to fight for a strong national agreement with industry leading wage raises for healthcare workers across the country!
What’s next?
- Our next national bargaining dates are scheduled for May 16 – 18 in Los Angeles.
- Coalition Unions’ Week of Action from May 22-26. Contact your organizer for more information.
Stay updated!
Visit the KP section of our website to see updates from this sessions bargaining and important action dates!
- Link: SEIU Local 105 Bargaining Update Page
- Update your email address with our personal email to make sure you get the latest by clicking here.
Get the facts!
Download the Report: Crisis in Care
Find out what 33,140 allied healthcare workers at more than 100 medical facilities across California have to say about the most severe crisis in healthcare in more than 100 years.
Download the Report: Mental Health of Healthcare Workers
Healthcare professionals detail dire understaffing and mental health crises. See the facts and figures behind the staffing shortage crisis.
UPDATE 2 – 4/19/2023
Here’s your update from Day 2 of this opening session of KP National Bargaining. The topic for today’s discussions was staffing.
We’ve issued our first challenge to Kaiser mangement: Hire 10,000 new workers.
The biggest issue we have to solve at Kaiser is the chronic understaffing we face in our facilities. And Kaiser knows it too! They shared some eye-popping statistics with us:
- 11.1% of all Coalition positions are vacant
- The average vacancy takes 80 days to fill (and that’s just the average – we know it sometimes takes more than six months!)
Watch what your co-workers have to say about understaffing at Kaiser by clicking the video below.
So we presented a challenge to management: let’s commit to an increase of 10,000 new Kaiser employees into Coalition positions by the end of 2023. We’ll find out tomorrow what they say to that.
Kaiser Isn’t Poor (Despite What They Say)
Management spent a lot of their time talking about what a bad financial year 2022 was for them. But here’s the reality: Kaiser net worth is $58.9 billion and it made $20 billion in profits in the last five years. It’s not a question of money. It’s a question of priorities and values.
What’s Next?
It’s clear that our recent actions including the thousands who signed our Open Letter, selfie, and in-person actions have rattled Kaiser executives. We need to keep turning up the heat and letting them know we are ready to do what it takes to reach a strong agreement.
Stay tuned for more updates and actions in the days to follow.
UPDATE 1 – 4/18/2023
Today we kicked off National Bargaining with our over 85,000-member-strong Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions in Oakland, California! Your bargaining team was proud to represent the 3,000 Kaiser members in our union and region, and we’re committed to bringing the concerns, thoughts, and real lived experiences of Colorado’s frontline healthcare workers to the bargaining process.
On the first day, our very own SEIU Local 105, President, Stephanie Felix-Sowy, delivered the opening comments on behalf of our coalition. She outlined the crisis in care, the record number of healthcare workers leaving the industry, and the demands to raise wages and standards to meet the needs of our families and care for our patients.
In response, CEO Greg Adams joined the convention via Zoom, and delivered much of the same we’ve heard from management. Concerns over staffing, a rapidly changing industry, and the desire to work together and educate members on the economic realities of the company.
It’s clear during the opening of bargaining that the foundation of the national partnership is broken, and the only way to fix it during this process is if we are able to reach an agreement that delivers industry-leading raises and improvements for healthcare workers across the organization.
The following two days of this first bargaining session will focus on discussing solutions to the staffing crisis. Stay tuned for more updates and actions in the days to follow.
