June 4, 2025

Frequently asked questions about bargaining

Here’s what you should know now that Alliance of Health Care Unions national bargaining is underway.

National bargaining between Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions has begun. Get up to speed on who’s involved and how it works.

Labor Management Partnership and the Alliance of Health Care Unions

The Labor Management Partnership is a joint strategy shared by Kaiser Permanente and 2 groups of unions. The Partnership brings together employees, managers, and doctors to identify and solve problems to improve service, quality, operations, and affordability, and to make Kaiser Permanente a best place to work.

Those groups of unions are the Alliance of Health Care Unions and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. Together, they include 33 local unions that represent more than 150,000 Kaiser Permanente workers.

Bargaining basics

The national bargaining team is known as the Common Issues Committee. It is made up of Kaiser Permanente leaders, managers, Human Resources and Labor Relations representatives, employees represented by Alliance unions, and representatives from the Alliance and Alliance unions.

The Common Issues Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving proposals from smaller subgroups during national bargaining.

Observers watch and learn about bargaining processes. Observers are Kaiser Permanente employees who are members of an Alliance union. They are selected by, and represent, their local union. They share what they learn with their co-workers.

For example, observers may attend meetings of the subgroups and Common Issues Committee. They may also take part in labor caucuses during bargaining sessions.

Interest-based bargaining is a process through which management and labor try to find optimal solutions to matters of importance to both, for example, optimizing staffing. First, they identify and seek to understand each other’s interests relative to the matter – what interests (or concerns) of both sides would a successful solution address? Then they look for creative ways to find a solution that addresses both sides’ interests. This approach has led to better outcomes and better working relationships, and support for the national agreement.