MESSAGE TO OUR
EMPLOYEES
October 8, 2026
Open letter to our CNA-represented nurses
We're committed to being the best place for you to grow your career.
This message was sent to CNA-represented nurses on October 7 at 7 a.m.
You chose nursing to make a difference in people's lives. Every day, you bring skill, judgment, compassion, and calm to patients and families when they need it most. The care you provide is deeply personal — and profoundly important. We’re proud that Kaiser Permanente is the best place in the country to practice nursing, and that you choose Los Angeles Medical Center as a place to build your career.
Kaiser Permanente has one of the highest retention rates for nursing in the country — this means the vast majority of our nurses want to stay and grow their careers here. We don’t take this for granted.
We’re committed to being the best place for nurses to practice their calling
At Kaiser Permanente, you’re supported to practice at the top of your license, bringing the full scope of your nursing practice excellence for the benefit of our patients. Our quality record is the proof — roughly 40% of Kaiser Permanente hospitals have earned Magnet® designation through the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the gold standard for nursing excellence. Our Los Angeles Medical Center has earned Magnet designation twice, and has 6 units that have received American Association of Critical Care Nurses Beacon Awards. In addition, you have the opportunity to participate in and lead shared governance councils that shape how care is delivered, and you have access to outstanding professional growth opportunities at every stage of your nursing career.
At our Los Angeles Medical Center, we staff our hospital to meet patient acuity and state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios — in fact, nurses and nurse leaders helped design the tool and the workflow that supports our shift-to-shift staffing decisions. And we also honor the technology protections already written into your contract — because technology should support, not replace, our nurses’ clinical judgement.
Kaiser Permanente nurses are among the highest compensated
Part of our commitment to you is making sure you remain among the best compensated nurses in Southern California. At our Los Angeles Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente nurses earn more than the typical compensation for comparable roles at other health care organizations — as much as 21% above market on average.
And we support you and your families with low-cost health coverage, a defined-benefit pension, a 401(k) equivalent retirement plan with employer contributions, and a subsidized retiree medical plan.
Our shared responsibility to patients and members
As we negotiate a new agreement with CNA, our goal is straightforward: a contract that continues to reward your contributions, reflects the cost of living in the communities where you live and work, and keeps Kaiser Permanente a place where outstanding nurses want to come, stay, and build rewarding careers.
We also carry a shared responsibility to the members and patients you care for every day. Many are working hard to support their families while facing rising health care costs. They deserve the exceptional care you provide, and they need that care to remain within reach. Investing in our nurses and keeping care affordable are not competing priorities. They are part of the same mission.
We want to reach an agreement, and we’re prepared to do the necessary work to get there. We’ve recently offered numerous additional dates to continue bargaining, while CNA has agreed to just 2. Union leaders also scheduled a strike vote date before either CNA or Kaiser Permanente presented their opening wage proposal. We’re concerned that actions like these take the focus away from what we believe should be our shared priority: both sides sitting down at the bargaining table and doing the hard work necessary to reach a strong, fair agreement.
You know firsthand the exceptionally challenging health care environment we’re navigating together and what it takes every day to provide high-quality, affordable care for our members and the communities we serve. And we know what matters to you: caring for your patients, supporting the communities that count on you, and reaching a fair contract that recognizes the extraordinary work you do. We share those priorities, and we believe they should remain at the center of these negotiations.
That’s why we’re asking you to urge your union leaders to stay at the table and work with us in good faith toward an agreement. That is how we make real progress toward a fair contract and maintain a workplace where outstanding nurses can come, stay, and grow, while providing exceptional care that remains affordable.
Erin Jilk, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Nurse Executive, Los Angeles Medical Center
