National bargaining key topics
National bargaining key topics
Negotiations provide an opportunity to think creatively as we address the issues we face together and arrive at innovative solutions that allow our employees, members, and Kaiser Permanente to thrive.
Commitment to hiring
Delivering high-quality, affordable care requires the best employees. That’s why we’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment that attracts and retains the best people, and provides a place for them to do their best work to help our members receive the best care.
To help address the nationwide health care staffing crisis, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition agreed to establish a joint goal to hire 10,000 new people for Coalition-represented jobs in 2023 and speed up the time it takes to fill vacancies.
We’re pleased to confirm that as of October 4, we’ve already met our goal of hiring 10,000 new Coalition-represented employees. We’re not done yet. We are committed to addressing every area of staffing that is still challenging. We have a lot going for us because when we make offers to external candidates for Coalition-represented roles, 96% of them say yes — and they tend to stay. Since the summer of 2022, the annual rate of employees leaving Kaiser Permanente was significantly lower than the rate reported industrywide, showing our employees consider Kaiser Permanente a best place to work. The work we will do together to implement our agreed-upon goal will take us to the next level.
Pay and benefits
Kaiser Permanente offers many ways to reward employees for their hard work, compassion, and dedication, including market-competitive wages, comprehensive benefit plans, outstanding retirement programs, and learning opportunities that promote career growth and development.
We will focus on Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to market-competitive wages and outstanding benefits for employees, while balancing competitive market challenges.
Career growth
We offer employees opportunities to learn new skills and grow their careers, and we are committed to providing a safe and equitable work environment in which they can be their best.
The value of a Kaiser Permanente job is reflected in the deep commitment and long-standing tenure of so many of our Coalition-represented employees, who average nearly 11 years of service.
Labor Management Partnership
Our long, proud, and successful history of partnering with labor unions proves that we are better together. Over the last 25 years, the work of the Labor Management Partnership has led to organizational change, created an environment of continuous learning and improvement, and involved the workforce in decision-making. Our partnership has resulted in remarkable outcomes that would be impossible to achieve alone.
We work in partnership to find the balance that allows the organization to remain competitive and grow, sustains our position as the best place to work and receive care, and enables us to meet our mission to provide affordable, high-quality care to our members and communities.
Today, we’re a model of how labor and management can have a different kind of relationship. Our partnership leverages the knowledge and commitment of front-line staff to accomplish our shared goals and continue making Kaiser Permanente the best place to work in health care.
Keeping care affordable
For Kaiser Permanente to continue achieving our mission, we must drive quality up and costs down to a price individuals and families can afford.
Approximately half of U.S. adults report they have difficulty paying for health care. And our members rely on us to keep health care affordable. Many of our members come from vulnerable populations. Our ability to be an affordable choice is vital to membership growth and retention. And, of course, membership growth and retention are critical to our ability to support and meet the needs of the communities we serve.
If we work together, we can make health care affordable for all — so our standard of care will be available to everyone in the nation.
Addressing financial challenges
Rising inflation, the continued labor shortage in our industry, and a slowdown in member growth, combined with decreasing higher paying commercial enrollment and increasing lower paying public enrollment, present an ongoing challenge to our ability to compete on price in an increasingly competitive health care environment.
What is clear is our shared commitment to creating a Kaiser Permanente that is more affordable, flexible, accessible, and financially stable. We are confident that through our partnership we can address cost trends and staffing while providing high-quality care and improving the health of our communities.