An update on contract negotiations

This message was sent on Wednesday, July 1, to Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California mental health and addiction medicine professionals from Lionel Sims, senior vice president, Human Resources, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, and Priya Smith, chief employee human resources officer, The Permanente Medical Group.

To our mental health and addiction medicine professionals,

We want to provide an update on contract negotiations with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and share why the timing of next steps is so important for you.

Where things stand

After 34 bargaining sessions, progress remains at a standstill.

You have been working without a new contract and without updated wages for more than 8 months. We have put forward a comprehensive proposal with a 17.5% wage increase over the life of the contract plus step increases. Once ratified, this would apply as follows:

• 5% increase upon ratification, plus an additional 4.5% increase in October (if ratified prior)
• Additional 4% increases in 2027 and 2028
• Meaningful long-term earnings growth — for many clinicians, totaling tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the contract

These increases can only begin once we reach an agreement together.

Mediation

At this point, both parties have agreed that mediation is the most constructive path forward to help reach an agreement. We are ready to move into mediation quickly and have expressed our availability to begin as soon as possible.

Regrettably, NUHW leadership is now stalling. They have refused to agree to any dates for mediation and stated that they are not available until August.

Reaching an agreement has a direct impact on you.

• Your wage increases only take effect after an agreement is reached and ratified.
• These increases are not retroactive to when the contract expired on Sept. 30, 2025.
• In practical terms: The longer it takes to reach an agreement, the longer you wait to start benefiting from these increases.

Our priorities remain unchanged:

• Recognize and value the important work you do
• Reach a fair agreement that supports you and our patients
• Continue improving access to timely, high-quality mental health care

You deserve an agreement that reflects your contributions — and we are ready to continue the work to get there. 

For more information, visit kp.org/nuhwbargaining.