MESSAGE TO OUR
EMPLOYEES
Mediation is the best path to contract resolution
This message was sent on Monday, August 10 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 update you on where things stand with our NUHW contract negotiations.
Mediation is scheduled for August 11 to 14. Mediation is a process that brings both parties together with a neutral third-party facilitator to enable productive discussions and identify a path to agreement. We’re optimistic that mediation will help move negotiations forward.
Our comprehensive proposal includes a 17.5% total wage increase over 4 years:
A full-time Licensed Mental Health Professional with a master's degree and 7 years of experience could earn approximately $36,000 more per year by October 2028 with step increases.
Our proposal gives clinicians greater flexibility in how you provide care, while maintaining time for documentation, coordination, and the work that happens between patient visits — with an updated definition that reflects how you actually work.
Earlier this year we established an AI framework and agreement with the Alliance of Health Care Unions — built with input from staff, clinicians, and unions — which has been recognized by the MIT Sloan School of Management as a “landmark agreement … that represents the first comprehensive effort by a major healthcare employer and its union partners to integrate worker voice into all phases of AI decision-making.”
We have proposed a similar framework for NUHW to establish a joint labor-management committee with clinician and union representation.
The committee would provide a meaningful forum for clinicians and union representatives to help inform recommendations regarding the responsible use of emerging technologies in support of mental health care, while preserving clinician judgment, patient safety, quality, privacy, and compassionate care.
We remain prepared to move forward with the committee because you deserve a meaningful voice in how emerging technologies are evaluated and implemented.
We want to be straightforward with you on this point. Since October 2025, KP has made several proposals that if accepted could have provided a full-time licensed mental health professional with a Master’s degree and 7 years of experience up to an additional $5,900, had they been accepted and implemented.
Under our proposal, wage increases only take effect after an agreement is reached and ratified. These increases are not retroactive to when the contract expired on September 30, 2025. This means that the longer it takes to reach an agreement, the longer you wait to start benefiting from the wage increases we’ve offered.
After more than 10 months without a new contract, it’s time to move forward. We’re entering mediation in good faith, despite the delays NUHW has put in the path. The mediation is scheduled for August 11 to 14.
Thank you for all you do to keep Kaiser Permanente a best place to work and receive care.
For more information, visit kp.org/nuhwbargaining.