Working together toward a national agreement

This message is being sent to employees represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions met August 22 through 24 in Los Angeles to continue negotiations for a new national agreement.

During this sixth formal bargaining session, Kaiser Permanente responded to key Coalition priorities with counter proposals on important economic issues. They discussed improvements to the Performance Sharing Plan (PSP) and an enterprise-wide guaranteed minimum wage for Coalition-represented employees.

Local bargaining was a key focus. Representatives from more than 20 local bargaining teams met with national management and Coalition leaders and shared their progress on joint solutions to critical issues in our markets. They also reviewed open issues for consideration by the national bargaining team.

Committees with both management and labor representatives also continued working together on staffing, operational savings, and local bargaining agreements.

Kaiser Permanente is fully committed to reaching an agreement with the unions affiliated with the Coalition just as we have done in every national bargaining since 1999.

While there have been productive discussions in this session, we are aware of Coalition discussions of a strike authorization vote. Strike authorizations are a common bargaining pressure tactic. A strike authorization vote would be a disappointing action considering our progress at the bargaining table. It would not reflect our joint commitment to reaching an agreement that ensures we can continue to provide market-competitive pay and outstanding benefits.

We urge all our employees to reject any call for a strike and continue to focus on providing care and service to our patients and members. We ask that Coalition union leaders focus on productive negotiations at the bargaining table so we can reach an agreement before the current contract expires on September 30, 2023.

Kaiser Permanente deeply values everything you do for our members, patients, and communities. We are determined to remain the employer of choice we are today. We provide market-competitive wages and excellent benefits and are thoroughly committed to the economic well-being of our employees.

Thank you for your commitment to our patients, members, and each other.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for September 6 through 8. You can find updates at kp.org/labor.