Union-represented Kaiser workers in California, Hawaii launch open-ended strike
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UNAC/UHCP launched an open-ended strike over staffing, wages and benefits.
- Strike affects about 30,000 Kaiser workers in California and Hawaii.
- Kaiser keeps hospitals open, shifts visits virtual, hires contract staff.
A union representing tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers in California and Hawaii launched an open-ended strike Monday, the latest escalation in a monthslong dispute over a set of new labor deals.
The strike began at 7 a.m. Monday, and will continue until a deal is reached, the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals said. The union said its top priorities at the bargaining table are safe staffing levels and avoiding cuts to wages and benefits — which, it argues, would drive more clinicians from the bedside.
“This strike is about restoring safe staffing levels, timely access to care, and respect for the professionals who deliver that care every day,” UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine Morales said in a news release.
The union represents 2,800 certified registered nurse anesthetists, physicians associates and certified nurse midwives in Northern California, and around 30,000 Kaiser workers in California and Hawaii combined.
Strike escalates protests
The open-ended strike marks an escalation from the protests and walkouts the union has organized at Kaiser over the past year, which were each limited in duration. UNAC/UHCP held an informational rally at Kaiser’s Roseville hospital in March, staged a one-day walkout in September, and a five-day strike in October.
The Oakland-based health system has been engaged in sweeping contract talks since May with the Alliance of Health Care Unions — a federation of 23 unions of Kaiser workers, of which UNAC/UHCP is a member — as the health system also negotiated for individual contracts with the local bargaining groups.
Stalled negotiations
UNAC/UHCP said it has filed unfair labor practice charges alleging that Kaiser stalled negotiations. Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that the union has agreed to return to the bargaining table.
The health system defended its latest contract offer. Employees represented by the Alliance of Health Care Unions earn, on average, 16% more than their peers at other health systems, and Kaiser’s current proposal includes a 21.5% wage increase over the life of the contract, the health system said.
“This open-ended strike by UNAC/UHCP is unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the table,” Lionel Sims, senior vice president of human resources for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said in a statement.
Kaiser hospitals and “nearly all” medical offices will remain open. The health system will switch some appointments from in-person to virtual settings, and reschedule some appointments and elective surgeries. Kaiser is onboarding contract nurses and other health care workers during the strike, and reassigning employees to work in strike locations.
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 2:02 PM.
