Read our feature article on the history of healthcare workers struggles here.
Around 31,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente in California and Hawaii will soon enter the third week of an open-ended strike that began January 26, as another 3,000 workers are set to join the picket lines on Monday (02/9). The healthcare monopoly is the largest “nonprofit” healthcare system in the country—a designation used to avoid paying taxes while reaping over $100 billion a year.
Workers represented by United Nurses Associations of California and Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) are demanding safer staffing levels, timely care for patients, and better compensation, including a 25% pay increase over four years.
Kaiser’s proposed 21.5% wage increase over four years amounts to a real wage decrease when factoring in inflation. It also comes with major cuts to retirement and health benefits, according to the union. Meanwhile, the monopoly is spending millions of dollars on scabs to undermine the strike.
The union criticized understaffing and stagnant wages—which lead to dangerous conditions for both workers and patients—while Kaiser invests in high-profit ventures like real estate and technology.
The strike involves a broad range of healthcare workers, including registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, rehab therapists, speech pathologists, nurse practitioners, midwives, dietitians, physician’s assistants, and other healthcare specialists.
On February 9, about 3,000 pharmacy and laboratory workers represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) will join the picket lines against Kaiser Permanente as well.
UNAC/UHCP has been in negotiations since May 2025. After their contract expired in September, UNAC/UHCP went on a time-bound five-day strike in October 2025 with the Alliance of Healthcare Unions against Kaiser Permanente that saw over 45,000 healthcare workers picketing more than 500 Kaiser facilities. The strike succeeded in forcing the monopoly back to the bargaining table.
After Kaiser walked away from negotiations again, the union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in December, alleging the company was attempting to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process.
The UNAC/UHCP strike coincides with the ongoing strike of about 15,000 nurses in New York City around similar demands, which will enter its fifth week on February 9.
Photo: Healthcare workers with UNAC/UHCP on strike. Retrieved from UNAC/UHCP on Instagram.
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