A Northern California nurses union has approved their new employment deal with Kaiser Permanente after negotiating a 22.5% wage increase.
The deal was reached between the nurses union, National Nurses United, and Kaiser Permanente, a large healthcare system based in California. Kaiser registered nurses and nurse practitioners in Northern California had been in negotiations since June 2022, and the nurses had planned a two-day strike on Nov. 21 and 22. The nurses had already picketed alongside nurse colleagues at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC) on Sept. 1. The strike, which would have been the largest private employer strike in history, was avoided after reaching a tentative deal with Kaiser on Nov. 17.
The nurses union ratified the deal after a voting period from Nov. 22 to Dec. 2.
“With this new contract, we will be able to recruit new nurses, retain experienced RNs, and most importantly, provide our patients with improved care,” CNA President Cathy Kennedy, RN in the neonatal ICU at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, said in a statement. "We are so happy that this contract adds more than 2,000 positions across our Northern California facilities. That is amazing and will improve staffing greatly."
In addition to the large wage increase secured in the deal, the new contract also delivers on other provisions, including:
- Health and safety provisions to ensure nurses receive personal protective equipment (PPE), including a three-month stockpile of PPE, screening for infectious diseases and provisions around COVID-19 patients.
- Comprehensive workplace violence prevention expansions to all sites, such as hospitals, clinics, parking structures, and other sites. Plus, the contract requires an investigation process for incidents of workplace violence and trauma counseling for nurses.
- More than 2,000 new registered nurse and nurse practitioner positions
- Increased tuition reimbursement for education
- Economic gains and health benefit provisions to help retain and recruit experienced nurse
- Equity and inclusion provisions, including the creation of a new regional Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee comprised of two nurses from each facility to address systemic racism within the health care system, requirements for Kaiser to report demographic data to CNA, and a commitment to a workplace free from racism and discrimination
- Patients first language by promoting culturally competent care
"For the first time, our contract includes equity and inclusion provisions and a commitment to a workplace free from racism and discrimination,” Kennedy said. “Under this new agreement, we will create a regional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee to address systemic racism within the healthcare system. This is long past due. I am thrilled that Kaiser is committed to a workplace that is free from racism and discrimination and that Kaiser agrees that healthcare is a human right and that we must end racial disparities in healthcare.”
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."