Kaiser Permanente workers win 21% raise over 4 years after strike

A deal has been reached between Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions representing health care workers.

The new contract aims to address staffing shortages with raises that will amount to 21% in wage increases over the next four years to help retain current workers.

The deal comes after tens of thousands of nurses, ER technicians, and pharmacists walked out in a strike earlier this month.

"This deal is life-changing for frontline health care workers like me, and life-saving for our patients," said Yvonne Esquivel, a pediatric medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Gilroy, Calif. "Thousands of Kaiser health care workers fought hard for this new agreement, and now we will finally have the resources we need to do the job we love and keep our patients safe."

The new contract establishes a health care worker minimum wage for Kaiser Permanente, which is both an insurer and a system of hospitals and clinics. In California, that minimum wage is $25 per hour, and it is $23 per hour for workers in other states. The health care giant has workers and facilities in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maryland and Washington D.C., among other states.

The contract represents big wins for the coalition of unions representing 85,000 Kaiser Permanente staff. Other details of the agreement include new rules for outsourcing and hiring subcontractors, and efforts to streamline the hiring process.

Striking workers argued an under-staffing crisis was hurting patients, and they walked off the job for three days in California from October 4 through 6.

Both the company and the unions thanked acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su for mediating at an in-person meeting in San Francisco and bringing seven months of contract negotiations to a close. Union health care workers are expected to vote to ratify the agreement next week.