Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have reached a tentative agreement to tie up a national 4-year collective bargaining agreement, according to a statement Wednesday from the health care provider. The agreement covers 85,000 unionized Kaiser Permanente health care workers in 11 unions, including 3,600 in the San Fernando Valley – 1,900 in Woodland Hills and 1,700 in Panorama City. Workers in the Valley were prepared to join a national strike across the 11 unions Oct. 14, if an agreement wasn’t reached. “This agreement will allow us to rebuild the worker-management partnership that has been so important to all of us in making Kaiser successful over the last 20 years,” said Georgette Bradford, an ultrasound technologist at Kaiser in Sacramento. “Reaching an agreement was not easy. It had lots of twists and turns, but in the end we accomplished what we set out to do – reach an agreement that is good for patients, workers and our communities.” If ratified, the contract will be effective Oct. 1. Annual pay increases through 2023, maintaining employee benefits and creating a $130 million workforce development program to reduce the national shortage of health care workers were main factors to solidify the agreement. Other agreement details include career growth opportunities through paid training and education and an agreed list of jobs that will not be outsourced or subcontracted for the life of the contract. “We greatly respect and value our employees who deliver on our mission every day,” said Arlene Peasnall, interim chief human resources officer, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan and Hospitals. “This agreement is a testament to the dedication, compassion and skill those employees bring to work every day and demonstrates that Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition have a shared commitment to affordability for our members.”
