Alliance members participating in the March for Future of Healthcare on October 30, 2021.
Alliance members marching on October 30, 2021.

The Alliance of Health Care Unions (Alliance) is a union federation of 21 local unions representing roughly 52,000 Kaiser Permanente (KP) employees.[1][2] The Alliance is one of two union federations that are part of the largest and longest running Labor Management Partnership in the U.S.[3][4][5] In 2021, more than 40,000 Alliance members were on the verge of the largest open-ended healthcare strike over concerns of short staffing and a two-tier wage system proposed by KP.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] On November 13, 2021, the Alliance and KP reached an agreement that preserved leading wages and benefits and defeated the two-tier system.[14][15]

Membership

List of union locals that are part of the Alliance:[2]

  • Hawaii Nurses and Health Care Professionals (HNHP): Registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and respiratory therapists employed by Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii.
  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 166: More than 600 imaging techs and other health care workers in Southern California.
  • International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 28: Security guards in Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
  • International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Locals 1 and 501: Skilled Maintenance, building engineers, biomedical engineers and others in Colorado and Southern California.
  • Kaiser Permanente Nurse Anesthetists Association (KPNAA): Certified nurse anesthetists in Southern California.
  • Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (OFNHP) AFT Local 5017: Registered nurses, dental hygienists, lab professionals and other health care professionals in the Northwest, Portland area.
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7: Registered nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists  and other health care professionals in Colorado.  
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 21: Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, imaging and respiratory techs, clinical lab scientists and other healthcare professionals in Washington state.
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 27: Registered nurses, pharmacists, psychologists and other health care professionals in the Mid-Atlantic area.
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428, 1442: Pharmacy clerks, technicians and clinical lab scientists in Southern California, including all Kaiser Permanente tech, service, clinical and administrative workers in Kern County.
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400: Registered nurses and health care professionals in the Mid-Atlantic area.
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1996: Registered nurses, service, technical, professionals for all of KP Georgia.
  • United Steelworkers Local 7600: Service, technical,  skilled maintenance and clerical workers in Southern California.
  • United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP): 21,000 nurses, mid-wives, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, rehab therapists, optometrists and other healthcare professionals in Southern and Northern California and Hawaii.
  • UNITE HERE Local 5: Service and technical workers in Hawaii.

Healthcare strikes

Over 40,000 Alliance members gave Kaiser Permanente strike notice and were the verge of a historic healthcare strike over concerns about short staffing and a two-tier wage system.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

"Kaiser Permanente's latest proposal is an insulting 2% wage increase contingent upon union's agreement to a two-tier wage system, which threatens to cut 26-33% of wages for all future hires. Kaiser Permanente also refuses to address the short-staffing impacting all its facilities. Workers report being stressed, overworked, and burnt out while taking care of our community throughout the pandemic."[16]

The strike authorization votes by Alliance Unions became widely anticipated as part of Striketober and Strikesgiving.[17][18] On November 13, 2021, the Alliance and KP reached an agreement that preserved leading wages and benefits and defeated the two-tier system.[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ "Our Story". Alliance of Health Care Unions. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  2. 1 2 Kristi (2016-05-06). "About LMP". www.lmpartnership.org. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  3. ↑ Kochan, Thomas A.; Eaton, Adrienne E.; McKersie, Robert B.; Adler, Paul S. (2011-02-23). Healing Together: The Labor-Management Partnership at Kaiser Permanente. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-5812-5.
  4. ↑ The evolving health care landscape : how employees, organizations, and institutions are adapting and innovating. Ariel C. Avgar, Timothy J. Vogus, Labor and Employment Relations Association (First ed.). Champaign, IL. 2016. ISBN 978-0-913447-12-3. OCLC 951760830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ↑ Kochan, Thomas A.; Adler, Paul S.; Mckersie, Robert B.; Eaton, Adrienne E.; Segal, Phyllis; Gerhart, Paul (2008-01-04). "The Potential and Precariousness of Partnership: The Case of the Kaiser Permanente Labor Management Partnership: Partnership at Kaiser". Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society. 47 (1): 36–65. doi:10.1111/j.1468-232X.2008.00503.x. S2CID 14634443.
  6. 1 2 "Kaiser Permanente Workers Rebel Against Two-Tier Wage System (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  7. 1 2 Lanard, Noah. ""You are worth more": Kaiser Permanente workers are on the verge of a historic strike". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  8. 1 2 "'Time Bomb' Pay-Tier Proposals Sparking Labor Unrest - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  9. 1 2 "Nearly 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers plan strike on Nov. 15". Modern Healthcare. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  10. 1 2 "Thousands of SoCal pharmacy workers set strike date against Kaiser Permanente". KTLA. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  11. 1 2 "Nearly 2,000 Kaiser workers in Hawaii to join nationwide strike". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  12. 1 2 "Kaiser Permanente workers in Georgia OK strike". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  13. 1 2 "100K Kaiser Permanente workers poised to strike next week". Modern Healthcare. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  14. 1 2 "Tentative Agreement Reached, Strike Averted". about.kaiserpermanente.org. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  15. 1 2 "Kaiser Permanente's historic labor-management deal survives again". Healthcare Dive. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  16. ↑ "Thousands of health care workers in Hawaii will join nationwide strike against Kaiser Permanente". KHON2. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  17. ↑ Gruenberg, Mark (2021-11-09). "McDonald's and Kaiser workers carry 'Striketober' into 'Strikesgiving'". People's World. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  18. ↑ Kelly, Kim (2022). Fight like hell : the untold history of American labor. Sara Nelson (First One Signal Publishers/Atria Books hardcover ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-9821-7105-6. OCLC 1294391915.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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