31,000 UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals Issue Notice to Strike Kaiser Permanente

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: press@unacuhcp.org

31,000 UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals Issue 10-Day Notice to Strike Kaiser Permanente

LOS ANGELES, October 3, 2025 – The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) has delivered a strike notice to Kaiser Permanente executives. The strike is set to begin on Tuesday, October 14.

This will be the largest UNAC/UHCP strike ever against Kaiser Permanente. Tens of thousands of frontline registered nurses and health professionals will strike five days at more than two dozen hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii. Members of the Alliance of Health Care Unions will join picket lines in California, Hawaii, and Oregon.

By law, health care unions must give employers at least 10 days’ notice before a strike, to ensure continuity of patient care and allow hospitals time to prepare.

UNAC/UHCP represents 31,000 union health care professionals at Kaiser and is part of the Alliance, which bargains a national contract for 23 local unions covering dozens of hospitals and hundreds of clinics from Hawaii to Washington, D.C.

The Alliance includes 62,000 union members working at Kaiser nationwide. The contracts of 46,000 of these Kaiser workers also expired on September 30 or October 1, and nearly all of their local unions have given Kaiser 10-day strike notices.

UNAC/UHCP members include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians, and other specialty health care professionals.

The vast majority of UNAC/UHCP union members work in California, where 1 in 4 residents get their care from Kaiser. UNAC/UHCP also represents workers in Hawaii, where Kaiser serves 272,000 health plan members.

More than 200 UNAC/UHCP pharmacists, therapists and certified nurse anesthetists would be striking in Hawaii with thousands of workers in other Alliance unions.

For decades, union workers have been the backbone of Kaiser — partnering to improve patient care, raising standards, and helping earn many of the accolades Kaiser touts today. They are the professionals who deliver care at the bedside, in clinics, in pharmacies, and in patients’ homes.

But Kaiser is now on a dangerous path. Stagnant wages and unsafe staffing threaten both the workforce and the high-quality care patients depend on. Kaiser currently holds $64 billion in reserves — much of it accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when frontline caregivers sacrificed their health, families, and, in some cases, their lives.

Yet today, Kaiser resists fair pay and refuses to fix staffing, even as it pours money into expansion projects in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina. Without solving its staffing missteps at home, these expansions risk leaving current health plan members facing delays in appointments, treatment, and recovery.

“This strike is about protecting patients as much as it is about protecting caregivers,” said UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales, RN. “Kaiser executives cannot keep expanding while ignoring the crisis inside their hospitals. Our message is clear: invest in the people who provide care, or face the consequences of a workforce that refuses to stay silent.”

UNAC/UHCP Executive Director Joe Guzynski said, “Our patients are waiting longer, and our caregivers are stretched to the breaking point, and Kaiser executives are sitting on billions.”

“Our members built Kaiser into the respected institution it is today,” said Guzynski, the union’s lead negotiator. “If Kaiser refuses to invest in them now, it isn’t just neglecting its workforce — it’s putting the entire health care system at risk.”

Core Issues Driving the Strike

• Safe Staffing: Nurse-to-patient ratios on paper don’t save lives. Kaiser needs to honor contractual ratios and staffing solutions based on reality. Caregivers are demanding schedules that reflect patient needs, not corporate targets.
• Fair Pay and Economic Security: Kaiser’s offer doesn’t keep up with the skyrocketing cost of housing, food, and health care. Years of stagnant wages are driving health professionals out of the system.
• Retirement Security: Many professionals lack pensions. After a lifetime of physically demanding work and hours on their feet, caregivers deserve dignity and stability in retirement.
• Kaiser’s Spin vs. Reality: While Kaiser touts perks like tuition reimbursement, it continues to hold down wages, pensions, and health benefits. Workers, and the patients who rely on them, deserve better.

Media Access

UNAC/UHCP will share updates on media availability with members at designated picket lines in California and Hawaii in a detailed media advisory.