Every day, 31,000 UNAC/UHCP registered nurses and health care professionals show up for you — our patients — with compassion, skill, and dedication.
We are the caregivers driving your care — acupuncturists, audiologists, case managers, child life specialists, dietitians, health educators, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, optometrists, pharmacists, physical therapists, physician assistants/associates, recreation therapists, registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, and many more specialty care nurses and health care professionals.
We show up every day for you and your family.
But while we fight for safe staffing and fair contracts, Kaiser Permanente puts profits over patients and pits us against one another.
We’re here to set the record straight. You deserve to know what’s really happening in your hospitals and clinics.
What Kaiser Says in Public
Kaiser’s press and public statements paint a misleading picture of what’s happening inside the system.
Here’s what they’ve said — and what they’re not telling you.
Kaiser Claim: “We staffed 7,000 contracted nurses during the strike to ensure patient care.”
Kaiser Claim: “Wages were the main reason for this strike.”
The Reality: This fight isn’t just about pay: It’s about safe staffing, stability, respect, and ensuring that caregivers have the time and resources to deliver the care patients deserve. The Truth About Kaiser’s Offer – UNAC/UHCP
Kaiser Claim: “A 25% wage boost could cost $300 million annually and raise costs for patients.”
The Reality: There is more than enough to invest in the frontline caregivers who make that success possible without additional rate hikes.
Kaiser’s reserves have grown from $44 billion to $67 billion since 2021, while ERs and clinics are short-staffed. (Fitch Ratings)
CEO Gregory Adams, made over $12 million last year, and other Kaiser executives earn multi-million-dollar salaries, while health care workers take second jobs to remain in their communities. (Voice of OC)
Kaiser flies in 7,600 strike breakers instead of investing in permanent staff. (SF Chronicle)
Kaiser’s frontline caregivers aren’t asking for more — we’re asking for enough:
Enough staff to keep patients safe.
Enough time to provide quality care.
Enough respect to be part of the solution.
Our Story: Caregivers Standing Up for Patients
We do a lot more for Kaiser than just catch babies. We drive evidence-based care. We reduce morbidity and mortality for women. We lower preterm birth rates. We lower C-section rates. We improve outcomes overall — and we save Kaiser money.
Michelle Sai
Certified Nurse Midwife, Kaiser Modesto
Our patients deserve excellent, compassionate care — but in Southern California home health, we’re being forced to see more patients faster. Rushed visits strip away the time, care, and decency our patients need and deserve.
Amanda Rucker
Registered Nurse, Home Health, Kaiser Panorama City
As midwives, we care deeply for our patients through life-changing moments. We’re called to this work—but that passion is taken for granted. We don’t complain; we just give everything. Yet it leads to burnout. Many midwives feel underpaid, unappreciated, and that’s not right.
Misty Ceja
Certified Nurse Midwife, Kaiser Woodland Hills
Our wait times are through the roof because patients can’t get access to their primary care physicians — their appointments are three and four months out. One of the things we’ve been fighting for is just a seat at the table and having the people who provide care to our patients have a say in how and when that care is provided.
Zachary Pritchett
Registered Nurse, Emergency Department, Kaiser Los Angeles
Patients wait four to six weeks for appointments when they should be seen weekly. We’ve tried for years to get staff but hit roadblocks. They keep adding tasks without adding people. Three of us see nine patients in eight hours—skipping lunch and paperwork time to make it work.
Robert Kikuchi
Physical Therapist, Kaiser Maui Lani Clinic
The pace never slows—one more call light, one more chart, one more med. You move room to room like you’re on a timer. And when you finally leave, you still see the faces you couldn’t help enough, the scared patient you couldn’t sit with because five others needed you.
Nicole Wooten
Registered Nurse, Surgery, Kaiser Riverside
Patients hold up their phones so we can see wounds—it’s become routine. But you can’t assess virtually; care takes all five senses. By the time they reach us, it’s often too late—healed wrong or infected. It breaks my heart. I wasn’t trained to let people down.
Diana Guerrero
Wound Ostomy Nurse, Kaiser Los Angeles wound clinic
We’ve lost 25% of our colleagues to other systems, leaving heavier workloads and longer waits. We unionized to fix it, but Kaiser has stalled for 18 months while patients suffer. They’ve exploited our compassion to keep profits high and pay executives millions.
Cameron Cook
Nurse Anesthetist, Kaiser Redwood City
We go into health care to care for our communities, but the corporate machine makes that harder every day—shifting focus away from patients. I believe in Kaiser and the system, but it’s time they step up and invest in their people.
Steve Bazan
Nurse Anesthetist, Kaiser Moanalua
There are days when I’m struggling to manage five patients at once. Two wake disoriented after surgery and need me bedside; another needs help to the bathroom. It’s never easy to walk away—but if we don’t advocate for our patients, who will? We care for them, and we have to speak up.
Tonja Sweeney
Registered Nurse, Surgery, Kaiser South Bay
We’re stretched so thin it’s putting patients at risk. We make Kaiser profitable, yet work short-staffed with little support. We’re only human—our patients deserve better. We give everything to care for them, but Kaiser must step up and give us what we need to do our jobs safely.
Nikki Avey
Registered Nurse, Labor and Delivery, Kaiser Permanente San Marcos
Whether we’re pharmacists, nurses, or therapists, we share one goal: to care for our patients safely. We don’t need pizza parties—we need training, staff, and real support. After COVID burnout, we’re united again—for our patients, for each other, and for the future of health care.
Neda Moghaddam
Pharmacist, Kaiser San Diego Central refill
“We’ve been 25% understaffed for more than two years. We come to work exhausted, but we keep showing up for our patients. We just want Kaiser to listen—to give us the support and staffing we need to provide the care our patients deserve.”
Kelsey Kosmadakis
Certified Nurse Midwife, Kaiser Modesto
We keep admitting more patients without adding the staff needed to care for them. When we don’t have enough nurses, patients don’t always get the care they deserve.
Marla Hunt
Registered Nurse, Kaiser West Los Angeles
Fact #1:
$67 BillionKaiser Permanente has $67 billion in cash reserves, $22 billion more than it had in 2021.
From December 31, 2023, to June 30, 2025, Kaiser has invested $1.1 billion more in hedge funds and $1.9 billion more in private equity — despite growing criticism of both for high fees, low transparency, and poor returns. Even the University of California divested from hedge funds earlier this year over these same concerns.
From 2019 to 2023, Kaiser nearly doubled its spending on outside staffing firms, from $600 million to $1.1 billion.
Kaiser still pays for first-class airfare for senior executives and Board members — and even for their companions — while operating as a nonprofit health system.
31,000frontline health care professionals across California and Hawaii support Kaiser patients
The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) represents a diverse group of frontline caregivers—including registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, optometrists, physician assistants, rehab therapists, acupuncturists, speech language pathologists, dietitians, audiologists, health educators, case managers, child life specialists, and other specialty health care professionals—across California and Hawaii.
Together, we’re fighting to stabilize the workforce, reduce patient wait times, and ensure safer, healthier communities.
UNAC/UHCP is the largest union in the Alliance of Health Care Unions, representing 52,000 Kaiser Permanente workers nationwide united for safe staffing and patient care.
This isn’t just about numbers—it’s about patient safety, caregiver burnout, and a health care system under growing pressure.
Here’s what we’re fighting for:
• Safe staffing — enforceable ratios and workload protections
• Fair wages — compensation that matches expertise and cost of living
• Real investment in caregivers — training, mental-health support, career pathways
🔗 Learn more about our special reports on hospital staffing and health care professional education: UNAC/UHCP Research – UNAC/UHCP
