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4mo ago

Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Workers to Vote on Tentative Contract After Seven-Month Strike

A proposed four-year agreement addressing wage, benefit, and workload disparities awaits ratification by 2,400 Southern California therapists and clinicians this Thursday.

Image
Members from the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) stage a “die-in” at the front entrance to the Kaiser Administration Office on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in San Diego, CA. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Members from the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) demonstrated out in front to the entrance to the Kaiser Administration Office and not far from Kaiser Hospital on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in San Diego, CA. Union members have been out without a contract for almost 6 months. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Image showing a Kaiser Permanente building.

Overview

  • The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) will hold a ratification vote Thursday on a tentative contract to end the nearly seven-month strike involving 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals in Southern California.
  • The tentative agreement, announced Sunday, includes provisions addressing wage increases, retirement plans, and allocated preparation time, though specific details will be disclosed upon ratification.
  • Union demands focused on achieving parity with Northern California counterparts in wages, retirement benefits, and time for non-patient care duties, which Kaiser had previously resisted.
  • Kaiser maintained that its employees are paid above market rates and characterized the strike as unnecessary, citing a network of 13,000 therapists ensuring continuity of care during the labor dispute.
  • If ratified, the agreement will take immediate effect, marking the resolution of the largest specialized mental health strike in U.S. history and setting a precedent for future labor negotiations in the healthcare sector.