Alliance of Health Care Unions

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]

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

Membership edit

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 edit

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 edit

  1. ^ "Our Story". Alliance of Health Care Unions. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Kaiser Permanente Workers Rebel Against Two-Tier Wage System (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  7. ^ a b Lanard, Noah. ""You are worth more": Kaiser Permanente workers are on the verge of a historic strike". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  8. ^ a b "'Time Bomb' Pay-Tier Proposals Sparking Labor Unrest - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  9. ^ a b "Nearly 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers plan strike on Nov. 15". Modern Healthcare. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  10. ^ a b "Thousands of SoCal pharmacy workers set strike date against Kaiser Permanente". KTLA. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  11. ^ a b "Nearly 2,000 Kaiser workers in Hawaii to join nationwide strike". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  12. ^ a b "Kaiser Permanente workers in Georgia OK strike". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  13. ^ a b "100K Kaiser Permanente workers poised to strike next week". Modern Healthcare. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  14. ^ a b "Tentative Agreement Reached, Strike Averted". about.kaiserpermanente.org. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  15. ^ a b "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)

External links edit