Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Workers Reach tentative agreement
COLO. (KRDO) - The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 105 and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have reached a historical tentative agreement on Thursday following a month of negotiations.
The tentative agreement ending the largest healthcare workers strike in U.S. history includes a long list of victories for healthcare workers aimed at retaining and recruiting quality care workers and addressing the staffing shortage head-on to deliver better care to patients.
The agreement contains actions that will directly address the staffing shortage by making healthcare jobs more sustainable in an industry seeing record numbers of workers leaving the field. The agreement includes:
- Wage increases of 21% over 4 years. (the highest ever for Kaiser Permanente workers)
- Strong protections against outsourcing, keeping quality union jobs in Colorado
- A minimum wage increase for Kaiser Permanente workers each year in Colorado, reaching $23/hour by 2026.
- A renewed and revamped system for performance and growth sharing for employees.
- Historic investments in education and training funds for employees.
- Increased medical benefits for employees upon retirement.
