SEIU Kaiser National Bargaining Update
Let's Show Kaiser We Deserve More!
Negotiations between Kaiser management and our SEIU 49 bargaining team and the Coalition have continued all day Saturday and Sunday and late into the evenings and early morning hours. Depending on what the issue is, there have been various degrees of progress as described below:
RED HOT issues where we are worlds apart and cannot imagine any kind of settlement without major movement on Kaiser’s part:
Across-the-Board (ATB) Raises: Kaiser’s last proposal divides Coalition unions members by offering different scales for different regions. We insist that we have one, unified, respectful raise settlement across our Coalition. We all have been through too much to leave anyone behind. Since it was our turn to make a counter proposal, our bargaining team voted to move the process forward with a new proposal of annual raises of 6.5%, 6.5%, 5.75%, 5.75%.
Kaiser management came in late last night with a wage proposal that is divisive and unacceptable:
NW (our region), Colorado, Southern CA, Mid Atlantic, HI
3%, 3%, 3%, 3%
They offered more money to the other parts of Washington; excluding SW Washington and our SEIU 49 members there:
KPWA Region & Northern CA4%, 4%, 3%, 3%
PSP Bonus: We continue to make it clear to Kaiser that the full value of our PSP bonus must be maintained and that there should be a minimum payout if goals are met, regardless of financial performance. They have not agreed to our proposals
Subcontracting and Outsourcing: We have fought too many battles with Kaiser on this issue to trust that our jobs will be secure if we lose the protections in our current agreement. Kaiser told us in bargaining they want eliminate our protections against sub-contracting in the National Agreement starting October 1, 2023. It raises the question: What do they have planned for our jobs?
Growing Together: We’re happy to support Kaiser growing as a unionized, high-wage, well-benefitted, quality care system. We are not going to sit by and accept them launching a huge expansion in other states as a non-union, low-road employer.
CRITICAL ISSUES for which there have been good discussions but not clear where Kaiser is willing to land:
Retiree Medical Benefits for members eligible for the Medicare Advantage KPSA plan: We are trying to increase the contributions to the HRA to $2500/per year of service from $2000 and the additional contribution that is $10,000 at age 85 moved to age 80 and increased to $15,000. There are issues that need to be addressed to ensure that retirees continue to have predictable, affordable health benefits in the future. We’ve had extensive discussions about the challenges and are waiting for Kaiser’s response on solutions.
Workforce Development: Given the ongoing staffing crisis, the Coalition has requested Kaiser make a larger investment in the Education Funds that support existing employees’ training and promotion and a Union pipeline for new recruits called Futuro Health, which trains members of the community, including many of our family members, to be the healthcare workers of the future. Kaiser has made clear that they are supportive of both funds but that they want to target funding and programming towards training people for the positions they project the greatest vacancies in the future. The Coalition is supportive of targeting some of the funding for the greatest projected need. We are waiting for a concrete proposal from Kaiser on funding amounts and other specifics.
Issues for which there has been actual progress:
Remote Workers: Kaiser agreed to negotiate a policy with minimum standards for remote and hybrid workers (currently the Coalition has over 10,000 workers in these categories). They had an outrageous suggestion to be able to move people back to facilities with only two weeks’ notice! We want 60 days minimum plus negotiations, along with a severance package for those who have been remote for a long time and cannot revert back to in-facility work.
Staffing: We are making progress of a long menu of initiatives that can improve hiring and promoting, including reducing TALEO “auto-rejects,” eliminating duplicative testing requirements, more mass hiring events, removing more experience barriers, greater labor input into department staffing levels, referral bonuses, more expedited bidding and a temporary slowing of transfers (that are not promotional or for higher FTEs) for a one-year period.
…and a handful of actual tentative agreements!
Reduce Registry Use: We have agreement on language that, for the first time, commits Kaiser to reducing its use of expensive registry/traveler staff and to not using registry/travelers to meet regular workflow needs.
Tracking Vacancies: Stronger reporting requirements on vacancies and the status of filling jobs to improve accountability.
Travel for Continuing Education: An increase to $1,000 of the amount of our annual tuition reimbursement allowance ($3,000) that can be used for travel to courses, workshops, and conferences.
Next steps
A lot of hard work is being done. Some minimal progress is being made. But, make no mistake, there can be no agreement without a lot of movement from Kaiser on the top four Red Hot Issues. Our bargaining team is still meeting as we send this out and will be ready to negotiate if Kaiser has more to offer.
What is getting Kaiser Executives to pay attention is the 10-day notice we gave to strike with THOUSANDS of our Union members ready to TAKE ACTION. Sign up for your strike shifts for our unfair labor practice strike on October 4, 5 & 6.
We are holding one more Strike Captain Training at the SEIU 49 Union Hall this coming Saturday, September 30. If you are interested in becoming a strike captain and leading the unfair labor practice strike at your facility, you must first attend this training! We’ll go over what it means to be a Strike Captain, what to expect on the picket line, and more! Sign up today and share with your fellow union members: https://mobilize.us/s/rFrgeR
Want answers to questions? Check the Strike FAQ on our Kaiser Strike Resources page.
If you have any questions, talk to a Kaiser Bargaining Team member or contact Contract Specialist by emailing KaiserMRC@seiu49.org or calling/texting 503-782-6228.
