Nov. 22 strike date set for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii workers

More than 1,800 Kaiser Permanente employees in Hawaii plan to go on strike amid contract negotiations with the health care provider.

Unite Here Local 5, the union representing the employees, announced Tuesday evening that employees will begin their strike at 5:30 a.m. Nov. 22 in a bid to persuade Kaiser to budge from its “insulting” proposed wage increase, which is contingent upon the installation of a two-tier wage system that would cut wages for newly hired workers by up to 33%.

Kaiser’s latest proposal offers as much as 4% in wage increases per year, Laura Lott, senior director of communications and public relations, pointed out.

But the health care giant also has ignored staff shortages around the nation, Local 5 said, which has led to employee exhaustion and burnout while they continue to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Enough is enough! No more health care heroes turning to health care zeroes,” said Stephanie Meredith, a ward clerk in Labor and Delivery at the Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, in a statement in Local 5’s announcement. “We’re going to fight for what we’re worth, for the future of our jobs and our community. We will be here for as long as it takes until Kaiser Permanente wakes up and gets it right.”

The strike was authorized by 93% of the union members who voted.

“We’re at the point where we’ve been trying for so many months, and this is the only option,” said Bryant de Venecia, a communications organizer for Local 5. “We don’t want to strike, we don’t want to leave our patients, but Kaiser is leaving us no choice.”

Contract negotiations began in April, and some seven months later, Kaiser employees have decided it’s been long enough.

Employees, mostly from the West Coast, have already planned their own strikes.

Around 30,000 Kaiser employees in California and Oregon, who include registered nurses, pharmacists and midwives, will begin their strikes Monday. About 3,400 others in Oregon and southwest Washington will strike on the same day, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Health care workers in Georgia also have authorized a strike against the proposed wages, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Arlene Peasnall, Kaiser’s senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement that the health care provider is “indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States.”

“Our proposal simply aims to slow the significant over-market growth in compensation while continuing to reward our employees and fulfill our commitment to our members and patients to provide high-quality, affordable health care,” Peasnall said.

A group of 51 Kaiser clinicians in Hawaii have also authorized a strike against the health care provider.