Local union workers to strike Kaiser Permanente across the state after months of contract negotiations

Over 2,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Oʻahu will participate in a five-day strike beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

UNITE HERE Local 5 and Hawaiʻi Nurses and Healthcare Professionals delivered a 10-day strike notice to Kaiser Permanente, announcing a five-day strike that will impact more than 2,000 hospital aides, medical assistants, lab assistants, pharmacy technicians, dietary specialists, and housekeeping staff.

Local unions have been in contract negotiations with Kaiser Permanente since April. Key bargaining priorities for Hawaiʻi Kaiser workers are wage increases that keep up with Hawaiʻi’s high cost of living and safe staffing that protects the physical and mental health of workers while ensuring quality patient care.

“I am ready to strike because even after months of bargaining, Kaiser has not fully addressed our top concerns: safe staffing and fair wage increases,” said Lisa Pang, licensed practical nurse at Kaiser Kona Medical Offices with 16 years of service. “I take pride in doing everything I can to make sure our patients are taken care of at Kaiser, but it is insulting that Kaiser values us less than workers on the mainland and frustrating when they do not provide the proper staffing needed to deliver quality patient care.”

In Hawaiʻi, Kaiser workers are paid up to 30% less than their counterparts on the mainland performing the same work. In a 2024 survey of nearly 800 Kaiser workers represented by Local 5, 84% reported they have thought about leaving Hawaiʻi because of the high cost of living. Turnover rates for Hawaiʻi Kaiser workers represented by Local 5 are more than 11%, while Kaiser’s overall employee turnover rate is 8%.

“Our members are ready to take this next step if that is what it takes for Kaiser to recognize the value of Hawaiʻi’s workers and the quality patient care we deliver every day,” said Cade Watanabe, financial secretary-treasurer. “Kaiser remains a great place to get quality care—if you can get it; but how is it fair that Kaiser can pay its workers on the mainland more than they pay their workers here, while we work short-staffed and struggle to make ends meet?”

“Hawaiʻi Alliance members continue to face staffing challenges post-COVID that affect patient care and quality outcomes. Patients are now sicker and require more care while staffing ratios and workloads have not been adjusted. Hawaiʻi Nurses and Healthcare Professionals members are speaking out on behalf of our patients that Kaiser needs to commit to safe patient staffing ratios and a fair contract that focuses on best working conditions, wages and benefits to attract and retain the best healthcare workers at Kaiser,” said Hawaiʻi Nurses and Healthcare Professionals President Terilyn Carvalho Luke, RN.

Local 5 and Hawaiʻi Nurses and Healthcare Professionals are part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which represents 62,000 Kaiser Permanente health professionals in 23 local unions among eight national unions. The Alliance is simultaneously working on a national bargaining agreement that would be an addendum to each local’s contract.

The contracts of 52,000 Kaiser Permanente workers also expired on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, and nearly all have given 10-day strike notices.