Union reports Kaiser Permanente staff across Hawaiʻi, California may strike amid stalled contract negotiations

Tens of thousands of nurses and other health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente have given notice of a possible strike later this month, citing concerns over staffing levels, patient care and stalled contract negotiations.

The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals announced on Thursday that it delivered a 10-day strike notice to Kaiser executives, with an unfair labor practice strike scheduled to begin Jan. 26.

The union said about 31,000 frontline registered nurses and health care workers would participate at nearly 20 Kaiser hospitals and about 200 clinics across Hawaiʻi and California, including pharmacy and physical therapy staff in Līhuʻe.

“We’re authorizing a strike to win staffing that protects patients and workload standards that prevent burnout,” said Charmaine S. Morales, a registered nurse and president of UNAC/UHCP. “Kaiser can end this by returning to the table and bargaining in good faith.”

The notice follows the release of a union report detailing Kaiser’s financial reserves and investment practices. The report alleges that while the nonprofit health system holds billions of dollars in reserves and pursues expansion projects nationwide, patients are experiencing delayed care and staff are coping with chronic understaffing.

Union leaders said contract talks have been stalled for more than a month after Kaiser management declined to return to the bargaining table. The union’s contract with Kaiser expired Sept. 30, and workers previously staged a five-day strike in October 2025.

In December, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Kaiser attempted to bypass an agreed-upon national bargaining process and interfered with good-faith negotiations that began in May.

By law, health care unions must provide at least 10 days’ notice before striking to allow hospitals time to prepare and ensure continuity of patient care.

UNAC/UHCP represents nurses, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists and other health care professionals. In Hawaiʻi, Kaiser serves about 272,000 health plan members, according to the union.

Kaiser Permanente issued a statement Thursday saying it has been bargaining with the Alliance of Health Care Unions for more than 7 months, the longest in national bargaining history.

“There has been no material movement on key economic issues for months, and on December 14, we were compelled to pause national bargaining because of an incident with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals,” the statement said. ” “Since the pause, UNAC/UHCP has refused to resolve the matter as requested, which has compromised the national bargaining process.”

Kaiser Permanente said on Thursday it proposed a solution to move forward with contract negotiations in which it would move the remaining open items in national bargaining to each union’s local table, without having to rely on national bargaining.

“We share a common goal of delivering wage increases, benefits improvements, and professional development opportunities to our workforce — and this path allows all parties to do that,” the statement said. “As we move all issues to local bargaining, we stand by our historic offer of 21.5% wage increases over the length of the contract.”