“We Are Ready to Strike– An overwhelming 98% voted YES to an Unfair Labor Practice strike.”
Kaiser Permanente workers in the DMV have authorized a strike that would begin as early as October 1st if a contract agreement between the union and the Kaiser is not reached by the end of September, according to a statement Monday by the local union representing DMV Kaiser employees. The statement can be seen below:
“OPIU Local 2 members at Kaiser Permanente have made their voices heard. We will take action if Kaiser Permanente does not come to the bargaining table to properly address our priorities – including staffing, patient care, and a consistent national wage increase to reward and retain our healthcare workers. The pandemic’s journey has brought our membership to this point. No healthcare worker came out unscathed. Work-life balance does not exist for the Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers. This, compounded by historical inflation rates, has created the perfect storm.
This past week saw an overwhelming majority of workers turnout with 98% casting “yes” votes in support of the strike. While we do not want to strike, if Kaiser continues to refuse to invest in patient care and frontline caregivers by hiring more staff, by adjusting staff to patient ratios, and by settling a contract that includes livable wages that keep up with inflation, WE ARE READY!
What are Next Steps? We have one more national bargaining session scheduled for September 21-22. Kaiser can prevent a potential unfair labor practice strike by coming to the table to bargain in good faith.
Kaiser cannot keep lowering our members’ standard of living and expect to recruit and maintain staff. With this vote, our elected bargaining team has the ability to call for up to a two-week strike after September 30th. Our goal continues to be to reach a fair contract.” The full statement can be seen here.
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