Thousands of nurses and healthcare workers across California and Hawaii returned to work Tuesday following the official end of a monthlong strike.
“Over the past 48 hours, significant movement at the bargaining table prompted union leaders to send the employer a notice of unconditional return to work,” the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) said in a Monday statement. “Returning members to their patients and their livelihoods is the clearest path to securing a final agreement and building on the progress achieved during the strike.”
The 31,000 UNAC/UHCP members went on strike January 26 after negotiations between the union and the healthcare provider stalled over concerns about staffing shortages, fair wages and retirement and benefits security, according to the union.
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The union also alleged that Kaiser Permanente had illegally stalled the negotiations by attempting to bypass the established national bargaining process. The healthcare company disputed the charge, saying that it was shifting from national to local bargaining in an effort to get contracts approved.
Kaiser Permanente, in a Monday statement, said the union had accepted the company’s offer of across-the-board wage increases of 21.5% and that bargaining with UNAC/UHCP and each of the Alliance of Health Care Unions would continue at local tables.
“We are continuing to make progress and remain optimistic about reaching contract agreements soon,” the statement said.
According to the healthcare provider, those returning to work would be provided guidance on how and when they would be able to return to their normal schedules.
Kaiser Permanente said strikes had cost the company more than $1 billion since October. The company reported a net income of $9.3 billion last year.
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