Media Contact: Angelina Spence, Communications Organizer, (808) 391-6988, [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 14, 2025
Over 1,900 Kaiser Permanente workers begin 5-day strike on four Hawaiian islands
HONOLULU, HI – As of 6:30 a.m., over 1,900 Kaiser Permanente workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 (Local 5) are on a limited-duration 5-day strike until Sunday, October 19 at 7 a.m. More than 45,000 Kaiser workers in California, Oregon, and Washington state are also on strike as part of the Alliance of Healthcare Unions. The strike impacts 20 Kaiser locations on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island, and includes medical assistants, hospital aides, lab assistants, dietary specialists, housekeepers, and more.
Contract negotiations on the local level began in April between Kaiser and Local 5. Key priorities for workers include wage increases that keep up with the cost of living and safe staffing that protects the physical and mental health of workers, while ensuring quality patient care.
“I am on strike because we have been at the bargaining table for months, but it feels like Kaiser is not taking our concerns about short staffing seriously,” said Mary Taboniar, Hospital Aide at Moanalua Medical Center, 3 years of service. “Management does not understand how stressful it is to be on the floor taking care of multiple patients, while you are short-staffed. I want to deliver the best quality of care possible, but it feels like I am not able to when we are understaffed and overworked.”
In Hawai‘i, Kaiser workers are paid up to 30% less than their counterparts on the continent performing the same work. In a 2024 survey of nearly 800 Kaiser workers represented by Local 5, 84% reported that they have though about leaving Hawai‘i because of the high cost of living. Turnover rates for Hawai‘i Kaiser workers represented by Local 5 are more than 11%, while Kaiser’s overall employee turnover rate is 8%.
“Kaiser workers going on strike today shows that we will do whatever it takes to make sure Hawai‘i does not get left behind and we have the safe staffing needed to deliver the quality patient care that Kaiser prides itself on,” said Cade Watanabe, Financial Secretary-Treasurer. “Last year, our membership experienced a turnover rate of over 11% and we will not allow Kaiser to take advantage of the hard work and dedication of Hawai‘i’s people by paying us less than workers on the mainland, while Kaiser reports reserves up to $66 billion and continues to acquire other healthcare systems across the country.”
Local 5 is part of the Alliance of HealthCare Unions which represents 62,000 Kaiser Permanente health professionals in 23 local unions among eight national unions. The Alliance has been simultaneously working on a national bargaining agreement since May that would be an addendum to each local’s contracts. The contracts of 52,000 Kaiser Permanente workers expired on September 30 and October 1 and nearly all are on strike.
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About UNITE HERE Local 5
Local 5 represents 10,000 workers throughout Hawai‘i who work in the hospitality, health care and food service industries and is an affiliate of UNITE HERE, an international union that represents over 250,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitehere5.org.
About the Alliance of Healthcare Unions
The Alliance of Healthcare Unions (Alliance) is a federation of 23 local unions representing over 62,000 Kaiser Permanente employees. The Alliance includes locals of AFSCME, UFCW, USW, IBT, KPNAA, IUOE, OFNHP (AFT), UNITE HERE, ILWU, and HNHP. Our members work in hundreds of job classifications in every geographic area where Kaiser Permanente has a presence.
