HONOLULU (AP) — Nearly 2,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in Hawaii plan to strike later this month over wages and staffing concerns.
UNITE HERE Local 5 said the strike due to begin Nov. 22 would affect 20 facilities across Hawaii. Thousands of Kaiser health care workers in California have already said they will strike starting Monday.
The union representing nearly 2,000 health care professionals across Hawaii, including 212 Kaiser workers on Maui, said it plans to strike against the health care giant beginning Nov. 22 amid disputes over wages and short-staffing at clinics.
HONOLULU — Nearly 2,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in Hawaii plan to strike later this month over wages and staffing concerns.
UNITE HERE Local 5 said the strike due to begin Nov. 22 would affect 20 facilities across Hawaii. Thousands of Kaiser health care workers in California have already said they will strike starting Monday.
(Honolulu, HI) – More than 1,800 Kaiser Permanente employees in Hawaii plan to go on strike amid contract negotiations with the health care provider.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The union for nearly 2,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente announced Tuesday night that they plan to go on strike later this month after negotiations failed.
UNITEHERE! Local 5
Media Contact:
Bryant de Venecia
Cell Phone: (808) 546-0024
bdevenecia@5.unitehere.org
After months of negotiations with almost no movement from the company, nearly 2,000 Hawaii health care workers say, “enough is enough!” and will strike for better contract
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(Hawaii) – Nearly 2,000 UNITE HERE Local 5 members at Kaiser Permanente will strike beginning November 22nd at 5:30 AM. Local 5 will join 32,000 health care workers across the nation who are ready to strike against the company.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii workers are available for interview on Wednesday, November 10, 6:00 AM – 7:00 AM at UNITE HERE Local 5 headquarters (1516 S King St. Honolulu, HI 96826, parking off of Young St.)
The strike will impact 20 Kaiser Permanente facilities all over Hawaii. Workers are striking over wages and concerns about short staffing that the company has thus far failed to address. Months of negotiations have passed, and the unions saw minimal movement from Kaiser Permanente at the bargaining table. Kaiser Permanente’s latest proposal is an insulting 2% wage increase contingent upon union’s agreement to a two-tier wage system, which threatens to cut 26-33% of wages for all future hires. Kaiser Permanente also refuses to address the short-staffing impacting all its facilities. Workers report being stressed, overworked, and burnt out while taking care of our community throughout the pandemic.
Stephanie Meredith, a Ward Clerk in Labor and Delivery at the Moanalua facility shares, “Enough is enough! No more health care heroes turning to health care zeroes. We’re going to fight for what we’re worth, for the future of our jobs and our community. We will be here for as long as it takes until Kaiser Permanente wakes up and gets it right.”
UNITE HERE Local 5 members voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike with a 93% yes votes. Since then, other Kaiser Permanente Hawaii workers—Pharmacists, Physical Therapists and Mental Health professionals—also voted to authorize a strike.
Kaiser Permanente is worth over $42 billion and has amassed a fortune of $44.5 billion in cash reserves. In 2020, the company made $2.2 billion in profits, while frontline health care workers risked their lives in the pandemic and the country faced a historic economic crisis. Kaiser Permanente did so well despite COVID-19 that they rejected $500 million in federal CARES Act money to support its operations. Membership grew by 17% nationally since 2015; 5% in Hawaii alone.
UNITE HERE Local 5 represents roughly 2,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente. Local 5 is a part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which represents over 50,000 members across hundreds of job classifications in nearly every geographic area where Kaiser Permanente has a presence. 32,000 health care workers in Northwest and Southern California already announced that they will go on strike on November 15.
Local 5 represents approximately 12,000 workers throughout Hawaii 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.
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