On October 4th, 2023, Kaiser Permanente workers went on a national strike. The strike lasted for three days and affected the California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon offices of Kaiser Permanente. The strike was a result of “unfair labor practices” and “unfair wages”, and is the first Kaiser strike since 1990. 

According to Indeed.com, the average pay for Kaiser workers is as follows:

For reference, the living wage for a single adult with no children in Colorado is roughly 20.25 an hour. If the worker has a spouse and child, the living wage needed is roughly 38.7 an hour- which none of the Medical Technicians or Licensed Practical Nurses are making. Kaiser has not recently made a statement about this, and the Labor Union representative of the Kaiser workers (SEIU), has stated that the 4% wage increase (which occurs over a course of four years) does not account for inflation, and instead is an attempt to satiate workers without offering an actual solution. 

According to Kaiser, in 2022 there was a profit of $95.4 billion, with a loss of $1.2 billion. Many strikers are pointing out that the profits made by the healthcare company are more than enough evidence to show that the company should be able to raise their workers wages. The company denies this, pointing out that the $1.2 billion loss is an indicator of “strong economic headwinds”, and is instead a result of a lack of investments and not faulty healthcare operations. Many then point out that while Kaiser worker’s wages are remaining stagnant, the CEO, Gregory Adams, wages are increasing. Adams makes about $15.5 million a year in wages and other forms of compensation.

It is important to note that the Kaiser offices and buildings did not close during the strike, but instead had remained open to the public. Kaiser released a statement on their website about the strike, but has since deleted and replaced it with a new message, stating their gratitude towards customers for being patient during the strike. This is, as of writing, the first time Kaiser has addressed the strike in any way. We attempted to reach out to Kaiser, but they declined our request for an interview. 

“Kaiser is refusing to come to the bargaining table in good faith.” Says Maybelline, who’s worked for the company for decades. “When we’ve asked about wage increases, what we’ve been told is that ‘if we give you your wage increase, then [Kaiser] won’t have anything left.’ Well, what about that money at the top?”

Many of the strikers, as stated before, point out the wealth disparity between the workers and the CEO’s. It is important to understand that many of the Kaiser employees have families, even bringing children to their strikes. It is nearly impossible to support a family in the state of Colorado on $20-$30 an hour. “It’s really frustrating to know that you go to school, beyond high school, and well, with the economy the way that it is, you have to get a second job to make ends meet. That is not okay.” Maybelline continued to explain. When asked if they had anything more to say about the situation, they stated the following, “ [Greg Adamns], do you remember why they founded Kaiser? It was a partnership between everyone, even back then. [A partnership] that isn’t there now.”

Other strikers were focused on the unsafe staffing practices. “We’re on strike so we can ask Kaiser to get us more employees”, Says an unnamed striker. “What [Kaiser] is doing now is dangerous.” They then went on to describe their conditions, citing that many staff members were “overworked and underpaid”, which also negatively affects their patients for obvious reasons.

 The strikers returned to work on the seventh of October during the morning hours, in accordance with federal rules, but little has changed. Kaiser has still, according to the SEIU Union, not met any of their workers’ requests. Kaiser has yet to address the strike- and a new strike is looming in the future. According to the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, unless a settlement is reached, a week-long follow up strike is possible, and would start on the first of November of this year.