Strike involving more than 30,000 Kaiser healthcare workers ends with ‘new momentum,’ union says

Video above: KTLA’s coverage of the Kaiser Permanente strike from Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.

The five-day strike involving tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers

has ended, and the union representing the workers says there is now “new momentum” in negotiations.  

The strike began this past Tuesday at more than 500 Kaiser facilities across the West Coast, with employees taking to picket lines in protest of what United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) officials alleged were “unsafe staffing, stagnant wages and deteriorating patient care conditions.” 

Of the 46,000 striking union members, more than 31,000 were based in California – the other striking workers were mainly concentrated in Hawaii and Oregon. They included registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty health care professionals. 

Kaiser Permanente officials put out a statement regarding the walkout on Tuesday morning, calling it “unnecessary and disruptive” while countering that they had made a “strong, comprehensive offer” to the union.

Healthcare workers didn’t accept the offer, however, and after five days of striking, they began heading back to work on Sunday. According to a statement issued by UNAC/UHCP, the message behind the “historic” walkout was clear.

“Caregivers are united, determined and backed by a growing movement for safe staffing and fair contracts,” the union said.  

The union cited the Joint Commission’s new standards on medical facility staffing that was released during the strike as a major boost for their mission. The new standards will “reshape the landscape of contract negotiations moving forward,” UNAC/UHCP says.  

“The Joint Commission has finally said what nurses have known all along: unsafe staffing is unsafe care,” said union president and registered nurse Charmaine S. Morales. “Employers like Kaiser can no longer treat staffing like a budget line. It’s now a national patient safety mandate, and UNAC/UHCP will make sure it’s enforced.” 

Union representatives are expected to meet with Kaiser officials for bargaining on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29.

“This strike may be over, but the fight for patient safety is not,” the union’s statement concluded. “Caregivers are returning to work united, energized and ready to keep up the pressure for a fair contract that puts patients first.”