Kaiser Workers Fight for and WIN Fair Contract!

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It's been a bitter battle, but...we have finally settled a tentative agreement with Kaiser! THE STRIKE IS CALLED OFF! Early this morning 83,000 healthcare workers nationwide reached a tentative contract settlement with Kaiser Permanente. The historic agreement revitalizes the long-standing worker-management partnership, protects good, middle class jobs, bans subcontracting and strengthens protections against outsourcing, and establishes a $130 million workforce development program. This is a huge win for workers, patients, and our communities.  We still have to lock it in - ratification begins on Oct. 1 - but for now, let’s celebrate the incredible solidarity and hard work that produced this agreement! Read more below

It's been a bitter battle, but...we have finally settled a tentative agreement with Kaiser! THE STRIKE IS CALLED OFF!

An important message from Linda:
 
Early this morning 83,000 healthcare workers nationwide reached a tentative contract settlement with Kaiser Permanente. The historic agreement revitalizes the long-standing worker-management partnership, protects good, middle class jobs, bans subcontracting and strengthens protections against outsourcing, and establishes a $130 million workforce development program. This is a huge win for workers, patients, and our communities.  We still have to lock it in - ratification begins on Oct. 1 - but for now, let’s celebrate the incredible solidarity and hard work that produced this agreement!
 
Our Four-Year Tentative Agreement:
 
1. Protects good, middle class jobs with . . .
 
Strong across-the-board raises - 3% for 2019, raises of 2% + 1% lump sum bonus for each of the next three years. Plus, the 1% lump sum bonus can be converted to an additional 1% base - raise if we hit agreed upon Operating Margin targets for Mid- Atlantic making 3% raises possible in each year of the contract.
 
Protected healthcare benefits — no changes to office visit copays, and no changes to mail-order prescriptions and first-time prescription copays.
 
Protected retirement benefits — no changes to our pensions or retiree medical coverage.
No two-tier wage or benefits for new hires — all future Kaiser workers get the same wage rates and benefits as us!
 
Strongly protects against outsourcing and subcontracting of our jobs — including all call center, billing, revenue cycle, pharmacy, and lab positions.
 
Waives the work experience requirement  - for any of us seeking promotion to a new position at Kaiser
 
Pension equity - Increase in the pension factor from 1.4 to 1.45 and a reduction in hours worked to qualify for a year of service. 
 
Our Tentative Agreement includes many other huge wins for our families and our patients and also we will be returning to the bargaining table to work out more issues in partnership.  
 
More details to come later this week, including next steps in our ratification process!
 
Thank you to the many sisters and brothers in our region and around the country that made this possible by uniting.  Without a strong voice of the membership speaking through the strike vote this would not have been possible.  And we would truly be remiss if we did not call out all the hard work of Team 7, Head Stewards, Stewards and Strike Captains and our Organizer Grace Reckers. We would have never been able to make this journey without you.  Y’all rock.  
 
Union Strong All Day Long...it’s back to the Local Bargaining table.  
 
In Solidarity,
Linda Bridges