Kaiser Aims for Blood-Pressure Bonuses, Staff Influx in New Deal

A proposed labor contract between Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions would tie worker bonuses to improved patient welfare markers, in addition to a mix of provisions to bring 25,000 new workers into the health-care industry within the next four years.

The deal, announced Friday morning, headed off a second wave of what was the largest health-care strike in the US, with 75,000 workers walking off the job over three days in six states and the District of Columbia last week. It goes to workers for a ratification vote Oct. 18.

In addition to a 21% wage hike for all workers over a four-year period, the company committed to launching vocational education and training, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said in a press conference Friday alongside representatives from Kaiser and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. That measure would bring thousands of new workers into unionized positions at the company by 2027, the coalition said.

The proposed contract includes the creation of training programs for current workers who want to move into higher-paying positions, as well as a “non-traditional” program to entice new workers, the unions said. The deal comes as the industry struggles with record levels of burnout and turnover after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We want to focus on providing career opportunities for people—young people, non-traditional learners—that are really akin to apprenticeships and give these people the opportunity to join the workforce,” said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.

The tentative agreement also alters the structure for employee bonuses to tie a worker’s bonus to their ability to lower patient blood pressure and administer preventative vaccines, the coalition said.

“That’s not easy, but we think this is important and we think this is something the health-care industry as a whole can learn from,” Regan said. “We have to work with union leaders and supervisors to make this happen, but we’ve agreed to tie compensation to doing that in these annual performance-sharing programs.”

The unions didn’t immediately respond to inquiries for further details about the training programs or the bonus structure.

New Minimum Wage

Other details of the proposed contract include a new minimum wage of $25 per hour for California workers and $23 per hour for staff in other states.

“Millions of Americans are safer today because tens of thousands of dedicated health-care workers fought for and won the critical resources they need and that patients need,” Caroline Lucas, executive director of the coalition, said in a statement Friday.

The unions went on a three-day strike Oct. 4 over filed complaints to the federal labor board, alleging Kaiser management refused to negotiate fairly with union leaders over the staffing shortage. The 75,000-member strike was the largest ever for the US health-care industry by at least 20,000 workers, according to Bloomberg Law’s database of work stoppages dating to 1990.

Kaiser Permanente has 12.7 million members across eight states and the District of Columbia, though its presence is mainly concentrated in the West. Unlike traditional insurers, the health-care consortium operates hospitals and clinics in addition to providing coverage. The unions have said chronic worker shortages dating back to the pandemic have created unsafe conditions for patients and caused widespread burnout.

Kaiser doesn’t anticipate a raise in the cost of medical care for patients as a result of the contract, Steve Shields, the company’s senior vice president of labor relations, said during the press conference.

Patricia Pittman, director of the Health Workforce Research Center, said the proposed contract, along with the included training programs, could be crucial for the consortium and the industry.

“It seems to be a really promising strategy, to give workers the possibility of continuing their education and working their way up,” she said. “We know from the research that when you grow your own, people are more likely to stay, so it makes sense from both perspectives.”