Kaiser Permanente is facing a potential open-ended strike involving approximately 31,000 workers across more than two dozen hospitals and clinics in California and Hawaii. The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) said it delivered a 10-day strike notice to the nonprofit health system on Thursday, setting the stage for a walkout beginning Jan. 26.
The workers have been without a contract since the end of September. UNAC/UHCP represents nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, dietitians, and other specialty care professionals, with most members working in California. The union is part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, a coalition of 23 local unions.
Shortly after the contract expired, UNAC/UHCP members and others in the alliance launched a five-day strike. The union said that action was intended to pressure Kaiser and raise public awareness around demands for increased staffing levels. The upcoming strike authorization again centers on staffing, as well as higher wages and pension benefits for workers who do not currently receive them. The union said meeting these demands would increase patient safety, support timely care delivery, reduce burnout, and improve workers’ economic stability.
In addition to the contract proposals, the union said members voted to support a strike to secure “respect at the bargaining table.” In statements to members, UNAC/UHCP has said Kaiser delayed responses to bargaining proposals for weeks and, in some cases, months.
Negotiations deteriorated further in mid-December when Kaiser paused national-level bargaining. In a statement and video, Chief Human Resources Officer Greg Holmes said the decision followed comments made during a meeting by a union leader, later identified as UNAC/UHCP Executive Director Joe Guzynski.
Holmes said the leader suggested he had evidence of “illegal, unethical and reputationally damaging” conduct that could remain undisclosed if the parties reached an acceptable agreement. Kaiser requested the evidence to investigate and address any wrongdoing, but said the comments undermined the ability to continue good-faith bargaining.
UNAC/UHCP has denied the accusations against Guzynski and said Kaiser is using a bargaining-related conversation as justification to withdraw from negotiations. After the pause, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging the move was intended to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process and interfere with negotiations that had been underway since May 2025.
In a Jan. 15 statement, Kaiser said there had been “no material movement on key economic issues for months” and that, since the pause, UNAC/UHCP had refused to resolve the matter as requested. Kaiser reiterated its offer of a 21.5% wage increase over the life of the contract and said it was willing to continue negotiations on remaining items at the local level rather than nationally. The system said local bargaining had continued and that all local issues had been resolved at 29 of 53 local union tables.
Also on Jan. 15, UNAC/UHCP released a report titled Profits Over Patients, highlighting $7.9 billion in net income Kaiser reported across its most recent three quarters. The report examined spending, operational, and governance practices that the union said conflicted with the system’s nonprofit mission and included a section focused on labor negotiations, strike activity, and related service disruptions.
In announcing the strike notice, UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine Morales said, “We’re not going on strike to make noise.”
Kaiser Permanente Emphasizes Patient Care Continuity
In response, Kaiser Permanente said it has presented proposals that include wage increases and benefit improvements. The organization maintains that it is prepared to continue negotiations and has contingency plans in place to ensure essential patient services remain operational if a strike occurs.
If the strike moves forward, Kaiser Permanente patients could experience delays in elective procedures and routine appointments. Emergency and critical care services would remain available, but the labor dispute highlights broader workforce challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system in 2026.
The potential strike at Kaiser Permanente reflects a wider trend of labor unrest across the healthcare industry, where workforce shortages and burnout continue to drive union activity. Industry analysts say the outcome of these talks could influence labor negotiations at other large health systems nationwide.Kaiser Permanente is under growing pressure as contract talks remain paused, raising the risk of a strike involving nearly 31,000 healthcare workers. The potential labor action could become one of the largest healthcare strikes in recent years and places Kaiser Permanente at the center of ongoing workforce challenges affecting major hospital systems.
