Hawaiian Healthcare Workers Launch Five-Day Strike for Better Wages and Staffing with Kaiser Permanente

Thousands of healthcare workers in Hawaii, represented by the Local 5 union, are set to launch a five-day strike starting today at 6:30 a.m. The demands for better wages and staffing levels have pushed negotiations to a standstill, with Kaiser Permanente and the union unable to reach an agreement since discussions commenced back in April. "We deserve better wages. We deserve better staffing. We deserve to be thriving instead of surviving," Kaiser Permanente cashier’s clerk Ha’a Miller told KHON2 in an interview.

Kaiser has made a proposition that, according to Vice President Dionicia Lagapa, "enhances medical and retiree benefits — and includes a significant pay bump for current employees.” In a video statement, Lagapa added that “Our latest offer increases their already above-market wages by an additional 21.5% over the four-year contract.” Despite these claims, the discrepancy in wages between mainland and local employees has been a sticking point, with union representatives pointing out that local staff earn significantly less than their mainland counterparts, as noted by KHON2.

The strike's wider impact reaches beyond Hawaiian shores, affecting over 500 Kaiser facilities throughout California and Hawaii. As reported by Hawaii News Now, more than 31,000 United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) members are set to take part in the strike. Moises Alarcón, UNAC/UHCP executive treasurer and emergency department nurse, emphasized the importance of the demands: "This contract fight isn’t just about wages, it’s about ensuring the staffing, resources, and respect needed to provide the best possible care for every patient."

In response to the planned strike, Kaiser Permanente has outlined contingency measures to maintain patient care, which include keeping hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers operational. Some pharmacies and labs, however, will close temporarily. The company has also disclosed the hiring of 7,600 temporary nurses and clinicians and the reassignment of 1,000 employees to minimize service disruptions. The union's demand for a 25% wage increase has been dubbed "out of step" with the current economic climate by Kaiser; the company expressed concerns that exceeding a 21.5% increase could necessitate higher rates for members and customers at a time when healthcare costs are already a widespread concern.

In Hawaii, workers are organizing daily picket lines from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at various Kaiser facilities, such as the Kaiser Permanente Honolulu Medical Office and the Moanalua Medical Center. While Kaiser's Hawaii Kai, Kihei, Kahuku, and Waimea clinics are set to close during the strike, Local 5's survey from 2024 suggested that 84% of the employees are contemplating leaving Hawaii due to high living costs, an untenable solution for many who consider the islands home. "This is home. This is where the opportunity should be. Our people shouldn’t have to go out to the mainland to find better opportunities," Miller conveyed the sentiment of many local employees to KHON2.