The Alliance of Health Care Unions (Alliance) is a union federation of 21 local unions representing roughly 52,000 Kaiser Permanente (KP) employees. [1] [2] The Alliance is one of two union federations that are part of the largest and longest running Labor Management Partnership in the U.S. [3] [4] [5] In 2021, more than 40,000 Alliance members were on the verge of the largest open-ended healthcare strike over concerns of short staffing and a two-tier wage system proposed by KP. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] On November 13, 2021, the Alliance and KP reached an agreement that preserved leading wages and benefits and defeated the two-tier system. [14] [15]
List of union locals that are part of the Alliance: [2]
Over 40,000 Alliance members gave Kaiser Permanente strike notice and were the verge of a historic healthcare strike over concerns about short staffing and a two-tier wage system. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
"Kaiser Permanente's latest proposal is an insulting 2% wage increase contingent upon union's agreement to a two-tier wage system, which threatens to cut 26-33% of wages for all future hires. Kaiser Permanente also refuses to address the short-staffing impacting all its facilities. Workers report being stressed, overworked, and burnt out while taking care of our community throughout the pandemic." [16]
The strike authorization votes by Alliance Unions became widely anticipated as part of Striketober and Strikesgiving. [17] [18] On November 13, 2021, the Alliance and KP reached an agreement that preserved leading wages and benefits and defeated the two-tier system. [14] [15]
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hospitality; agriculture; cannabis; chemical trades; security; textile, and health care. UFCW is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the AFL–CIO; it disaffiliated from the AFL–CIO in 2005 but reaffiliated in 2013. UFCW is also affiliated to UNI Global Union and the IUF.
Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names in California.
Kaiser Permanente is an American integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield, the organization was initially established to provide medical services at Kaiser's shipyards, steel mills and other facilities, before being opened to the general public. Kaiser Permanente operates as a consortium comprising three distinct but interdependent entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP) and its regional subsidiaries, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and the regional Permanente Medical Groups. As of 2024, Kaiser Permanente serves eight states as well as the District of Columbia and is the largest managed care organization in the United States.
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The Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) is a health care labor union in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that represents registered nurses and other health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes, blood banks and clinics in the public and private sector. It is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFL–CIO.
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The SEIU Healthcare 1199NW strike of 2014 was a 24-hour strike called by the Service Employees Union healthcare Local 1199NW. The strike was begun on Tuesday, November 18, 2014, at 7:00 A.M. There were 1,100 workers at two Pierce County hospitals operated by CHI Franciscan Health in Tacoma who participated in the strike event. The two hospitals are St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood. Nurse assistants, licensed practical nurses, unit secretaries, dietary workers, housekeepers, sterile processors, technical workers and other services of the two hospitals walked off the job to participate in the strike. The strike did not include nurses and doctors. The union members were demanding CHI Franciscan Health to improve wages, improve on health care, improve on their charity care policy, and end unfair labor practices.
Douglas H. Dority was president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), one of North America's largest labor unions.
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