In the midst of a 5-day strike against Kaiser Permanente that began Tuesday, Oct. 14, by thousands of nurses, pharmacists and other frontline staff who are demanding safe staffing, fair pay, and improved benefits, pharmacy workers just overwhelmingly voted to authorize their union to enact an Unfair Labor Practice strike.
Currently there’s an estimated 2,000 Kaiser workers on strike in San Diego County, part of a larger, 31,000-member walkout across California, Hawaii and Oregon. And the strike is scheduled to run through Sunday during which the unions and Kaiser are holding ongoing negotiations. UFCW members have joined them in solidarity on the picket lines.
But now the pharmacy workers are threatening to strike as well. Kaiser pharmacy members’ contracts expire on November 1, 2025, and while this vote does not mean a strike is immediately underway, it allows their union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), to call a strike if deemed necessary by the bargaining committee. A ten-day notice must be provided before any strike begins.
Meanwhile, the thousands of health care workers on strike are represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals who walked off the job Tuesday morning at Kaiser Permanente facilities across San Diego County. Union leaders said the strike isn’t just about pay or staffing, but also about better retirement security and benefits. They said Kaiser’s perks do not fully make up for years of stagnant wages.
And by voting to authorize their union to call a strike, Kaiser Permanente pharmacy workers across Southern California are sending a strong message to Kaiser: “We’ve had enough.”
The press statement from the pharmacy workers’ union UFCW said:
This vote empowers thousands of healthcare professionals to take action if Kaiser continues to break the law and undermine workers’ rights.
The vote includes approximately 2,200 Kaiser pharmacy professionals across Southern California, including over 350 members represented by UFCW Local 135 in San Diego County. These workers include inpatient and outpatient Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Assistants, Call Center staff, and Intern Pharmacists.
“This vote is a clear message to Kaiser Permanente that our members are united and ready to stand up for their rights,” said Todd Walters, President of UFCW Local 135. “We are standing together for a fair contract, respect on the job, and a better future but we will not tolerate unfair labor practices that limit our ability to communicate with our members.”
The ULP strike authorization follows weeks of local and national bargaining and Kaiser’s violation of federal labor law.
UFCW Local 135 also represents more than 150 Kaiser Laboratory professionals, including Clinical Laboratory Scientists and Medical Laboratory Technicians. Their contract expires February 1, 2026, and while they are not part of this strike vote, they stand in full solidarity with their pharmacy colleagues.
UFCW Local 135 is San Diego’s largest private sector union, representing more than 11,000 workers in grocery, retail, healthcare, food processing, and the cannabis industry. UFCW Local 135 is part of the 1.3 million-member strong UFCW International Union.
Meanwhile, out on the picket line, Neda Moghaddam, a Kaiser pharmacistj, said:
“It doesn’t matter whether we’re pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, or dietitians. We all have one goal. And our goal is to take care of our patients and to do it safely.”
She said having enough staff and proper training is critical.
“We ask for training, we ask for bodies,” she said. “Pizza parties don’t do it. That’s not what we want. We need the support to be able to make sure our patients are safe.”
Moghaddam said now is the right time to strike because four years ago, burnout from COVID-19 left staff with little energy to push for a fair contract.
Nurse Nikki Avey, who has worked in labor and delivery for 20 years, said she works three jobs to keep up with rising costs.
“You’ll find that a lot of nurses, if you ask them, they’re always having some sort of side job. One job is not enough,” Avey said.
Avey said the strike isn’t just about wages, it’s about patient safety. She said patients are sicker and care is more complex, but staffing levels haven’t kept pace with the growing needs.
“They’re not just at low-risk deliveries or low-risk pregnancies anymore. They need to have that quality care, more attention on them, and it’s just really difficult because I am so stretched thin.”
The union said years of short-staffing and burnout are driving health professionals to leave the bedside, putting new pressure on those who stay.
“I’m delivering babies every day. If an emergency happens, and I don’t have the right staff to help me get through that, then it is detrimental to our patients, and our patients’ lives are at risk,” Avey said.
Negotiations have been ongoing since May. Union leaders said they’ve asked for higher wages to keep up with the rising cost of living, while Kaiser said its latest proposal balances fair pay with keeping costs manageable for patients.
The hospital said it’s bringing in temporary licensed staff to maintain care and calls the strike “unnecessary and disruptive.”
But for Moghaddam, standing on the picket line with her colleagues rallied alongside her, she said it’s about the one goal they all share.
“Taking care of the people that really need to be taken care of. And those are the patients that walk in every day, in every hospital, every clinic, every O.R. room.”
The strike is scheduled to run through Sunday. The union and Kaiser said negotiations are ongoing.
News source: KPBS
