More than 500 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente locations in San Diego County are joining their sibling nurses’ unions who have been on strike for two weeks. They are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135 and are beginning an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) action Monday, February 9, 2026. The strike will begin at 7:00 AM with picketing to commence shortly after.
The walkout comes after workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a ULP strike in response to Kaiser’s refusal to return to National Bargaining and negotiate in good faith. Close to 350 pharmacy workers including technicians, assistants, and other classifications approved a ULP strike with a vote in October 2025. In January 2026, approximately 150 Clinical Lab Scientists and Medical Laboratory Technicians in San Diego County also voted to authorize a ULP strike.
Picketing will take place daily from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM at two San Diego County locations: San Diego Medical Center at 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123 and in North County at the San Marcos Medical Center, 400 Craven Rd, San Marcos, CA 92078.
A rally and press conference will also be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the SD Med Ctr, involving Todd Walters, President, UFCW Local 135 and former San Diegan Lorena Gonzalez, President of the California Federation of Labor Unions.
In a press release, Walters stated:
“Our members are standing shoulder to shoulder with our Alliance partners. Kaiser’s refusal to return to the National Bargaining table is blocking progress on safe staffing, fair wages and the contract our members have earned as healthcare professionals. The fastest way to end this strike is for Kaiser to come back to the table and finish negotiations.”
The UFCW statement included:
Kaiser’s suspension of National Bargaining is delaying agreements on safe staffing, fair wages, and respect for frontline healthcare professionals. UFCW members will join their Alliance partners in calling on Kaiser to immediately return to the National Bargaining table and finalize a contract that protects caregivers and patients alike.
Healthcare workers across classifications and unions are united on this. The path to a resolution is simple: Kaiser must return to national bargaining and negotiate a fair agreement now.
BACKGROUND
UFCW Southern California Locals represent over 3,000 Kaiser Permanente frontline healthcare employees who work as pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians, clinical lab scientists, medical lab technicians, and clinical and administrative healthcare workers at numerous Kaiser locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and Kern counties.
National negotiations have been stalled since December. The contract covering UFCW pharmacy employees across Southern California expired November 1, 2025. The contract covering UFCW CLS/MLT employees across Southern California expired February 1, 2026.
Kaiser frontline healthcare workers are protesting the company’s labor violations throughout negotiations that have prevented them from securing the fair contract they deserve.
Key timeline:
• Kaiser broke off national bargaining in December 2025.
• UFCW and the Alliance of Healthcare Unions filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against Kaiser Permanente for suspending national collective bargaining negotiations earlier this month.
• UNAC/UHCP began an open-ended ULP strike Monday, January 26, 2026 — their second strike since negotiations began.
• Southern California UFCW Kaiser employees issued a 10-day ULP strike notice on January 29 and will begin their ULP strike on February 9.
For updates and more information, visit www.ufcw135.com.
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.
