The five-day strike by Kaiser Permanente health care workers came to an end on Sunday without a new deal in place, although both sides have an agreement in place to resume bargaining this week.
The backstory: Around 31,000 nurses and other healthcare workers went on strike last week across California, Hawaii and Oregon to demand higher pay and better staffing.
- The strike covered 500 medical centers in the three states and was the largest in the history of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP).
- UNAC/UHCP represents around 2,800 healthcare workers in the Northern California region, which includes Fresno.
What they want: The healthcare workers are asking for a 25% increase in pay over four years, a raise that they say would make up for wages that are at least 7% behind their peers.
The other side: Kaiser has countered with a 21.5% increase over four years, along with a 0.5% wage increase at each local bargaining table and annual salary-step increases…