Kaiser Permanente

Roughly 31,000 registered nurses and other frontline Kaiser Permanente health workers in California and Hawaii will return to work Tuesday after a four‑week strike over pay and staffing, their union announced Monday. The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals said "significant movement at the bargaining table" prompted the walkout’s end, though no tentative contract terms or wage figures beyond prior public positions were released. The strike, which began Jan. 27 and followed a shorter October walkout, saw nurses, pharmacists, midwives and rehab therapists demand 25% raises over four years, arguing their pay has fallen at least 7% behind peers and that understaffing is jeopardizing patient care amid persistent shortages. Kaiser had publicly countered with a 21.5% increase over four years, saying its union workers already earn about 16% more than market averages and warning higher raises would mean higher premiums. Clinics and hospitals stayed open throughout using schedule shifts, virtual visits and delayed elective procedures, but the dispute drew national attention as another high‑profile health‑care labor fight over burnout, inflation and safe staffing. With New York’s NewYork‑Presbyterian nurses just ending their own month‑plus strike, the outcome of Kaiser’s still‑unannounced deal will be closely watched by other hospital workers and systems heading into new contract rounds.