Tentative Agreements on Local Kaiser Contracts

On the 12th day of Christmas, we bring to you… the highlights of your Local Kaiser Tentative Agreements 🎄

After the holidays: we will be holding a member townhall so you can hear the full rundown, ask questions, and get clear on what’s next before any vote happens.

SAVE THE DATE: Townhall: January 6^th at 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Let’s talk about what just happened.

Over the last week, our bargaining teams have been hard at work around the clock. Team members arrived home last evening after several days of intense bargaining—signing TAs, running to the airport while ink was drying, and grabbing little sleep along the way. Thank you for your patience while we got everyone home safely and prepared this update for you.

We reached these tentative agreements because members moved this employer. Your engagement, your unity, and your willingness to take real action, especially the October strike that applied enormous pressure by forcing Kaiser to deal with reality. That’s what power looks like.

What is a Tentative Agreement (TA)?

A Tentative Agreement is a proposed agreement reached at the bargaining table between your union and the employer. It is tentative because it is not final until members vote to ratify (approve) it.

Local Tentative Agreements — Highlights by Bargaining Unit (BU)

*Please note that this is high-level highlights. The list is not inclusive of all agreements and that further details are outlined in BU communications.

TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS FROM COMMON ISSUES TABLE APPLICABLE TO ALL BARGAINING UNITS

BEREAVMENT TIME-OFF	FOUR (4) days per bereavement occurrence (increased from 3) Additional 2 days of leave if traveling over 250 miles (lowered from prior level of 300 hours) Revised list to use gender neutral family terminology New supplemental benefit once per year for the loss of an individual who does not fall under the list – ensuring those with chosen family have adequate and fair time to grieve
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE	A standardized grievance procedure across all six OFNHP units was achieved at the Common Interest Table. The updated process is designed to move grievances more quickly and requires Kaiser to bring in a new set of managers to hear grievances at step 2.
NON-INDUSTRIAL ILLNESSES	Absences related to non-industrial infectious recommendations by Employee Health will not be counted against our members on the punitive KPNW Attendance Policy. Previous, absences following Employee Health protocols (such as COVID quarantine) could trigger joint discoveries, or even potential member discipline

LABORATORY PROFESSIONAL BARGAINING UNIT
WAGES	Note: These adjustments are in addition to whatever will be secured for National Across the Board Wages: New Experience Step. Employees with 14,000+ hours (7+ years) of experience will receive 2% increase in base pay New Longevity Step. Employees who have worked at KP for 240 months (20 years) will receive a 2.5% increase to base pay
Differentials	New $1.50 weekend differential that will stack with all other differentials Evening shift differential increased from $2.20 to $2.45 (+ $0.25 increase) Night shift differential increased from $4.25 to $4.75 (+ $0.50 increase)
Benefits	Secured the ability to use up to three Emergency Without Pay (eWOP) days per year. EWOP days will not count against employees for the purposes of attendance tracking Embedded our Holiday LOU in Article 7 and protected our ability to bank holiday time Embedded our PTO Accrual Table into Article 7.F so that everyone will have access to it outside of HR Connect
Staffing and Work/Life Balance	Temporary Employees will no longer be able to apply for permanent positions until 30 days prior to the end of their current assignment. They will only be able to transfer early by mutual consent Secured agreement from KP to apply for a variance with the state of Washington to allow staff to once again combine breaks and lunches Moved Internal Transfer Restriction timeline from the two years originally proposed by management down to nine months with exceptions for transfers within departments or between Medical Centers
Education	Secured an agreement to create a Molecular II Career Pathway to allow bargaining unit members the opportunity to obtain hands-on experience in Molecular Biology
Employment Protections	Revised layoff language to include employees not in recall status (on EISA super-seniority) and secured minimum severance agreements for all employees regardless of the reason for layoff (RIF, local buy-out, etc.)
Language Cleanup and Expansion	Embedded Seniority Tie-breaker language Defined Cytotechnologist Float home location and backfill expectations Removed old contract language that is no longer applicable to any members of our bargaining unit Added instructions for what to do if an employee believes their seniority calculation is inaccurate Added Molecular Biology (MB) certification to the classification of MLS as acceptable for employees with limited certifications to be classified as MLS Clarified that Article 5.D, Paid Travel Time, refers to travel within the NW Region Reworked Article 5.F to clarify shift trade language

ONA – REGISTERED NURSE BARGAINING UNIT
COMPENSATION	12.5% Local Market Wage Adjustment New step for 30 year nurses (longevity step) $2.30 preceptor pay extended to precepting of travel nurses New Weekend Diff-$1.50/hr.
CONTRACT CLEAN-UP	Added definition for our surgical specialty team leads On call language strengthened and changed requirementsAdded “Casual On Call” language Standardized process for UCC holiday scheduling Mission work language added Traveler Language added
EDUCATION FUND	Increased funds from $200.00 to $400.00
PAID TIME OFF	Reducing the mileage requirement for extra bereavement days Added float holiday for a total of 4 Preserved Flex Time
SCHEDULING	Ability to use EWOP vs WOP “Golden Ticket” language for everybody Keeping work with KP RNs Ability to give 1 year of availability in scheduling system
PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT	Clinical shift for charge nurses Investment in professional nurse advancement Expansion of preceptor pay while training travelers Charge and Relief charge nurse selection
SENIORITY	More transparency with calculating seniority Removal of manual calculation of seniority when transferring to/from OFNHP RN BU RIF language improved New severance language

PROFESSIONAL BARGAINING UNIT
WAGES	Targeted Market wage adjustments from 9.5% - 12.5%, inclusive of ATBs Differential Increases Codified UCC premium pay into Contract Extending 20 yr longevity step for scale that do not have Pay equality within rehab services
EDUCATION BENEFITS & PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT	Improvements to Sabbatical opportunities Improvements to Education Fund language Expands Advanced Certificate eligibility Expands Bilingual eligibility & equity
PAID TIME OFF	No take-aways Embedded PTO accrual in contract
UNION RIGHTS & OTHER	Wage disputes can use grievance pathway Clarity for step placement Workgroup preference for open positions Workplace safety reinforcement Clarity & expansion of additional patient care duties
STAFFING & SCHEDULING	Patient Scheduling Template language Virtual conversion opportunities Improved on-call language

REGISTERED DENTAL HYGENTIST BARGAINING UNIT
WAGES	2% wage boost New Step 3 20 yr 2% Longevity Step Weekend differentials Consecutive Day pay
EDUCATION BENEFITS & PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT	Clinical mentorship language and differential $500 professional supply reimbursement
PAID TIME OFF	Protection of time-off requests Preserved fairness & flexibility in holiday scheduling
UNION RIGHTS & OTHER	Contract clean-up Clarity in existing contract language
STAFFING & SCHEDULING	Flexible length of shift language Core Saturdays Float availability language & limits Ability to request downcoding Reimbursement for Nitrous Oxide Administration

(OFNHP) REGISTERED NURSES BARGAINING UNIT
WAGES	12.5% first year market adjustment, inclusive of the ATBs New step 2.5% 30yr longevity step Many Improvements to various differentials New weekend differential for all Improved and ability to expand Bilingual differential Preceptor Expanded to include: ALL locations and to include agency and travelers Contract language updates & clean up Improvements to CCS mileage language Holidays not worked will be paid in full for length of shift
EDUCATION BENEFITS & PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT	Increase to OFNHP education funds to 100k annually More inclusive employer paid education & eligible reimbursement Additional $2.5 million into Career Ladder Clinical Shift for Charge Nurses
PAID TIME OFF	All BU members will see an increase of overall time off More nurses allotted off at a time Ability to do one-way and short notice trades
UNION RIGHTS & OTHER	Seniority protections and process improvements Charge nurse protections Charge and relief charge nurse selection Protection for EWOPs days Increased number of RNs permitted to be released for union work at a time Contract clean-up Gender neutral contract
STAFFING & SCHEDULING	Decreased probation period from 180 to 120 days Improved on call language Improved rapid shuffle process Clarity for extra shifts outside of home unit Several improvements to scheduling, with oversight from newly formed “RN Scheduling Champions” Changes for more effective, efficient and affordable usage of traveler and agency

TECHNICAL EMPLOYEE BARGAINING UNIT
WAGES	Targeted Market wage adjustments from 11 – 14%, inclusive of atbs Simplification of scales & placement Night Differential increase to $4.05 Evening Differential increase to $2.00 In lieu of benefits differential from 0.40 to $1.00 Introducing a new weekend differential of $1.50 15-year step added at 2% for all classifications Targeted wage adjustments to top steps of scale for our hardest to fill positions experiencing the worst staffing crisis: Operating Room Techs/Certified Surgical First Assists Respiratory Therapists, Pulmonary Function Therapists, Respiratory Case Managers, DME Specialists Physical Therapist Assistants Histology Technicians
EDUCATION BENEFITS & PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT	Reimbursement coverage for Certification, Licensure, Renewal and Professional memberships. Increased the Tech Education Fund by 80%
PAID TIME OFF	Preserved BU time-off benefits
UNION RIGHTS & OTHER	Hire date seniority honored for any OFNHP hired into Tech BU Contract clean-up Gender neutral contract
STAFFING & SCHEDULING	Redeployment protections Agreement to discuss & test pathways to restore 24/7 Ortho Tech coverage Improvements to improve on-call utilization

National Bargaining Table: We’re not done yet.

Here’s the part Kaiser is attempting to create blur around – we cannot finish this contract without a National Agreement.

Kaiser continues to refuse to get back to national bargaining, but we are committed and remain available to bargain. We are ready to get this finished for our members, our patients, and the communities we serve.

National Alliance Table: Remaining Issues

Issue	Alliance (Union) Interest	Kaiser response
Patient Scheduling Templates	Provider voice included before changes made	This is a Management right and wants to limit provider voice
No Cancellation Policy	Expanding the policy to more worksites	No change.
Contract Alignment	Align all local contract expiration dates with the National Agreement	No contract alignment
Wage Increases	25% over 4 years	21.5% over 4 years
Retro	Full retro dated back to contract expiration	Employees do not deserve

We cannot ratify our local contracts until the national agreement is reached, because the National Agreement is an addendum to our local agreements.

What’s Next?

Once national bargaining reaches tentative agreements and the package is complete, we will send it to membership and you will have the opportunity to review the full information, attend ratification meetings, ask questions, and then vote.

Until then, we must continue to stick together and apply pressure as a collective Alliance to get Kaiser to bargain in good faith.

A word of appreciation

To every member who stayed engaged, who took action, who talked with coworkers, who wore red, who showed up, who held the line, and who kept the pressure on – thank you!

And to those who sacrificed during the October strike: you moved Kaiser. You put weight behind our demands. You helped win these gains. That is solidarity, and I will never stop being proud of what you did together for these contracts and our union.

Happy Holidays!

In Solidarity,
Kaiser Bargaining Unit Teams

Tentative Agreements on Local Kaiser Contracts

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