The below letter was sent by our RN and ONA leadership to Kaiser after hearing news of their pursuit of Magnet status. At a time when Kaiser has abandoned their responsibility to settling a fair contract, it's time for them to get their priorities straight. The only way to meet the standards of Magnet is with a National Agreement that establishes a great future of care for patients.
Art,
We appreciate the recognition of nurses as the most trusted and ethical profession. But candidly, many nurses no longer believe these words, because the actions around us tell a different story.
Magnet is built on shared governance, authentic nursing voice, and real partnership. Yet Kaiser Permanente is asking nurses to celebrate a “Magnet journey” while we remain without a contract and while the organization is actively pursuing legal action against its own union partners. You cannot ask for empowerment while challenging the very mechanism nurses use to have a voice.
While bargaining with Kaiser leadership over the past year, we showed up in good faith. We brought forward serious, evidence-based proposals to modernize language, remove ambiguity, improve working relationships, and strengthen patient care. These were not adversarial demands; they were operational solutions. Yet proposals were delayed, dismissed, or left unread for months, including our professional nurse advancement work designed to improve retention and clinical excellence. That is not partnership. It is disregard for frontline expertise. Even when Kaiser requested the involvement of a facilitator, Gary Bergel, and mediator, Dr. Mark Ghaly, we remained collaborative and compiled with their recommendation.
At the same time, nurses continue to deliver nationally recognized, high-quality care every day. We meet accreditation standards. We improve outcomes. We reduce waste. We save this organization millions because we understand the work at the bedside. We have never been the barrier to excellence; we are the reason excellence exists.
We want what leadership says it wants: to be the best place to receive care and the best place to give care. That is the Kaiser Permanente model. But Magnet principles and that mission cannot be achieved by messaging alone. They require trust, respect, and shared decision-making.
This can be done with nursing engagement or without nursing engagement. That choice belongs to leadership. But history shows that every meaningful improvement here has happened when frontline nurses are treated as equal partners, not obstacles to manage.
Enough is enough. Our patients, our profession, and our communities deserve more than slogans and bought campaigns.
We understand that Kaiser leadership will be present at the Moda Center on Thursday, February 5, for training related to the importance and implementation of Magnet status in the continued pursuit of nursing excellence. As bargaining unit leadership, we believe it is essential that we be included in this process so that we may move forward together in true partnership. If this work is intended to be collaborative, we respectfully request an invitation and appropriate release time to participate. Over the past year, we have demonstrated our ability to engage in meaningful dialogue, navigate complex challenges, and work together in good faith to advance shared goals.
If we are serious about a Magnet journey, the first step is straightforward: settle a fair contract, rebuild trust, and lift frontline voices rather than silence them.
Words won’t build credibility. Actions will.
In Partnership,
- Mary "Katie" Johnson, OFNHP RN Chair
- Mary Coffelt, OFNHP RN Vice Chair
- Rachel Scholz, ONA RN Chair