On September 6^th, 2000, a tentative national agreement was reach between Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of 26 union locals made up of approximately 64,000 members.   Local bargaining finished September 18th and union ratification votes are expected to finish by the last week of September. But the results are in for SEIU Local 399´s ratification vote, and it is a resounding yes!     --of the 6,491 votes cast, 5,682 voted for ratification of the contract.

A Win-Win Agreement  

For Kaiser Permanente employees, a dramatic improvement in pay and benefits and a voice in staffing decisions have made this entry into national bargaining a remarkable success.   The highlights of the five-year national agreement include substantial wage increases, performance-sharing payouts, pension benefit improvements, joint decision making, and improvement in health benefits.   As Chris Crisafulli, a medical group administrator for Kaiser´s San Diego operation says, "employees gain greater levels of involvement in decision making, management gains opportunities to enhance organizational performance, and members gain improved levels of patient care and service".  

Contract Details: Wages

Wages increase 4.5% in the first year and 4% in each subsequent year of the five-year agreement.   Money is available for locals to make any needed equity adjustments, i.e. elimination of two-tier wage systems, improved differential pay, increased overtime or premium pay, reclassifications, or across-the-board wage increase enhancements.  

Performance Sharing Program  

In recognition of the partnership that Kaiser Permanente and their employees have formed, employees will now share in the company´s performance gains.   Minimum performance-sharing payments are set at 1% to 3% for the last three years of the agreement.

Joint Decision Making  

Workers also won entry into all levels of decision making at Kaiser.   A joint Partnership Trust Fund was set up to finance and support the necessary staffing and training needed to develop the Partnership.   The new joint committees will develop staffing plans at all levels - regional, service area, facility and departments.  

Kaiser Permanente also agreed to work jointly with partnering unions to develop a national contracting-out strategy that would consider returning work to the bargaining units that was currently contracted out.

Kaiser´s agreement to use an arbitrator to resolve employee-management disputes over staffing and quality of work was, for employees, a true indication of a labor-management partnership.

Read the Contract Highlights  

For their 2000 Annual Leadership Conference, Sept 29^th & 30^th in Oakland CA., SEIU Local 250 has summarized the Kaiser Permanent national contract.   Or click on SEIU Local 399 and download their summary for a very detailed look at bargaining results on both the national and local levels.