More than 21,000 union nurses at 21 Kaiser facilities in Northern California to strike on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22

In a historic year for nurses strikes, more than 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at 21 Kaiser Permanente facilities will hold a two-day strike on Monday, Nov. 21 and Tuesday, Nov. 22, to protest the administration’s refusal to address their ongoing concerns about workplace health and safety and chronic short staffing, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today. The nurses, who work at 21 Kaiser facilities in Northern California, notified their employer on Nov. 10 that they would strike, making this one of the biggest private-sector nurses strikes in U.S. history.

This 10-days’ notice of their strike follows a nearly unanimous strike authorization vote earlier this month. Nurses always give at least 10 days of advance notice to the hospital to allow for alternative plans to be made for patient care. On Sept. 1, nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center joined their Northern California nurse colleagues in holding informational pickets for a total of more than 22,000 nurses. Nurses at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center will hold a two-day strike on Nov. 21 and 22.

Kaiser registered nurses and nurse practitioners have been in negotiations for a new contract with little to no movement on key issues. The nurses in Northern California have been negotiating since June 2022. The RNs and NPs urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides:

• Minimum staffing guidelines that ensure safe patient care.
• Increased hiring and training to end chronic short staffing.
• Job protections against Kaiser’s subcontracting and outsourcing plans

“We always want to give our patients the best care, but Kaiser refuses to provide the resources we need to do our jobs safely,” said CNA President Cathy Kennedy, RN in the neonatal ICU unit at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center. “We are chronically short-staffed, which means patients are waiting longer for care. This is unacceptable and unconscionable when Kaiser made more than $14 billion during the first two years of the pandemic.”

• Who: 21,000 nurses at 21 Northern California Kaiser facilities
• What: Kaiser nurses to hold two-day strike for patient safety
• When: Monday, Nov. 21, 7 a.m. until Wednesday, Nov. 23, 6:59 a.m., picketing daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: See locations below

“Nurses are missing their breaks and lunches every single day due to short staffing,” said Diane McClure, RN in the post-anesthesia care unit at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center. “We need our legally provided breaks so that we are rested and can provide the highest level of care.”

“Without enough nurses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, patients are left for hours in the emergency room or receive inadequate and untimely access to outpatient care,” said Michelle Vo, RN in the adult primary care unit at Kaiser Permanente Fremont Medical Center. “Our patients deserve better from a corporation that made more than $24 billion over the past five years.

STRIKE LOCATIONS

Monday, Nov. 21, 7 a.m. until Wednesday, Nov. 23, 6:59 a.m., picketing daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Antioch Medical Center, 4501 Sand Creek Rd., Antioch, CA 94531

Fremont Medical Center, 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538

Fresno Medical Center, 7300 N Fresno St., Fresno, CA 93720

Manteca Medical Center, 1777 W. Yosemite Ave., Manteca, CA 95337

Modesto Medical Center, 4601 Dale Rd., Modesto, CA 95356

Oakland Medical Center, 3600 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611

Redwood City Medical Center, 1100 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063

Richmond Medical Center, 901 Nevin Ave., Richmond, CA 94801

Roseville Medical Center, 1600 Eureka Rd., Roseville, CA 95661

Sacramento Medical Center, 2025 Morse Ave., Sacramento, CA 95825

San Francisco Medical Center, 2425 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94115

San Jose Medical Center, 250 Hospital Pkwy., San Jose, CA 95119

San Leandro Medical Center, 2500 Merced St., San Leandro, CA 94577

San Rafael Medical Center, 99 Montecillo Rd., San Rafael, CA 94903

Santa Clara Medical Center, 700 Lawrence Expy., Santa Clara, CA 95051

Santa Rosa Medical Center, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

South Sacramento Medical Center, 6600 Bruceville Rd., Sacramento, CA 95823

South San Francisco Medical Center, 1200 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA 94080

Vacaville Medical Center, 1 Quality Dr., Vacaville, CA 95688

Vallejo Medical Center, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo, CA 94589

Walnut Creek Medical Center, 1425 S. Main St., Walnut Creek, CA 94596

California Nurses Association represents more than 22,000 nurses at 22 Kaiser facilities.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.