by Julia Pierrepont
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of additional Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers joined an expanding labor strike on Monday in Southern California.
The move caused some local pharmacies and outpatient laboratories operated by the largest not-for-profit integrated healthcare system in the United States to close temporarily or operate with reduced hours.
Monday's action came as more than 30,000 nurses and other healthcare professionals in California and Hawaii entered the third week of separate but related strikes that began on Jan. 26.
Those workers are represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professions (UNAC/UHCP), while the expanded strike that began Monday involves pharmacy and laboratory employees represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).
More than 3,000 UFCW members in Southern California, including pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians, clinical lab scientists and medical lab technicians, participated in the strike. The union said the walkout affected dozens of facilities across Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Kern counties.
To keep health centers open, Kaiser Permanente has been shifting staff and adjusting operations since the initial strike began, emphasizing that hospitals and most medical offices will remain open.
The company said patient care will continue, though some appointments may be converted to virtual visits and non-urgent procedures could be delayed. Kaiser also acknowledged Monday that certain pharmacies and labs would be temporarily closed.
Union leaders said the decision by pharmacy and lab workers to join the picket lines followed Kaiser Permanente management's withdrawal from negotiations last month. In a statement, UFCW accused the company of committing unfair labor practices and obstructing good-faith negotiations.
According to the union, bargaining has been stalled for more than a month, prompting workers to escalate their actions. UFCW and other unions within the Alliance of Health Care Unions filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last December, alleging Kaiser Permanente unlawfully refused to bargain and attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining framework that has been in place since spring 2025.
Geraldine Doronio, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center in Hawaii and a member of UNAC/UHCP's bargaining team, told the press Monday that Kaiser had been unresponsive to repeated outreach.
"Our bargaining teams have reached out for dates multiple times with absolutely no response -- not even a courtesy reply," Doronio said. "They say they don't want national bargaining, but they are also ignoring requests for local bargaining."
Kaiser Permanente disputed the unions' claims and maintained that it is negotiating in good faith. In a statement responding to the UFCW strike notice, the company said pharmacy and lab employees already earn significantly more than comparable workers at other health care organizations.
The company described the strikes as unnecessary and disruptive, arguing that they undermine progress toward reaching agreements. Kaiser Permanente officials noted some "employees who are afraid to return to work as they are being threatened by their union with fines for coming back in to care for patients."
They also warned that union wage demands could have broader consequences.
"They would make health care less affordable for Kaiser Permanente members and customers, with far-reaching implications for health care costs in every market we serve," the company said, adding that it was disappointed union leaders chose to strike, given the potential effect on patient access and experience.
"They've all gotta come back to the table and negotiate in good faith," said Susan M, a Kaiser Permanente care patient. "Lives literally depend on it." ■