Deal averts Kaiser strike
Pharmacists are 2nd group with tentative pact
By Catherine Ho and Anna Buchmann
Kaiser Permanente union workers hold an informational picket outside of the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center last week in San Francisco.
A deal struck early Monday averted a strike by Kaiser Permanente pharmacists in Northern California, officials said.
The strike had been slated to begin Monday and last eight days, temporarily limiting access to outpatient pharmacy services.
However, “normal operations” were expected after the tentative agreement was reached at about 1 a.m., according to a news release from Kaiser.
The deal includes guaranteed yearly wage increases for the duration of the three-year contract, with opportunities for bonuses, plus retention of retirement benefits and no cuts in health coverage, according to Kaiser.
The move came after a separate group of unions representing 50,000 Kaiser workers, the Alliance of Health Care Unions, reached a tentative contract agreement with Kaiser on Saturday. That agreement averted a strike by workers that would have begun Monday in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
The union representing Kaiser pharmacists, the Guild for Professional Pharmacists, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. The guild represents about 2,100 Kaiser pharmacists in Northern California.
Another union for Kaiser workers — Local 39, which represents operating engineers — is slated to continue its strike that began last month after its contract expired. In support of the engineers, several other unions have authorized one-day sympathy strikes on Thursday, and the California Nurses Association and National Union of Healthcare Workers on Friday.
“We are continuing to bargain in good faith with Local 39 Operating Engineers and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and are confident we will reach agreements with these unions very soon,” Kaiser said in the news release.
Some appointments and procedures may be affected, and Kaiser said it will reach out in those instances to reschedule. All hospitals and emergency departments will remain open during a strike, Kaiser said.
Catherine Ho and Anna Buchmann are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com, anna.buchmann@sfchronicle.com