Leaders of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions issued a 10-day unfair labor practice strike notice to Kaiser executives Friday, announcing that more than 75,000 healthcare workers in five states and Washington, D.C. will hold a three-day strike from Oct. 4 to 6 unless the health system reaches a deal with the union by Sept. 30.

Parties had hoped to reach a deal during final hour contract negotiations, which occurred in San Francisco on Thursday and Friday. However, the union said the bargaining sessions had failed to achieve an acceptable result.

“Kaiser executives can stop the unfair labor practice strike from happening if they return to the table and stop bargaining in bad faith,” Renée Saldaña, spokesperson for SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the largest union in the coalition, told Healthcare Dive. “Otherwise, the strike will happen on Oct 4-6.”

According to Saldaña no further negotiations are scheduled, however the coalition members are ready to return to the bargaining table and negotiate at any time.

In a statement to Healthcare Dive, Steve Shivinsky, director of national media relations for Kaiser Permanente, said, “For the last 26 years of our historic labor-management partnership, we have reached agreements with the Coalition every time, with no strikes. A strike notice does not mean a strike will happen.”

He added, “to be clear, we will continue to bargain in good faith until we reach a fair and equitable agreement that strengthens our position as a best place to work and ensures that the high-quality care our members expect from us remains affordable and easy to access.”

Kaiser serves more than 12 million people at 39 hospitals and 622 medical offices in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, according to its website. The coalition, which represents twelve local unions, and Kaiser agree that coalition members account for about 40% of Kaiser staff.

The scale of the strike, should it occur, is significantly larger than the next largest industry work stoppage, according to data from the Labor Department’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics going back to 1993. In 2018, 53,000 California healthcare workers organized by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 engaged in a three-day strike.

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