Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions Kick Off one of Nation's Largest Private-Sector Contract Talks March 30

Unique bargaining approach covers 100,000 unionized health care workers

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Mar 25, 2015, 01:26 ET

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 30, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions will kick off one of the largest private-sector contract talks in the United States this year in Costa Mesa, California. The agreement covers 100,000 unionized Kaiser Permanente workers in 28 union locals and 12 international unions, in eight states and the District of Columbia. The workers include registered nurses, maintenance and service workers, technicians, lab scientists, and hundreds of other classifications.

The National Agreement goes beyond the traditional labor contract that covers wages and benefits. "What makes us unique is the contract also includes specifics to ensure frontline employees, managers and physicians have a say about how to improve their departments through unit-based teams," said Dennis Dabney, senior vice president of Kaiser Permanente National Labor Relations and the Office of the Labor Management Partnership. "In our experience, the people who do the job every day offer some of the best solutions to improve quality, service and affordability for Kaiser Permanente's members and patients."

At Kaiser Permanente facilities nationwide, nearly 3,500 unit-based teams take on challenges from significantly improving the blood pressure of at-risk, mostly minority patients, to working with a neonatal parent advisory council to bring the voice of the parent into infants' care. (See how in this brief video).

"Kaiser Permanente is the top health plan, by any measure – and there's a reason for that: well-compensated union workers, properly empowered to lead," said Hal Ruddick, executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. "In national negotiations, we focus on improving our high-road strategy."

Bargaining this year also focuses on technological and service delivery innovation, and preparing the workforce for the health care jobs of the future.

Availability: For interviews with Dennis Dabney, Hal Ruddick, and a union worker on the bargaining team, contact Penelope Whitney at (510) 381-8897.

Interest-Based Bargaining: The National Agreement is negotiated by the Common Issues Committee, a diverse group of 100-plus union workers and representatives, managers and physicians. They use a nontraditional approach called interest-based bargaining that focuses attention on shared interests, and strives to avoid stalemates and other pitfalls of more-adversarial bargaining. This approach allows employees, managers and physicians and leaders to address major benefits and programs, improve employee satisfaction, and deliver better care and service to patients in a collaborative environment.

About the Labor Management Partnership: Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions created the Labor Management Partnership (LMP) in 1997 to develop and support innovative ways of improving patient care, affordability and the work environment. The LMP is the nation's largest and most comprehensive labor management partnership, lauded by experts such as Thomas A. Kochan of MIT as a model for other health care organizations and unions. Kaiser Permanente is recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. It currently serves 9.6 million members and provides approximately $56 Billion per year in health services in eight states and the District of Columbia.

For more information, including a list of unions in the Partnership, go to www.bargaining2015.org.

Contact: Penelope Whitney, Communications Director,
Kaiser Permanente Office of Labor Management Partnership
510-381-8897 (cell)

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente