Many Kaiser SEIU Local 49 members have questions about national bargaining and our plan to win the best contract ever. Here are the answers to some of your most pressing questions. Be sure to let Bernard Tyson know that all Northwest Region Kaiser Union Members deserve a great contract by signing our petition.
Why aren’t we bargaining?
Kaiser walked away from the bargaining table on March 27, 2018, and hasn’t come back. Kaiser has a legalobligation to bargain with us, so we’ve filed charges withthe National Labor Relations Board. H Frame anything lateowever, what’s most important is that we show Kaiser we are united toprotect all our benefits and win the BEST contract. Weneed all members to stay involved in actions, and call on Kaiser to get back to the table and agree to a great contract.
What happens now that the National Agreement has expired?
Our National Agreement officially expired on Sept. 30, 2018, but because of our efforts Kaiser has agreed to extend the provisions. Our local contract is still in effect until June 30, 2019. That means our step raises and benefits are protected. You will vote on any changes thatcome out of bargaining.
Will I still have medical and retirement benefits?
All our benefits like healthcare, pension, wage scalesand grievance processes are protected and cannot be changed without Kaiser bargaining with us—and members voting to accept those changes.
Do I still get to be in my Unit Based Team?
We want Kaiser to be the best place to get care and thebest place to work, and we make a lot of that happenthough our UBTs—so we encourage you to stay involved. We want to make sure any partnership agreement we arepart of guarantees us an equal voice to Alliance members, management and doctors. As long as Kaiser is willing to respect that, we should be able to keep doing the great work we are doing.
Can I still use the SEIU Education Fund?
The Education Fund has been extended and programs are continuing. This is an important benefit we want to secure as part of our next National Agreement.
I’m worried about striking.
Our union is not talking about striking at this time, and wecannot strike while our contract is in effect. Our plan is
to keep taking action and showing Kaiser we are unitedas a Coalition and determined to keep our benefits and improve our wages. The only way a strike can happen is ifa strong majority of members vote to take that powerfulof an action. Showing our unity in little ways cannot be underestimated; wear your purple, union buttons, lanyards, post our flyers in your work area and make sureKaiser sees our strength in numbers.
I heard the Alliance unions settled their contract. Why won’t we settle?
Our Coalition is determined to win the best contractever, not the quickest. The group of unions who broke away from the Coalition signed off on a deal that is not acceptable to us. Kaiser is sitting on $29 billion in reserves and made record profits of $3.8 billion lastyear. Despite that success, the other unions signed an agreement that doubles many of their healthcare copays, prevents union members from speaking up about issues that impact them and their patients, and some union members will only receive 1% pay raises.We are determined to stop any concessions—and to keep our affordable healthcare, excellent retirement and education benefits, a voice on the job, and to win raises that we deserve.