A five-day strike in California and Hawaii by thousands of unionized Kaiser Permanente registered nurses and other health professionals ended Sunday, with Kaiser and union officials agreeing to resume bargaining on Oct. 22-23, the health care company said.
Kaiser said its facilities were resuming normal operations.
"We are deeply grateful to our front-line care teams who leaned in to ensure the continuity of outstanding patient care last week. Our facilities were staffed by physicians, experienced managers, and trained staff, along with nearly 6,000 contracted nurses, clinicians, and others who worked with us during the strike," Kaiser said in a statement Sunday morning.
The company added that the focus of the contract talks will be on economic issues.
"While the Alliance has publicly emphasized staffing and other concerns, wages are the reason for the strike and the primary issue in negotiations," Kaiser said. "We recognize our employees' hard work and have offered a strong contract proposal that includes 21.5% in total base wage increases over four years, and enhances their high-value medical plans and retiree benefits."
The strike was part of a walkout involving 31,000 members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP). Members include registered nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, rehab therapists, dietitians, speech-language pathologists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives and other specialty health workers.
Picketing was held at three facilities in San Diego County: Zion Medical Center in Grantville, San Diego Medical Center in Kearny Mesa and San Marcos Medical Center.