Over 45,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers across the United States are preparing to walk off the job on October 14, in what is shaping up to be one of the largest strikes of 2025.The strike authorization comes after months of stalled negotiations over chronic understaffing, inadequate pay, and deteriorating patient care standards at the healthcare giant. The Alliance of Health Care Unions (AHU), a coalition of 23 unions representing Kaiser workers, has given the company a deadline to return to the bargaining table with a fair offer, or face a massive work stoppage.

A recent survey of AHU members revealed that a staggering 95 percent of respondents feel that the staffing crisis at Kaiser is directly impacting patient care, with over 90 percent reporting that their own departments are short-staffed.

The looming strike highlights a deepening crisis in the healthcare industry, where frontline workers are stretched to their breaking point. A recent survey of AHU members revealed that a staggering 95 percent of respondents feel that the staffing crisis at Kaiser is directly impacting patient care, with over 90 percent reporting that their own departments are short-staffed. Workers are demanding that Kaiser address the hundreds of open positions that have been left unfilled, leading to unsustainable workloads and burnout. The unions are also seeking a 25 percent wage increase over four years to keep up with the rising cost of living and to attract and retain qualified staff. Management's current offer of a 20 percent increase over the same period has been rejected as insufficient.

The workers' frustration is compounded by Kaiser's immense profitability. The company has recently posted record multibillion-dollar profits, and its CEO, Gregory Adams, is consistently ranked among the highest paid nonprofit executives in the nation. This disparity between executive compensation and the struggles of frontline workers has become a central point of contention. As physical therapist and union shop steward Neoma Palmer stated, "In the past two decades, we've increased our membership in the Northwest by 400 percent… the level of staffing has stayed exactly the same." [Truthout, October 10, 2025]. The strike, if it proceeds, will be a powerful statement from healthcare workers that they will no longer tolerate a system that prioritizes profits over patients and the well-being of its workforce.