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UPDATE (11:20 PT) – Health care provider Kaiser Permanente announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with its employee unions after almost five months of negotiations and strike threats.
The four-year collective agreement will cover 85,000 employees from 11 local unions, including 8,300 in Oregon and Washington.
Workers threatened to strike in October. But the agreement now provides for salary increases, career enhancement opportunities and restrictions on outsourcing.
Rebecca Givan, an expert in labor relations at Rutgers University, said the strike threats across the country and a strong commitment to the strike had led Kaiser leaders to sign the deal.
"The General Motors strike really drew the country's attention to the major strikes … and the threat was serious and had to be taken seriously," said Givan.
Meg Niemi, President of SEIU Local 49 in Portland, said her members were ecstatic.
"We have been negotiating with Kaiser Permanente for more than two years for a renewed partnership agreement: protecting middle-class jobs, ensuring members have protections against technology, and outsourcing. And our bargaining team is unanimous behind this recommendation, Niemi said.
Kaiser Permanente issued a statement saying that if ratified, the agreement would position society for a sustainable future.
"We greatly value and respect the employees who accomplish our mission on a daily basis," said Arlene Peasnall, Acting Director of Human Resources at Kaiser Permanente. "This agreement demonstrates the dedication, compassion and skill that employees bring to the workplace every day, and demonstrates that Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition have a shared commitment to providing affordable prices to our members."
"Kaiser Permanente has unparalleled experience in working constructively with the world of work to solve problems together in order to improve the care and services offered to our members and patients," added Peasnall. "We can sometimes disagree, but we have always been able to overcome our challenges to align ourselves with common goals."
The agreement will be submitted to the coalition members for ratification and should be voted by the end of October.
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