Members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and KPC Health have reached a tentative agreement, averting a five-day strike that was set to begin Sept. 26 at six Southern California facilities.
The union, which represents more than 1,400 KPC Health employees, announced the deal in a Sept. 23 news release shared with Becker's.
The release says the new agreement "significantly raises wages at six KPC facilities across Orange County and the Inland Empire, addressing workers' concerns about chronic short staffing and high turnover."
Union members include respiratory therapists, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, radiology technologists, food service workers, operating room and emergency room technicians, unit secretaries, transporters, and admitting clerks. KPC Health owns and operates a group of integrated healthcare delivery systems in Southern California. Union members had planned to strike at:
- Victor Valley Global Medical Center (Victorville)
- Anaheim Global Medical Center
- Chapman Global Medical Center (Orange)
- South Coast Global Medical Center (Santa Ana)
- Hemet Global Medical Center
- Menifee Valley Medical Center
Kali Chaudhuri, MD, founder and chairman of KPC Health, told Becker's: "The delivery of high quality care and services starts and ends with our dedicated healthcare workers. We are grateful for the SEIU's diligent and good faith negotiations throughout this process. Our shared commitment to the communities we serve enabled us to come to an agreement that supports our workers and keeps our facilities operating at full efficiency."