Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have reached a tentative agreement that will cover 105,000 unionized Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in 28 local unions.
Here are five things to know about the contract.
1. The negotiations were the largest private-sector contract talks in the nation this year, according to Kaiser. The contract covers 81,000 healthcare workers in California; 8,500 in Oregon and Washington; 5,000 in Colorado; 5,500 in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia; 1,800 in Georgia; and 800 in Hawaii.
2. Workers covered by the contract span hundreds of job classifications, from registered nurses and pharmacists, to maintenance and service workers.
3. The contract includes annual raises of 2 percent to 4 percent, enhancements to benefits such as dental coverage, life insurance and tuition reimbursement and preserves retiree medical benefits.
4. The contract also includes additional funding to two educational trust funds to ensure career development for workers, new goals for 3,500 frontline teams and updates to the Kaiser Permanente Total Health Incentive Plan, the system's workforce health program.
5. Local unions and national Kaiser leaders are expected to ratify the contract this summer.
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