Kaiser Unfair Labor Practice Strike Day 1 Press Release
ULP Strike Update | February 9, 2026
CONTACTS:
UFCW Local 770: Heather Rutman heather.rutman@ufcw770.org 213-705-2377
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS AVAILABLE HERE
Thousands of UFCW Kaiser Pharmacy and Lab Employees Began Strike Over Unfair Labor Practices in Southern California and Bakersfield
LOS ANGELES – Today, thousands of Kaiser workers and supporters showed up and showed out, walking off the job at Kaiser locations throughout Southern California to protest the company’s unlawful actions that have prevented frontline healthcare workers from getting the fair contract they deserve. Picketing is taking place at select Kaiser medical centers throughout the region, and a massive solidarity rally was held in Los Angeles.
“Kaiser’s unfair labor practices are making healthcare unsafe,” said Gerardo Silva, a pharmacy assistant with 23 years at Kaiser in Los Angeles. “Workers are being intimidated, shut out of safety decisions, and punished for speaking up. When workers are afraid, mistakes happen — and patients feel that chaos. Kaiser can end this today by stopping the intimidation, ending the unfair labor practices, and coming back to the bargaining table.”
Over 3,000 UFCW members joined alongside 31,000 nurses and healthcare professionals with UNAC/UHCP who began their own ULP strike on January 26, 2026.
Workers told Kaiser loud and clear that they won’t stand for the company to refuse to bargain nationally, surveil workers, retaliate against them for union activity, and block them from talking to their Union Representatives.
“As both a Kaiser pharmacy assistant and a Kaiser patient, I see the damage these unfair labor practices are causing on both sides of the counter,” said Estefany Ruiz, a pharmacy assistant at Kaiser Glendale with nine years of service. “Kaiser is breaking the law by intimidating workers, blocking our union representatives, and refusing to bargain in good faith. And that chaos is hurting patients. While patients wait hours for prescriptions and appointments are canceled with little notice, executives are paying themselves hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s not a lack of resources, it’s a lack of priorities.”
The Unfair Labor Practice strike continues tomorrow, February 10, 2026.
BACKGROUND
UFCW Southern California Locals represent over 4,000 Kaiser Permanente frontline healthcare employees who work as pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians, clinical lab scientists, medical lab technicians, and clinical and administrative healthcare workers at numerous Kaiser locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and Kern counties.
With national negotiations stalled since December, this ULP strike threatens to disrupt hospital operations and pharmacy services at the height of flu season. The contract covering UFCW pharmacy employees across Southern California expired November 1, 2025; the contract covering UFCW CLS/MLT employees across Southern California expired February 1, 2026.
These Kaiser frontline healthcare workers are protesting the company’s labor violations throughout negotiations that have prevented them from getting the fair contract they deserve.
Key timeline:
Kaiser broke off national bargaining in December 2025.
UFCW and Alliance of Healthcare Unions filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against Kaiser Permanente for suspending national collective bargaining negotiations earlier this month.
UNAC/UNCP began an open-ended ULP strike Monday, January 26, 2026, their second strike since negotiations started.
Southern California UFCW Kaiser employees began a ULP strike on February 9.
# # #
