Kaiser Kern Main and Admin Equity Adjustment Update

Update | October 1, 2026

Our 2026 contract fight included a focus on addressing wage disparities for Kaiser members in Kern County. That work is now delivering additional progress, helping bring wages for Kern County members closer to those of comparable classifications in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

In our negotiations, Kern Main and Admin units acquired an additional 1.25% “equity adjustment” for July 2026, July 2027 and July 2028.  This equity adjustment partially reconciles the hourly wage gap between Kern County and Los Angeles and Orange Counties, which are all in the same Kaiser Region.  The 1.25% equity adjustment is on top of the across the board (ATB) raises.

UFCW Local 770 recently negotiated the equity adjustment, and the following classifications will receive an hourly raise between $0.30 and $1.50, totaling an additional $442K in base pay for the two units:

·       Psychiatric Social Clerk (20960)

·       Mammography Technician (21054)

·       Radiology Assistant (21087)

·       Medical Office Assistant (30453)

·       LVN I (30454)

·       LVN II (30455)

·       Echocardiography Technician I (30458)

·       EKG Technician I (30460)

·       Respiratory Care Practitioner I (30780)

·       Diagnostic Imaging Sonographer (30823)

·       Diagnostic Imaging – Radiologic Technologist I (30830)

·       Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant (30850)

·       Optical Dispenser (30852)

·       Optical Dispenser Lead (30885)

·       Contact Lens Fitter (30853)

·       CT Technician (30888)

·       Diagnostic Imaging Technician – MRI (30889)

·       Medical Assistant Service Representative (30914)

·       LVN – Retail (30921)

·       Administrative Services Coordinator II (18605)

·       Population Control Support Coordinator (21107)

·       Health Plan Representative (21114)

·       Senior Health Plan Representative (21115)

The equity adjustment will be implemented after the 6.5% ATB raise in October 2026 and will be paid retroactively from July 1, 2026.  If you are one of the above classifications, be sure to examine your pay stubs for an additional raise sometime after October. 

The classifications that received an equity adjustment are those that were the largest differences with their LA/Orange Counties similar classifications.  If there is a significant difference with LA/Orange Counties and your classification did not receive a raise, then it is likely your classification will receive a raise at the next equity adjustment which will be negotiated in the Spring of 2027.  Classifications that are on par with LA/Orange Counties will not receive an equity adjustment. 

If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative.

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