Kaiser Permanente, Union reach tentative deal to end strike

US health care provider Kaiser Permanente and a union representing tens of thousands of its staff said Friday they had reached a tentative deal to end what was billed as the sector’s biggest ever strike.

“We are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with the frontline health care workers of the @UnionCoalition this morning,” the corporation wrote on social media.

More than 75,000 members of the SEIU-UHW and other unions walked out last week in a three-day stoppage that chiefly affected Kaiser Permanente’s operations in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.

Staff had complained that they were overworked and underpaid, with salaries that were not keeping up with rising prices.

“The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente,” the SEIU-UHW wrote on social media with a picture that included an all-caps VICTORY. AFP