One strike affecting Kaiser Permanente ended early Saturday. But another one is continuing.
Members of the Service Employees International Union returned to work, as planned, after joining picket lines earlier this week. SEIU’s Kaiser members include nursing assistants, lab workers and housekeeping staff, dental assistants, and others.
File: Necia Cage Pankey, a frontline worker at Kaiser Permanente’s Sunnyside Medical Center, chants with the crowd at a press conference held at the Oregon AFL-CIO offices in Portland, Sept. 14, 2023. SEIU members who work at Kaiser ended their strike at 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, though members of another union remained on strike.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
But another strike — involving thousands of pharmacy workers through Kaiser’s service area — is ongoing. Kaiser acknowledged the pharmacy worker strike is causing delays and disruptions. Several outpatient pharmacies have been temporarily closed, including at Gateway, Keizer Station, Rockwood and Sunnybrook.
In a statement Saturday, Kaiser restated options for patients who need prescriptions filled - such as ordering through the mail or going to retail pharmacies.
Pharmacy workers at Kaiser Permanente locations in Oregon and Southwest Washington are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. They initiated a 21-day strike alleging unfair labor practices on Sept. 30. That action is set to conclude at 3 p.m. Oct. 21.
