What are the respective interests of the two sides in the Kaiser Permanente conflict?

The Kaiser Permanente conflict centered around the fight between the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and Kaiser Permanente over union recognition and contracts. NUHW represented workers at various sectors of healthcare, including mental health clinicians, pharmacists, dietitians, optometrists and others employed by Kaiser Permanente. The main interests for NUHW were obtaining union recognition from Kaiser Permanente as well as better wages, benefits, job security and working conditions.

Kaiser Permanent’s main interest was maintaining their contractual relationship with its current bargaining unit, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (CKPU), which represented several unions across California that had been in place since 1997. In addition to this existing relationship, they also wanted to block NUHW from representing their workers in order to maintain control over negotiations with its employees. They also wanted to preserve a long-lasting labor peace agreement instead of having a potential conflict within the workplace due to multiple unions vying for representation rights.

In spite of these differences between both parties there were some common objectives such as providing quality care for patients while treating employees fairly and responsibly. Both sides sought resolution through mediated negotiations in 2010 but were unsuccessful; however contract negotiations between CKPU subsequently resumed that same year resulting an agreement being reached by 2011 which provided significant pay raises for many healthcare professionals working for Kaiser Permanent.