Local 39 Bargaining Update, Feb. 20, 2024
To our engineers,
Kaiser Permanente leaders and our bargaining team believe that you deserve a respectful and fair increase to your wages and benefits as soon as possible.
Since 2021, Kaiser Permanente’s bargaining team and IUOE Local 39 representatives have tried to reach a mutually beneficial successor agreement. Because the negotiations have lasted for years on what could have been a 3-year agreement expiring in September 2024, our bargaining team decided it would be prudent to present the union with a 6-year offer to avoid restarting the bargaining process, once again, later this year.
As a reminder, we encourage you to ask your union to vote on our Last, Best, and Final offer. To show that we are serious about bringing bargaining to a conclusion and executing a new contract sooner rather than later, we added an enhanced lump-sum proposal — up to $18,000 — that expires on March 2 if our comprehensive offer is not ratified by that date. After March 2, the highest offered lump-sum payment would be lowered to $16,000. The rest of the comprehensive offer, including the proposed increases to wages and benefits, will remain on the table, unchanged, after March 2.
We expect your union to make every effort to apprise you of this offer. If you need information, please contact your Local 39 representative.
Additional details of our offer are outlined below and are explained in this flyer. (You have to be on the KP network to access the flyer)
- 6-year agreement from Sept. 18, 2021 – Sept. 19, 2027
- Across-the-board wage increases – 4%, 4%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 5%; a compounded wage increase of 30% over the 6-year period
- Enhanced lump-sum payment, contingent on ratification by March 2, as follows:
- If hired prior to Sept. 25, 2022: $18,000
- If hired on or after Sept. 25, 2022, but before Sept. 25, 2023: $10,000
- If hired on or after Sept. 25, 2023: $5,000
- Annual dental coverage maximum increased to $1,500 from $1,000.
- Group life insurance benefit increased to $25,000 from $5,000.
- Increased prospective pension contributions: about 12% increase to take effect the first month after ratification, followed by 4% annual increases through Sept. 18, 2026.
- Maintains employer contribution to the defined contribution plan at 3% through Sept. 19, 2027
We look forward to reaching an agreement with Local 39 based on this offer that will lock in generous increases and benefits for you and your families over the next 3 years.
Thank you for everything you do to help our organization deliver on our mission of providing high-quality, affordable care to our members, patients, and local communities.