Kaiser Permanente strike affecting San Francisco ends as unions call off pickets

Roughly 31,000 unionized Kaiser Permanente workers across California and Hawaii ended a multi-week, open-ended strike when union leaders called off picket lines Feb. 24, according to union announcements. The action had included visible pickets that affected San Francisco facilities during the weeks of labor activity.

The walkout, described as open-ended, involved a broad mix of clinical staff including nurses and physician assistants and stretched across Kaiser campuses in California as well as sites in Hawaii. Organizers had maintained picket lines for multiple weeks before the decision to suspend them late in February while contract talks continued.

Union leaders said they were pausing picketing as both sides finalize outstanding contract details with the employer. The suspension of picket lines on Feb. 24 does not represent a finalized agreement, but it removes the visible labor actions that had been in place around hospitals and medical offices in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, while negotiators complete the remaining terms.

For San Francisco, the end of active picketing as of Feb. 24 means the streets around Kaiser clinics and medical centers that had seen rallies and staff pickets will be clear for now. Union leaders and Kaiser Permanente will continue negotiating the specifics of a contract that had prompted the multi-week action, and both parties indicated the pause in picket activity is temporary until those details are resolved.