Nearly 4,000 Kaiser Permanente workers voted 97% to authorize a potential strike, with 92% participation, the OFNHP announced. The authorization covered nurses, social workers, therapists, and lab professionals across Kaiser's I-5 corridor from Longview to Eugene.

The vote was part of a broader wave: 46,000 Kaiser workers across multiple states authorized strikes, per OPB. By December 2025, Kaiser and OFNHP reached tentative agreements with nurses securing 12.5% first-year raises, technicals 11-14%, and others 9.5-12.5%.

The resolution averted disruption to 600,000+ Kaiser members in Oregon and SW Washington. The threat ultimately moved the needle — double-digit increases reflect how tight the healthcare labor market remains.

Watch for: Whether wage increases translate into improved retention. Staffing commitments will be the real test — unions have found negotiated ratios difficult to enforce. Monitor whether these benchmarks ripple across other Oregon health systems during upcoming negotiations.