Tens of thousands of workers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics across the country are voting on whether to authorize a strike. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes a dozen local unions, said a strike would start no earlier than Oct. 1. More than 80,000 employees are represented by the coalition, including the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), which represents some 12,000 Kaiser employees. If a strike moves forward, it would be the largest strike of health care workers in the history of the country. Union members are pushing for safe staffing levels to protect nurses and patients.

“Patient care is in crisis at Kaiser Permanente,” said Linda Bridges, president of OPEIU Local 2 in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Staffing was decimated during the pandemic and it has not gotten any better. The problem we’re dealing with is Kaiser is not hearing us. Kaiser can and must do better....They need to stop the unfair labor practices and address the healthcare staffing needs now.”

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DALLAS, TX - Approximately 80 employees at the national nonprofit organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) announced the formation of their union with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 277.

The employees who provide a broad slate of services to refugees and asylum seekers in the resettlement process presented a letter to the Dallas office Executive Director, Shalaina Abioye on Wednesday requesting that the organization voluntarily recognize their union, IRC Workers Unite.

“An overwhelming majority of us have signed union cards and come forward because, as the staff that provide IRC services on the frontlines, we understand this work the best,” said Zarifa Barkatullah, Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) Coordinator. “We see this as an opportunity for leadership to partner with us to improve our work and better achieve our vital mission.”

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This Labor Day weekend, we’re reflecting on the unprecedented opportunities and challenges faced by workers and their unions.

Across generations, unions remain widely popular, with majorities in every age bracket reporting they’d sign a union card. Workers across industries – from credit unions and nonprofits to tech companies and healthcare facilities – are filing for union elections at record levels.

Last year, more workers joined unions than the two previous years combined. This year, at the 29^th OPEIU Convention, convention delegates reaffirmed our union’s commitment to organizing the unorganized to bolster these numbers even further. The momentum and power we’ve collectively built in the past year has helped workers across the country realize and harness their own power in the workplace, giving them a bigger say over their futures.

We look forward to building upon this momentum even further in pursuit of our shared goals: economic, racial and social justice at work and in our communities. And we wish for you and your family a wonderful Labor Day.

In solidarity,

88% of people under 30 view unions favorably—a record-breaking level of support from young workers 

71% of Americans support unions—majorities of Republicans and Independents 

Washington D.C.-- Today, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond delivered an inaugural State of the Unions address where they released new polling which underscores the American people’s support of unions—especially that of young workers—and their view of unions as critical to growing the middle class and providing opportunities for working people to thrive. Additionally, both officers stressed that with this unprecedented level of support, working people in unions are prepared to organize like never before, hold big corporations accountable and restore America’s promise for all. 

“The idea of a union may sound complicated, but in reality, unions are just a group of people coming together. They are about each of us becoming the most powerful version of ourselves that we possibly can,” said Shuler. “And there is nothing better than finding that power alongside the people we work with and being a part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s all a union is. It’s that simple. People in this country have been searching for their power for a long time now, young people especially.”

You can read President Shuler’s full remarks here.