Kaiser workers begin 5-day walkout

25% salary increase “out of step with today’s economic realities and rising health care costs.” Kaiser's offer ofa 21.5% pay raise would increase payroll by nearly $2 billion by 2029, the company said.

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WORKERS picket at a Kaiser facility in Downey on Tuesday. The strike is planned to last until 7 a.m. Sunday.

(WILLIAM LIANG For The Times)

“To support this level of increase, we're reducing internal costs and optimizing operations. Anything beyond 21.5% will require us to furtherincrease rates for our members and customers, at a time when health care costs are increasingly unaffordable and many of them are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage,” read a statement on the company’s website.

The company said it has plans to fill in care gaps during the strike, and has hired 7,600 temporary nurses, clinicians and other staff as substitutes.

Many of those personnel have worked at Kaiser Permanente before and are familiar with its facilities, Kaiser said. The company also noted that 1,000 of its employees volunteered to be reassigned to work in strike locations.