USW Local 7600 Members Vote to Accept National Agreement with Kaiser Permanente

Contact: Micheal Barnett, USW Local 7600 Media Coordinator (909) 202-9756; mbarnett@usw7600.org
Fontana (June 20) – The United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7600 union members voted today to accept the National Bargaining Agreement with healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente. The new National Agreement is the largest private sector union agreement to be negotiated this year and will form the backbone of what has become the largest and longest-lasting labor management partnership in the United States, according to Labor and Management Partnership website.
The National Bargaining Agreement met with the approval of Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes USW Local 7600 and their 6000 plus employees in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The agreement calls for employees to receive three percent wage increases in each year of the agreement in California and two percent each year in regions outside California. It preserves all current benefits for the life of the contract and improves the dental plan.
In addition, Kaiser Permanente has committed $19 million annually to the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust and SEIU-UHW-West Joint Employer Education Fund to ensure career development for our diverse work force. The agreement also establishes the conditions for creating the healthiest work force in the industry.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and has 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, renewable and atomic energy, plus the service and government sectors.
For additional information about the United Steelworkers Local 7600 or the National Agreement please visit www.usw7600.org.
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