Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions

Frequently Asked Questions About Bargaining

General

What is the Labor Management Partnership?

The Labor Management Partnership (LMP) is an operational strategy shared by Kaiser Permanente and two groups of Partnership unions, the Alliance of Health Care Unions and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The Partnership covers a total of 33 union locals representing more than 132,000 Kaiser Permanente workers.

What unions are in the Alliance of Health Care Unions?

For a complete list of Alliance unions, please visit the Alliance website.

Where can I find past National Agreements?

Past national agreements can be found on the LMP website.

Bargaining participants

What is the Common Issues Committee?

The Common Issues Committee (CIC) is the full bargaining team that agrees on proposals from smaller subgroups during national negotiations between the Partnership unions and Kaiser Permanente. The number of people on the CIC fluctuates from one bargaining year to the next

Who are the observers/alternates?

The observers/alternates are Kaiser Permanente employees who belong to a Partnership union. The observers/alternates are selected by and represent their local union.

What is the role of the observers/alternates in bargaining?

Observers/alternates are there to observe, learn about the process and share information with other co-workers as appropriate. In the past, observers/alternates have attended meetings of the subgroups and Common Issues Committee and participated in labor caucuses during bargaining sessions.

 

What is collective bargaining?

Employers and unions use collective bargaining to reach agreement on issues ranging from wages and health benefits to hours and working conditions. The result is a legally binding contract that clearly describes these conditions of employment.

What is interest-based bargaining?

A negotiation strategy approach that uses interest-based problem solving to negotiate union contracts. Through interest-based bargaining, the parties collaborate to address issues in the workplace with the aim of achieving creative, mutually beneficial solutions while maintaining a respectful and constructive relationship.

Why use interest-based bargaining?

Interest-based bargaining:

•    allows full discussion of difficult or complex issues
•    promotes creative solutions
•    reduces confrontation
•    creates ownership in and support of the results
•    builds closer working relationships

What is the difference between a position and an interest?

An interest

A position

Is a concern, need or goal that a party to the agreement has about a particular issue

Tells us how the issue might be dealt with

Tells us what has to be addressed in order to reach an agreement

Identifies one party’s favored solution

Tells us why there is an issue

May not reveal the party’s true needs and concerns

Can be addressed in more than one way

May not address the needs or concerns of other stakeholders

How do you know when a group has reached consensus?

When everyone has been heard, everyone understands the solution, everyone can live with the solution, and everyone will actively support the solution.

Note: These frequently asked questions should be informative and useful to a wide range of visitors to this website. Questions that are specific to a certain situation should be referred to the appropriate union or management official for a response.

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