Kaiser Permanente

Stories

Kaiser nurses picket over staffing and AI as contract talks stall

Negotiating with nurses; defends staffing and AI practices

Dozens of nurses in scarlet scrubs picketed Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on Sept. 1, chanting for safe staffing and limits on artificial intelligence. Their contract had expired the day before, and talks had hit roadblocks.

Updated Oct 15

Healthcare workers draw the line on AI replacing clinicians

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: In stalled contract negotiations with mental health workers

For years, when Kaiser Permanente patients called for mental health care, they spoke with a licensed therapist for 10-15 minutes. Kaiser replaced many of those clinicians with unlicensed operators and an AI-driven questionnaire, and 2,400 mental health workers walked off on March 18 when the company refused to guarantee that AI would not replace therapists.

Updated May 30