Kaiser Permanente Concepts

Twenty years ago this fall, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions formed the innovative Labor Management Partnership—a new way of working that now includes more than 150,000 managers, physicians and union-represented workers across Kaiser Permanente.

To commemorate this event, California Governor Jerry Brown has issued a proclamation congratulating Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for 20 years of successful partnership and collaboration.

“This model has resulted in improved patient outcomes, workplace innovations, process efficiencies, and measurable service and quality enhancements while creating a safer, healthier work environment with opportunities for health care workers to improve their skills and advance their careers,” said Governor Brown, “I commend all of the organizers and participants in this process for making the Golden State a better place to live and raise our families.”

The Labor Management Partnership is proof that labor unions aren’t just about making things better for workers, but improving outcomes for everyone. In just the first six months of 2017, partnership teams launched nearly 10,000 self-directed projects to improve Kaiser Permanente’s quality, service, and affordability. Departments with strong employee engagement report:

• 60 percent fewer patient falls with injuries
• 38 percent fewer workplace injuries
• 21 percent fewer lost work days
• 13 percent improvement in patients’ overall hospital satisfaction

In 2016, the partnership also helped Kaiser Permanente to keep costs down, with teams working together to save more than $48 million, on top of $35 million saved in 2015. 

More than 74 percent of Kaiser Permanente’s workforce is unionized. By contrast, 6.4 percent of private-sector workers nationwide belong to a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union representation is supported by a growing number of Americans, an August 2017 Gallup poll suggests. Sixty-one percent of adults surveyed say they approve of labor unions, the highest percentage since the 65 percent approval recorded in 2003.

Working together, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions will continue to improve health care for members and the community overall. Together we thank our workers, managers and physicians for their dedication, and appreciate Governor Brown’s recognition of their accomplishments.

Emile Pinera, MD, a second-generation Kaiser Permanente employee, came to the company five years ago and immediately became co-lead of an adult medicine unit-based team in the Georgia region.

“I had the clinical part down,” says Pinera, who is now lead physician for diversity and inclusion in Georgia and an adviser on the region’s transgender task force. But being a co-lead and working in a UBT were unfamiliar. “I had to implement my medical knowledge in a team, as opposed to a top-down approach where the doctor tells everyone what to do.” 

He wasn’t convinced at first—but the partnership approach and physician participation helped elevate the team’s performance, and it posted some of the region’s highest quality scores for managing diabetes and blood pressure. 

“We achieved it through hard work and collaboration,” Pinera says. “I loved working with my management and labor co-leads. We were respectfully honest about what was achievable. Working in the UBT gave us the tools to effectively communicate, track, adjust and improve.”

Pinera currently guides and supports co-leads as a UBT sponsor for three teams and is lead physician for three adult medicine offices. His enthusiasm helps his teams, the members and the Georgia region. 

“I was skeptical at first about UBTs’ relevance, but we couldn’t achieve our success with hypertension and diabetes management without each other’s help. I’m a believer,” he says. “My tip for fellow providers is to be engaged as much as possible, because it will help us achieve better outcomes and help our patients thrive.”