The 2015 National Agreement between Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of of Kaiser Permanente Unions is the most comprehensive, forward-looking contract in the history of the Labor Management Partnership. See a summary of key points (PDF or PPT).
Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions believe people take pride in their contributions, care about their jobs and each other, want to be involved in decisions about their work and want to share in the success of their efforts. Use the information here to get connected and stay connected. And read up on how others have endorsed the value of our approach.
See what others are saying about the Labor Management Partnership.
The management, union and physician members of the Labor Management Partnership report to and are guided by the highest levels of their respective organizations. The Office of Labor Management Partnership and the unions also have staff members dedicated to helping the partnership succeed.
The LMP is using popular education strategies to improve business and economic literacy on the front line. Staff at the Woodland Hills Medical Center describe how the training brings potentially dry subjects to life.
Receptionist Sam Eckstein encourages his co-workers at the Woodland Hills Medical Center lab not only to meet—but to exceed—patient expectations of excellent service. To back up his coaching, he’s using the knowledge he gained in a new LMP course on business and economic literacy.
During the course, Eckstein and about a dozen other workers and managers learned about the rising cost of health insurance in the United States and the trend toward businesses’ shifting more health care costs to employees.
Because patients are paying more, “Their expectations are higher,” says Eckstein, a member of SEIU UHW. “When patients come in without an order [for a lab procedure], we can’t just send them home,” and inconvenience them by making them come back another day, he says. “We have to help meet their needs.”
Eckstein took part in a pilot project to test the Labor Management Partnership’s new approach using popular education techniques to ensure frontline employees and managers have the context and know-how they need to continue improving team performance and keep Kaiser Permanente affordable.
Popular education turns the old-fashioned schoolroom model of teaching and learning on its head. It is ideally suited to the Labor Management Partnership, which is built on the belief that all employees, managers and physicians bring their expertise and experience to bear on improving service and care at KP. No longer is the teacher or trainer the sole expert in the classroom, there to fill students’ minds with information they passively receive, memorize and repeat.
Instead, popular education taps into participants’ experiences in their communities and workplaces and uses them to generate dialogue. It explores the social and economic context of students’ lives and asks probing questions: What are people happy about? Worried about? Fearful about? Hopeful about? Students are encouraged to analyze that information—and to take action.
Because more health care expense is shifting to the patient, it's important to know what you can offer. As they spend more, they expect more.
Learn where Kaiser Permanente dollars come from—and where they go—so you can provide the best customer service.
Frequently asked questions (and answers!) viewers may have when they preview the new LMP website, including highlights of new features and links to old favorites.
A: Click on the About LMP tab to see the Regions page.
A: Under the new Library tab—at LMPartnership.org/tools, and from a prominent link on the home page. Take advantage of the improved navigation and filter by topic, team level, dimension, role, tool type and format.
A: Find videos under the new Library tab. Or go directly to LMPartnership.org/videos. Zero in on exactly what you need by filtering by topic, region, team level and dimension.
A: Find stories under the new Library tab. You’ll find some stories under the Team-Tested Practices tab. These toolkits pair stories of teams with the kinds of tools the teams used to improve performance and meet their goals. This will make it easier for your team to follow in their footsteps for success. Stories you’ve read in Hank are under the Library tab and at LMPartnership.org/hank.
A: The new Path to Performance section has most of the material you used to find in the UBT section; click on the tab or go directly to LMPartnership.org/path-to-performance. Find a customized kit of tools and materials tailored to any team level and P2P dimension. Or explore everything available for any one of the seven dimensions of performance (sponsorship, leadership, training, team process, team member engagement, use of tools, and goals and performance).
A: To access most of the materials that used to be in the Path to Performance toolkit, visit the new Path to Performance tab or go directly to LMPartnership.org/path-to-performance. With just a few clicks, find a customized kit of tools and materials tailored to the team level and P2P dimension you want. Or explore everything available for any one of the seven dimensions of performance (sponsorship, leadership, training, team process, team member engagement, use of tools, and goals and performance).
A: These are now our new How-To Guides. They're linked to from our LMP Focus Area pages, in the Path to Performance section, and elsewhere. To get a list of them all, go to LMPartnership/tools and then under the "Tool Type" option, select "How To Guides."
A: Email Laureen.X.Lazarovici@kp.org, the LMP communication team's managing editor.
The Labor Management Partnership brings together Kaiser Permanente workers, managers and physicians at all levels of the organization. Together, Kaiser Permanente, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and the Alliance of Health Care Unions provide team-tested tools and practices for solving problems, making decisions and delivering better care, service and work life.
Its roots reach back to the WWII shipyards.
A brief overview and explanation of our Labor Management Partnership.
The Labor Management Partnership is an operational strategy shared by Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions.
This joint commitment is designed to:
The partnership is jointly led and funded by Kaiser Permanente and two groups of Partnership unions, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and the Alliance of Health Care Unions. There are more than 128,000 employees represented by the union locals that are part of the partnership, 16,000 managers and 21,000 physicians.
Our Labor Management Partnership has delivered measurable results for KP members and patients. Most of the day-to-day work of the partnership is led by self-directed work teams — what we call unit-based teams (UBTs) — made up of frontline managers, employees and physicians. All teams are measured quarterly on several dimensions of performance, leadership and engagement. According to KP’s 2017 People Pulse survey, highly engaged UBTs have achieved:
Want to share information about the Labor Management Partnership with others? Check out these two tools.
This 90-second animated video explains how our Labor Management Partnership makes Kaiser Permanente a better place to work — and receive care.
In just 99 seconds, learn how Kaiser Permanente's unique Labor Management Partnership makes it a better place to work — and receive care. Watch this animated video now.