Union activity in healthcare continues in 2026, with nearly a dozen reported strikes since the beginning of the year. Some of these actions involve healthcare workers and leaders across hospitals and clinics in multiple states.
Below are the strikes tracked by Becker’s so far this year:
Editor’s note: This article was created Jan. 28 and will be updated throughout the year.
1. Members of Teamsters Local 760 ended a nearly two-month strike at MultiCare Yakima (Wash.) Memorial Hospital in March. The union, which represents about 170 technical employees — including workers in surgery, radiology, MRI, pharmacy and laboratory departments — began the strike Jan. 17.
2. More than 23,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses represented by the California Nurses Association held a 24-hour sympathy strike March 18 at facilities across Northern California, joining a one-day strike by approximately 2,400 mental health therapists, social workers and psychologists represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Stationary engineers represented by IUOE Local 39 also held a sympathy strike.
3. Members of SEIU Local 121RN representing more than 1,000 nurses at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., held a five-day strike March 2-6. The strike followed a five-day walkout at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center that ended Feb. 21.
4. Members of two unions held a one-day strike Feb. 18 at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, Calif. The strike involved more than 700 nurses represented by the California Nurses Association and 500 members of Teamsters Local 856, including respiratory therapists, anesthesia technicians, emergency department technicians, phlebotomists, surgical technologists, certified nursing assistants, environmental services aides and food service workers.
5. Registered nurses and licensed medical professionals at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana (Calif.) Medical Center began a five-day strike Feb. 16. The strike involved members of Service Employees International Union Local 121RN, which represents more than 11,000 registered nurses and other healthcare professionals in California.
6. More than 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers ended a three-day strike Feb. 12 at Kaiser Permanente facilities across Southern California and Kern County. The walkout was separate but coordinated with an open-ended walkout by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. The 31,000 UNAC/UHCP nurses and healthcare professionals who began an open-ended walkout Jan. 26 returned to work Feb. 24 after the union accepted Kaiser’s offer of 21.5% across-the-board wage increases. Members ratified the contracts in March, with agreements set to expire Sept. 29, 2029.
7. About 2,100 nurses and healthcare workers from hospitals operated by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare struck in February. One-day strikes took place Feb. 18-19 at facilities in Reno, Nev., and Redding, Calif., while a three-day strike began Feb. 17 at West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, Calif. Nurses at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., rescinded their strike notice after reaching a tentative agreement with the hospital.
8. Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers held a three-day strike in January at Kindred Hospitals in Brea and Westminster, Calif. The union represents 155 workers at Kindred Hospital Brea and 160 workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster, including nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers and respiratory therapists.
9. Nearly 15,000 nurses across four New York City hospitals began an open-ended strike on Jan. 12. After 41 days, all groups have ratified new three-year contracts. Nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai ratified contracts Feb. 11, and approximately 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian ratified a new three-year contract Feb. 21 and began returning to work the week of Feb. 23.
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