(SAN FRANCISCO) — A young mountain lion has been spotted prowling the streets of downtown San Francisco as officials have warned people in the area to take caution.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management issued an alert late Monday evening saying that the mountain lion was spotted in the Pacific Heights neighborhood near the intersection of Octavia Street and Pacific Avenue, just north of Lafayette Park.
One man walking his dogs, who spoke to ABC News’ San Francisco station KGO, said says he’ll be avoiding Lafayette Park for now.
“We love to see things like this like so much wildlife in the city. But a little bit concerned because you know little puppies. So we are not coming in until we know everything is safe,” said Manuel Cases, San Francisco resident.
City officials said, “if you see the mountain lion, slowly back away, do not run” and urged people to contact San Francisco’s Animal Care & Control if they see or come into contact with the animal.
Sen. David McCormick leaves the Senate Republicans’ lunch meeting in the Capitol, Nov. 19, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Republicans appeared split Monday in their responses to the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday — from calling for an investigation to remaining silent or backing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has not issued a statement on the shooting and his office has not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune issued a statement on Monday that did not directly address the shooting but applauded the White House dispatching border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota in hopes of “turning down the temperature,” while encouraging Minnesota officials to work with the Trump administration in getting “dangerous criminals off America’s streets.”
More than two dozen congressional Republicans have called for a thorough investigation, according to ABC News’ count.
At least eight GOP senators said they support an investigation into the shooting, including Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick — a Trump ally.
“As I have often said, I support the Border Patrol, ICE, and the critical work they do to enforce our laws. Irresponsible rhetoric and a lack of cooperation from Minnesota’s politicians are fueling a dangerous situation. I also agree with the NRA and others — we need a full investigation into the tragedy in Minneapolis. We need all the facts,” McCormick said in a post on X.
Moderate Senate Republican Lisa Murkowski urging, in a post on X, that a “comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work. ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy called for a joint state and federal investigation into the shooting — warning “the credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.”
While he did not call for an investigation, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the administration’s rhetoric on the shooting.
“What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they’re describing this — that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing that we took out a violent terrorist, hooray,” Cruz said on his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” on Monday.
More than a dozen House GOP lawmakers echoed similar sentiments, including House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino, who expects a “full investigation” into the shooting.
“CBP and ICE have already been invited, and I expect each to testify before the Committee in the coming weeks. It is critical that Congress conduct its due diligence to ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and the communities they protect. I take my oversight duties of the Department of Homeland Security seriously, and we expect recent events to be thoroughly discussed at our hearing,” Garbarino said in a statement.
Moderate New York Rep. Mike Lawler called for an independent investigation into the shooting but said calls to “abolish” ICE are “misguided.”
“Let this be a moment for Americans of common sense and good will to come together and work towards a solution,” he said.
Despite this, several Republicans have also rushed to the Trump administration’s defense.
“The governor and local leaders’ rhetoric has empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk. It’s dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse. Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I’m going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said in a statement.
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona urged Americans to “stop interfering with federal enforcement officers.”
Responding to Trump’s social media post that called for deporting “criminal illegal aliens,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said, “We cannot back down. Trump is right: ICE will continue to enforce the law in Minnesota. Deport them all.”
Vehicle, carrying the body of the last Israeli hostage remaining in Gaza Ran Gvili, arrives the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute prior to the funeral ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel on January 26, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The final deceased Israeli hostage in Gaza taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack has returned to Israel following a military operation to retrieve the body, Israeli officials said.
Rani Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat during the Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas took his body into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF located his body in a cemetery in northern Gaza in the area of the so-called yellow line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory, during an operation that began Sunday morning, according to an Israeli military official. Through dental identification, the hostage was confirmed to be Gvili, 24, according to the official.
“A short time ago, we returned the late Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while addressing the Knesset on Monday. Gvili was known as both Ran and Rani.
Netanyahu congratulated the IDF and the Israel Security Agency on the “perfect execution of this sacred mission.”
Gvili’s sister said the news is bittersweet.
“Wow, I feel an insane sense of relief. I feel relieved. I am sad. I’m very sad that it ended this way, but it had to end at some point. I am so happy he’s coming back home, Rani is on his way, Rani is coming,” Shira Gvili said, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Israeli hostage crisis lasted 843 days. Hamas kidnapped 251 people during its surprise attack, with 85 returning in caskets. More than seven weeks have passed since a deceased hostage was retrieved from Gaza; on Dec. 3, the remains of a body were transferred to Israel and later identified as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker.
Hamas’ return of all the Israelis hostages in Gaza, and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, was agreed upon in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered Gaza Strip ceasefire deal that began in October 2025. Gvili’s return brings to a close the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas will now move into the second, more complicated phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
President Donald Trump celebrated the return of the final hostage in a post on social media, saying, “Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do.”
Hamas said it “exerted significant efforts” in the search for Gvili and provided “necessary information as it became available, which contributed to the recovery of the body.”
Hamas called on Israel to “complete the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement without any reduction or delay, and adhere to all its obligations,” including reopening the Rafah Crossing, a border crossing point between Egypt and Gaza that has been closed since May 2024.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday it has agreed to reopen the Rafah Crossing, a limited crossing for people, not goods, following the recovery of the final deceased hostage. The US has been pushing for the Rafah to be opened as soon as possible. It’s still unclear how and who will carry out security checks on those crossing into or leaving Gaza.
Ahead of the recovery of Gvili’s body, the Trump administration said earlier this month that the Gaza peace plan is moving into the next phase, which it said “begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.” The thorniest issue is expected to be disarming Hamas.
(BANGOR, Maine) — All six people on board a private jet are presumed to be dead after the plane crashed while taking off from Bangor International Airport in Maine during the winter storm, according to police.
No victims were taken to the hospital, Bangor police said on Monday. The victims’ identities have not been released.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed around 7:45 p.m. Sunday as the deadly storm slammed the Northeast, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
At the time of the crash, the Bangor International Airport was open, with deicing operations underway and both commercial and private planes landing and departing, Bangor International Airport Director Jose Saavedra said on Monday.
First responders were at the scene of the crash within a minute, Saavedra said.
“The snowstorm started taking effect into the vicinity right around that time,” he said.
“This is normal for us to deal with weather events, and we had crews on site to address the weather event,” he said.
The airport will be closed for at least 24 hours as airport officials wait for National Transportation Safety Board investigators to arrive, Saavedra said.
A newly obtained cellphone video shows the moments before Renee Good was fatally shot in her car in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026. (Obtained by ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — In the days after federal officers shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, there has been little polling on how Americans are reacting to the issue. But surveys fielded after Minneapolis woman Renee Good was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Jan. 7 found most Americans saying the event was an inappropriate use of force and most voters saying her killing was unjustified.
Polling through the first half of January has found Americans largely at odds with the Trump administration on immigration, with just over half saying ICE enforcement actions were making cities less safe and nearly half saying they do not trust the government at all to carry out a fair and thorough investigation of Good’s shooting.
That is in addition to majorities disapproving of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws, how President Donald Trump is handling immigration and how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has handled her job.
More polling underscores those findings.
A New York Times/Siena poll released Friday found 61% of voters saying the tactics used by ICE had “gone too far.” That included over 9 in 10 Democrats, about 7 in 10 independents and roughly 2 in 10 Republicans. Just 26% of voters overall said ICE’s tactics were “about right” and 11% said they had not gone far enough.
The poll also found roughly half of voters in support of Trump’s deportations and his handling of the border with Mexico.
Just 36% of voters approved of how ICE was handling its job; 63% disapproved.
A Wall Street Journal poll published last week found 54% saying deploying ICE to U.S. cities has “gone too far” and 52% of voters disapproving of how Trump is handling immigration.
Both polls were conducted after Good, a mother of three, was killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, but before Pretti, an ICU nurse, was killed by federal agents over the weekend.
The New York Times/Siena poll was conducted Jan. 12-17 among 1,625 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.
The Wall Street Journal poll was conducted Jan. 8-13 among 1,500 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.
Three minutes and two seconds before the first shot is fired, Alex Pretti holds a phone before a federal officer on Nicollet Ave in Minnesota. (Obtained by ABC News)
(WASHINGTON) — With just days until a partial government shutdown, the shootings in Minneapolis have left Senate Democrats and Republicans in a standoff over how to advance a package of bills necessary to fund the government.
Democrats have made their position clear: Republicans should agree to separate the bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security from a package that includes five other government funding bills so that changes to the DHS bill aimed at reining in Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be made without affecting the other agencies that still need to be funded.
There were Democratic calls to separate the DHS funding following the deaths of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, and became more urgent after the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was fatally shot by a federal agent over the weekend.
“The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public. People should be safe from abuse by their own government,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Sunday night. “Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is best course of action, and the American people are on our side.”
But for now, Republicans have said they plan to push forward with the six-bill package, keeping DHS funding tied to the other funding bills.
“Government funding expires at the end of the week, and Republicans are determined to not have another government shutdown. We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us,” a GOP aide told ABC News.
There will be a partial government shutdown — one that results in closures for only specific agencies where funding has lapsed — on Friday night going into Saturday morning if Congress does not approve of the remaining funding bills.
Advancing any government funding bills this week will require the support of at least seven Democrats. If the DHS bill is not decoupled form the other bills — which fund things such as the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and more — it seems unlikely that Democrats will furnish the necessary votes to allow any of those bills to proceed.
A Democratic source confirms that Democrats have been in touch with the White House about funding in light of the Minneapolis shootings.
“Republicans and the White House have reached out, but have not yet raised any realistic solutions,” the Senate Democratic leadership aide told ABC News Monday morning.
The House is on recess for the entire week, making modifications to any of the bills ahead of the Friday deadline nearly impossible.
There are a number of agencies and programs that could be affected if Congress does not act by the deadline on Jan. 30. Air traffic controllers and military personnel could go without pay, and the IRS and USPS will also be affected.
The DHS bill that the House approved last week would keep funding for ICE roughly flat from the year prior through September 2026, although ICE is receiving separate funding from the already-passed “Big Beautiful Bill.” It also funds other agencies like the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard.
If lawmakers do cause a shutdown of DHS, it won’t have an immediate impact on ICE operations.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, warned in a statement last week that the “Homeland Security funding bill is more than just ICE.”
“If we allow a lapse in funding, TSA agents will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed, and the U.S. Coast Guard will be adversely affected. All while ICE continues functioning without any change in their operations due to $75 billion it received in the One Big Beautiful Bill. A continuing resolution will jettison the guardrails we have secured while ceding authority to President Trump, Stephen Miller, and Secretary Noem.”
Demonstrators against the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployment march during a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Jaida Grey Eagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — A federal judge heard arguments Monday on the state of Minnesota’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state.
The hearing came two days after the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in what was the second shooting of a U.S. citizen this month by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
An attorney representing the state said in Monday’s hearing that the enforcement action, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” is the nation’s single largest escalation of immigration enforcement, despite Minnesota not having the largest number of non-citizens with criminal convictions.
“Yet the federal government has sent an unprecedented force of thousands of masked agents armed with assault rifles to spread through our region in roving patrols that are racially profiling and inflicting violence on people,” argued state attorney Lindsey Middlecamp.
Brian Carter, another state attorney, argued that there’s a lack of precedent because “the conduct [from the federal government] is so outrageously unlawful we’ve never seen it before.”
“In the 250 years of this nation’s history, we have never seen a federal government attack states based on personal animosity,” Carter argued.
“Well, we’ve seen the federal government take very robust responses to states that aren’t yielding to federal authority,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez interrupted.
“Absolutely, but that’s based on the rule of law,” Carter responded.
When Judge Menendez asked what exactly the state wants her to do, Carter said, “End Operation Metro Surge.”
“The whole Operation Metro Surge is an illegal means to an illegal end, so just ending the whole thing is the appropriate remedy there,” Carter said.
“You understand the federal government has a lot of power in this area, so I’m trying to figure out what principle you’re asking me to apply that will sort out legal federal law enforcement from this 10th Amendment argument,” Judge Menendez said.
An attorney representing the federal government called the state’s request to end Operation Metro Surge “staggering.”
“The effect of their requested relief would be essentially removing the officers whom the president has concluded should be there to enforce federal immigration law,” said attorney Brantley Mayers. “It’s pretty staggering.”
Mayers argued that the requested relief should be subject to “a heightened standard.”
“They’re challenging one law enforcement initiative,” replied Judge Menendez. “They’re not challenging the enforcement of immigration law writ large.”
Mayers said that if the judge issues an order to end Operation Metro Surge, it “would be very difficult to implement.”
“If it’s difficult to implement, does that mean I can do nothing?” Judge Menendez asked.
Mayers responded by saying such an order would create a “very difficult separation of powers problem.”
The judge also said she is “grappling” with the alleged illegalities identified by the state, pointing to other lawsuits filed in Minnesota.
“Isn’t the answer to the flood of illegality to fight each illegal act?” Judge Menendez asked, noting that the conduct of federal agents is already the subject of separate litigation.
Menendez also questioned how she should draw the line between legitimate federal pressure and illegal coercion.
“How do I decide when a law enforcement response crosses the line from a legitimate response to one that violates the 10th Amendment?” she asked.
Carter argued that there are “4,000 masked, armed federal agents engaged in systemic, pervasive, and illegal violent behavior” that is “so far out on the other side of the line.”
“We’ve got retaliation, we’ve got racial profiling, we’ve got warrantless entries into homes,” Carter said.
Middlecamp said that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s letter to Gov. Tim Walz Saturday in which she sought information about the state’s voter rolls and records on Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs as a condition for ICE agents pulling back on enforcement, “can only be described as a ransom note.”
“President Trump himself took to social media last night to reaffirm those very purposes. Their message is clear,” Middlecamp said. “Minnesota can either change its laws and policies or suffer an invasion of masked armed forces. This is precisely the type of coercion and commandeering that violates the 10th Amendment.”
Middlecamp argued there has been “excessive force and unsupported detentions and arrests of legal observers” and said that DHS agents have been collecting photos and license plates of observers so they can confront them.
“Even though they are not charged with a crime or reasonably suspected of a crime, there has been indiscriminate use of chemical irritants,” she said.
The attorney argued that Operation Metro Surge is having “clear impacts on the sovereign interest to create and protect public safety, public health, and public education.”
Sara Lathrop, an attorney for the city of Minneapolis, said the weekend’s shooting “demonstrated in a terrifying way that the current situation is absolutely untenable.”
“The relief we need needs to be ordered now to take down the temperature,” Lathrop said.
In response, Judge Menendez said that “not all crises have a fix from a district court injunction.”
Carter, the state attorney, wrapped up arguments by saying the state came to the court to “protect its sovereignty.”
“The state of Minnesota comes here today to protect its sovereignty, to stop the harm to its sovereign rights under the Constitution that sets states up as independent sovereigns,” Carter said. “If we can’t come to the court and vindicate those rights, where else does a state go?”
Judge Menendez did not issue an order immediately following the hearing.
“I do not intend in any way for the depth of my analysis or whatever time I take to write to be seen as a belief that this is unimportant,” she said. “It’s because it’s extremely important that I’m doing everything I can to get it right,” the judge said.
(BANGOR, Maine) — A private jet carrying eight people crashed while taking off from Bangor International Airport in Maine during the massive winter storm, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Preliminary information from the FAA said there was one survivor. Authorities have not disclosed the conditions of others on board.
The FAA said the Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed around 7:45 p.m. Sunday as the deadly storm slammed the Northeast.
At the time of the crash, the Bangor International Airport was open, with deicing operations underway and both commercial and private planes landing and departing, Bangor International Airport Director Jose Saavedra said on Monday.
First responders were at the scene of the crash within a minute, Saavedra said.
“The snowstorm started taking effect into the vicinity right around that time,” he said.
“This is normal for us to deal with weather events, and we had crews on site to address the weather event,” he said.
The airport will be closed for at least 24 hours as airport officials wait for National Transportation Safety Board investigators to arrive, Saavedra said.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on January 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is dispatching his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota amid outrage over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Trump, in another social media post, wrote Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, called him to “request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”
Trump said that he would have Homan call Walz and that Walz was “happy” that Homan was going to Minnesota.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who will hold a press briefing on Monday afternoon, said Homan “will be managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
The development comes after Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, notably declined to say whether he thought the agent who killed Pretti acted appropriately.
“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the WSJ.
By putting Homan in charge of ICE operations in Minneapolis, Trump is bypassing the normal chain of command — where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino have been overseeing ICE operations. Trump said Homan would be reporting directly to him.
Trump’s less definitive comments on the shooting were in sharp contrast with those of Noem, Bovino and FBI Director Kash Patel, who have defended the agents’ actions.
Trump administration officials said Pretti “brandished” a gun and multiple magazines with the intent to inflict harm on officers — a “massacre” Bovino claimed. Noem and others have labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” without citing any evidence.
State and local officials said Pretti was lawfully carrying a gun, with a concealed carry permit, and video reviewed and verified by ABC News does not appear to show that Pretti drew his gun on the agents and was holding up a cell phone — not a gun — to record agents during the incident.
Trump, like Noem, Bovino and Patel, criticized Pretti for carrying a weapon at a protest.
“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump told the WSJ. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
The administration is facing criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans for blaming the victim of the shooting, with some Republican lawmakers calling for an independent investigation into what happened. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said the credibility of ICE and DHS was “at stake” and there “must be a full joint federal and state investigation.” Moderate Democratic Sen. Jackie Rosen has called for Noem’s impeachment. ABC News has reached out to DHS and the White House for comment on impeachment calls against Noem.
The National Rifle Association issued a rare statement saying “responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
Noem, responding to Trump’s announcement that Homan will soon be in Minnesota, said it was “good news for peace, safety, and accountability in Minneapolis.”
“I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team — his experience and insight will help us in our wide-scale fraud investigations, which have robbed Americans, and will help us to remove even more public safety threats and violent criminal illegal aliens off the of streets of Minneapolis. We continue to call on the leadership in Minnesota to allow for state and local partnership in our public safety mission,” Noem posted on X.
Noem will “continue to lead the Department of Homeland Security with the full trust and confidence of the President,” according to a White House official.
“Tom Homan is uniquely positioned to drop everything and focus solely on Minnesota to solve the problems that have been created by a lack of cooperation from state and local officials,” the White House official added.
Trump, in his interview with the WSJ, also notably suggested the possibility of pulling federal agents out of Minnesota.
“At some point we will leave,” Trump said, though he didn’t provide a specific timeline. “We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job.”
Striking Kaiser Permanente workers hold signs as they march in front of the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on October 14, 2025 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Tens of thousands of nurses and health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities across California and Hawaii went on strike on Monday morning.
More than 31,000 workers across at least two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics run by the non-profit health care system walked off the job at 7 a.m. PT, marking the largest strike of health care professionals so far this year.
The striking workers, who are members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), said they are fighting for safe staffing levels and fair wages and compensation.
UNAC/UHCP said many Kaiser facilities are currently experiencing staffing shortages, which is leading to delays in care and a risk of errors, as well as burnout and turnover.
The union also states that Kaiser is seeking wage cuts and a reduction in benefits and retirement, including active medical coverage and pension benefits.
“Kaiser’s own communications to employees reveal exactly why we are striking,” Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said in a statement. “Instead of addressing unsafe staffing and patient care concerns, Kaiser is issuing messages that pressure workers not to strike, exaggerate the risks of participation, and encourage employees to report one another. That is intimidation.”
The union argues that Kaiser is engaging in unfair labor practices by stalling negotiations and attempting to bypass “the established national bargaining process.”
Both sides have been negotiation since May but are currently in a stalemate. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Kaiser of walking away from the bargaining table in December.
Additionally, UNAC/UHCP released a report earlier this month, accusing Kaiser of earning a net income and surplus above what is traditional for a non-profit health care system.
The report also criticized Kaiser for allegedly investing in private prisons and ICE detention centers, which the union claims raises “urgent ethical questions.”
“Kaiser isn’t strapped for resources. It’s making choices — and those choices are hurting people. It’s time for accountability,” Morales said in a statement at the time.
In a statement, Kaiser referred to the strike as “unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the table” and said the strike has occurred despite a recent agreement to return to local bargaining.
Kaiser said that as health care costs rise, and many Americans risk losing access to health insurance, it is committed to delivering fair and competitive pay for its staff while protecting affordability for patients.
“Despite the union’s claims, this strike is about wages,” the statement read, in part. “The strike is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients — the very people we areall here to serve.”
The health care system said that all of its hospitals and nearly all of its medical offices will remain open during the strike and that contingency plans have been put in place to ease disruptions.
Kaiser said that some in-person appointments may need to be virtual instead and some appointments, elective surgeries and procedures may need to be rescheduled.
This is not the first time Kaiser workers have gone on strike. In October, thousands of workers participated in a five-day strike across California and Hawaii to demand safer staffing and fair compensation.
Kaiser’s strike comes amid the largest nursing strike in New York City history with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job at five hospitals across the city.
The strike, which began two weeks ago, has shown some signs of progress with the New York State Nurses Association — the union representing the workers — saying at least two hospitals have agreed on maintaining health benefits for nurses.
However, nurses have indicated that the strike will continue until at least tentative contract agreements are reached.
