Kaiser Permanente says talks break off with unions for 75,000 striking workers

By Ahmed Aboulenein and Steve Gorman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Marathon contract talks between Kaiser Permanente and union negotiators for 75,000 striking medical workers broke off without a settlement on Wednesday, the company said, hours after the largest such walkout ever in the U.S. healthcare sector began.

Kaiser said in a statement released late in the day that the company would "coordinate" with union leaders to "reconvene bargaining as soon as possible." There was no immediate word from the healthcare workers' representatives.

"After six months of bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, including a marathon effort that went through last night and into today, our bargaining sessions unfortunately ended without a settlement," Kaiser said.

Details of what led to negotiations to bog down were not disclosed. But higher pay and increased hiring to address what union officials called crisis-level staffing shortages topped the workers' list of demands.

Word of the stalemate came roughly 10 hours into a planned three-day strike that began at 6 a.m. (1300 GMT) Wednesday, the deadline union leaders had set for achieving an agreement that would have averted a walkout.

Those taking to picket lines were nurses, medical technicians and other support staff at dozens of Kaiser hospitals and clinics in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia and the District Columbia. Kaiser said its hospitals and emergency departments remained open, staffed by doctors, managers and "contingency workers."

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; additional reporting by Bhanvi Satija; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Shri Navaratnam)