(KRON) -- Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees are preparing to strike Monday, including more than 30,000 members of the United Nurses Associations of California and the Union of Health Care Professionals. The strike is set to begin at 7 a.m. amid ongoing contract negotiations that have been underway since May. The strike is taking place at Santa Clara Medical Center, where nurses and health care professionals are demanding fair wages and highlighting staffing shortages that lead to increased workloads and diminished quality of care. These concerns have been exacerbated by claims that Kaiser Permanente is attempting to reduce retirement benefits. San Francisco Zoo ‘swamped’ with shirt orders after visit from K-pop group Twice Kaiser Permanente asserts that its employees earn, on average, about 16% more than those at other health care organizations. To further address compensation, Kaiser is offering wage increases totaling more than 20% throughout the contract period, including a 16% increase in the first two years and additional step increases that could bring the total to approximately 30%. A spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente stated, "Employees deserve their raises and patients deserve our full attention, not prolonged disputes." The ongoing contract dispute has seen both sides engaged in negotiations for several months, with nurses expressing concern that the current situation is leading to burnout and turnover among staff, resulting in delays in care for patients. Union leaders are pressuring Kaiser to address these staffing challenges alongside wage issues. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published. ...read more read less