Kaiser Permanente and healthcare workers head for labor clash as strike deadline looms

Kaiser Permanente appeared headed for a labor clash with 75,000 of its healthcare workers as union leaders said contract talks had stalled on Tuesday, leaving the two sides hours away from a threatened three-day strike in several states. The union has set a deadline of 6 a.m. PDT (1300 GMT) Wednesday to reach a tentative deal on a new labor pact covering nurses, medical technicians and support staff in hundreds of hospitals across California, Oregon, Washington state, Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Union officials said the planned strike against Kaiser, one of the nation's leading not-for-profit healthcare networks and managed-care organizations, would mark the largest strike ever in the U.S. medical industry.