Thousands of unionized nurses and health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente locations in California and Hawaii will return to work beginning Tuesday after a nearly four-week strike, union officials announced Monday — ending a labor dispute that disrupted services at facilities serving Santee and East County residents.

Officials with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) said there had been "significant movement at the bargaining table" over the past 48 hours, prompting the union to call an end to the strike effective 7 a.m. Tuesday. All picketing activity was also halted Monday as both parties work to finalize return-to-work agreements.

The strike began Jan. 26 and involved approximately 31,000 UNAC/UHCP members, including registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians, and other specialty health care professionals. Union officials described it as the "largest open-ended strike of registered nurses and health care professionals in United States history."

Kaiser Permanente said it had proposed 21.5% wage increases, which it called "our strongest national bargaining offer ever," while the union had sought raises of up to 63% over four years. According to Kaiser, the union accepted its offer, which "moves us closer to a contract agreement." The company said employees would be rescheduled over the coming days "in an orderly way that protects patient safety and minimizes any disruption."

No final contract had been announced as of Monday. For Kaiser patients in Santee and East County, the return to work marks the end of weeks of disrupted services and a step toward resumed regular care at local facilities.