The deal reached with the health care system features large wage increases and retroactive bonuses.
The largest health care strike in Oregon history ended Monday with Providence employees agreeing to a new contract that provides significant wage increases.
Nearly 5,000 employees — nurses as well as midwives, technicians and other staff — stayed off the job beginning Jan. 10 to protest low wages and high patient counts. In another first, they were joined on the picket line by approximately 150 physicians.
ONA and the Catholic not-for-profit health system began the latest round of negotiation more than a year ago. Providence nurses struck for three days in June before returning without a long-term resolution.
In December, the union voted to authorize an open-ended strike. Three weeks into the strike, the parties returned to the bargaining table at the request of Gov. Tina Kotek. Earlier this month, Providence agreed to terms with striking workers but that deal was not supported by the individual hospital units for not addressing concerns with wages and patients.
The latest deal includes raises that apply retroactively for nurses whose contracts expired before December, according to The Oregonian. Under the deal, nurses at Providence Portland and Seaside will get a ratification bonus of $1,750.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, ONA executive director Anne Tan Piazza said more than 94% of ONA’s members at all eight Providence bargaining units in Oregon ended the strike by approving the latest contract.
“Today we are proud to announce that we have secured a major contract that marks a pivotal moment in our fight for a just and equitable health care system that focuses on patient care,” she said. “These contracts are a testament to the hard work, dedication and perseverance of our members who stood on the picket line for 46 days in the cold and wet, advocating for patient care and calling for fundamental change to our health care system in Oregon.”
Throughout the strike, Providence employees picketed outside the eight Providence hospitals in Oregon: two in Portland as well as in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Oregon City and Seaside.
Striking workers from Providence’s six women’s clinics joined the strike. Providence closed four of those clinics temporarily in response to diminished staffing. Some pregnant patients were transferred to the care of other physicians.
A statement released by a Providence spokesman Monday night states the health system looks forward to finding sustainable solutions to Oregon’s future healthcare needs.
“We are grateful to the bargaining teams from Providence ministries and the union for their collaborative work on finding common ground,” writes Providence spokesperson Gary Walker. “Providence Oregon is pleased that union-represented RNs at all eight Oregon hospitals voted to approve new contracts and end their strikes. We recognize the challenges faced over the past six weeks and are proud of these agreements that address issues the union bargaining teams identified as priorities during negotiations.”
According to ONA, nurses will receive wage increases of 20% to 42% over the life of the contract. Nurses received immediate 16% to22% raises upon ratification. Workloads will now better account for patient acuity and quality of patient care.
The contract also includes retroactive pay and bonuses. Nurses will now be paid for every missed meal and break. Contracts for the respective bargaining units now expire within three months of each other, which is intended to strengthen the union’s “collective voice,” according to ONA.
Providence has hired temporary nurses to fill in throughout the strike. ONA nurses will return to work starting Wednesday night.
“This is a transformative victory, not just for Providence nurses but for healthcare workers the length and breadth of this country,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents the physicians in the strike. “These dedicated and determined frontline caregivers stood up for fair wages, safer staffing, and better care for their patients — and this contract proves that when we unite and fight, we raise standards for everyone.”
The strike inspired a bill now in committee at the statehouse that would provide striking workers with unemployment benefits. Senate Bill 916 was written at the request of the AFL-CIO of Oregon.
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