Nurses at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles appear to have resolved their labor dispute with management.
They've reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, the Oregon Nurses Association announced. Its members will vote on the deal next week.
“We’re proud we’ve reached a fair agreement that will improve health care throughout the hospital and address some of our community’s biggest health care needs,” said Aliesha Pfeifer, a nurse and association member. “We’re going to continue doing everything we can to make sure everyone in our community has access to affordable, high-quality health care.”
The nurses have been working without a contract through late June.
The association said the contract would:
- Increase patient safety through new training and mentorship programs
- Improve patient care by limiting the use of variable shifts, which require nurses to switch regularly between night and day shifts, increasing the risk of mistakes and injuries
- Help address health care access and inequality issues by encouraging more nurses to become certified medical interpreters
- Create a better work-life balance through other scheduling improvements
- Offer a more competitive wage scale by slowly increasing nurses' wages by 6.5 percent over the next three years and reverse cuts to part-time positions
The nurses will vote on the deal next week. If approved, it would take effect immediately.
