This article has been updated with additional reporting.
On the brink of losing their health care coverage, nurses at Providence Health's eight hospitals in Oregon approved contract terms negotiated by their union, ending the state's largest-ever health care strike.
Earlier in February, the nurses resoundingly rejected earlier terms negotiated by the Oregon Nurses Association following talks instigated by Gov. Tina Kotek. But on Friday, the nurses and Providence announced a new tentative deal, sparking vigorous debate among nurses — including some who said the revised terms still weren't good enough.
Votes were cast through 4pm Monday. After the votes were counted, nurses in all eight workplaces, representing more than 4,000 nurses in all, had approved the new terms. That means the nurses can return to work Wednesday, Feb. 26, on the night shift.
The tentative agreements include wage increases ranging from 20% to 42% with immediate raises of up to 22% upon their approval and back pay, according to the union. Additionally, union representatives said, patient acuity will be considered as part of staffing plans, nurses will have guaranteed breaks and Providence will create a workgroup to evaluate health benefits.
News of the outcome spread rapidly among nurses, with some expressing mixed feelings. Later in the evening the union issued a statement calling the contract “historic.”
The announcement included a statement from Virginia Smith an RN at Providence Willamette Falls and a leader of the union's bargaining unit: “As RNs, we believe that these contracts will lead to greater recruitment and retention of frontline nurses as wages become more aligned with other health systems, and we have staffing language that will allow us to spend more time with the patients that need the most care.”
Providence issued its own version, saying it was pleased and expressing gratitude to the union: “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.”
Roughly 5,000 nurses and allied health care workers launched the open-ended strike on Jan. 10 over pay and working conditions. As the strike continued with no end in sight, Gov. Tina Kotek and other elected officials urged both sides to come to a resolution. Federal mediators facilitated negotiations between each side.
Striking nurses had been working without pay and Providence warned that they would lose their health insurance if they do not return to work by Feb. 28.
The strike included hospital doctors at Providence St. Vincent, who reached an agreement earlier this month. Employees of the Portland Women's Clinic also reached agreement.
Deals spark mixed feelings, debate
Despite the relief many felt that the strike was over, some nurses said that the raises were not much different than Providence had offered before the strike, and questioned whether some of the touted benefits were as significant as they were made to be. And caregivers who'd gone without a contract, some for a year or more, did not receive full retroactive pay, or “retro,” as the union had sought.
A writer on one socialist website trashed the recommended deal as a betrayal, and one anonymous commenter on Reddit predicted an exodus of nurses from Providence for higher-paying hospitals.
Rich Botterill, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland who also is a member of the union negotiating team, rejected the criticisms. But he conceded that in the aftermath, “it's a bunch of mixed emotions.”
“We're disappointed that we didn't get full retro for everyone,” he added, but he noted the contracts won about 75% of that amount — well over where Providence had started.
He said the union had made strides in other areas as well: “We're moving in the right direction ... Still, we have the most expensive and the least comprehensive healthcare, probably, of any healthcare system in the state.”
He said he was disappointed in Providence's handling of the negotiations: “All of this could have happened before the end of last year, and there wouldn't have been [a] need for any kind of a strike.”
Botterill was echoed by Leesha Vaden, who'd voted no on the first tentative agreement, but voted for this one. She said the vote was draining.
“I'm glad that we have a few days ... to let the dust settle [and] regroup, and seek to come back unified,” she said, adding that she's “looking forward to getting back in there and being with our team and caring for our patients.”
Union negotiators had strongly recommended that nurses approve their respective tentative agreements. However, Providence Medford’s bargaining team was neutral on their tentative agreement.
