In Portland, Oregon, the long-standing strike involving nurses at eight hospitals under the Providence network has finally concluded. After over six weeks of negotiation obstacles, a new agreement was reached on Monday, heralded as the largest healthcare strike in Oregon’s history by the state nurses union.
Providence and the Oregon Nurses Association union announced they had reached a resolution after a tentative agreement was finalized last week, following the nurses’ refusal of an earlier proposal. Under the new contract, nurses whose previous contracts expired before December 2024 will receive more substantial retroactive pay.
The strike, initiated on January 10, involved roughly 5,000 participants – the majority being nurses along with several doctors from a Portland hospital and six women’s health clinics. This significant demonstration came after over a year of stalled negotiations concerning critical issues like wages, benefits, and staffing levels.
Earlier in the month, doctors working at Providence St. Vincent in Portland, as well as those at the women’s health clinics, had already agreed to their new contract terms. The revised agreement grants hospital nurses immediate pay raises of up to 22%, with further increases scheduled throughout the duration of the contract.
Additional benefits, according to union representatives, include penalty pay equivalent to one hour of wages for each missed meal or rest break. Additionally, patient acuity will now be integrated into staffing plans, which is expected to lead to improvements in nurse workloads.
Both Providence and the Oregon Nurses Association conveyed positive sentiments toward the newly reached agreement in statements released on Monday. The union announced that hospital nurses are slated to resume their duties starting with the night shift on Wednesday.
