After 43 days on strike, nurses have reached a new tentative agreement with Providence Oregon.

The nurses, represented by the Oregon Nurses’ Association, have been on strike indefinitely at all eight of Providence’s hospitals in the state.

This is the second attempt to bring the strike to an end. Earlier this month, nurses voted to reject a deal reached between Providence and their union. A key sticking point was retroactive pay for the months that nurses worked without a contract.

Nurses said they were owed retroactive pay raises after negotiations dragged on long past their contracts’ expiration dates. The issue of back pay was reportedly rated as a top priority in surveys conducted by the nurses’ union after the failed vote.

The new deal, announced Friday, includes some retroactive pay for nurses with contracts that expired before December 2024, according to a union press release. The back pay will cover 75% of all hours nurses worked last year.

The tentative agreement also includes a larger wage increase, ranging from 20% to 42% over the three-year contract. Nurses would get an immediate 16% to 22% raise upon ratification, according to the union.

Another sticking point has been the implementation of Oregon’s nurse staffing law, which mandates minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. Nurses have argued that Providence has been using those minimums to justify lower staffing than is safe in some scenarios, such as when a nurse is caring for a sicker-than-usual patient.

According to the union’s press release, the new tentative agreement would mean patient acuity would be factored into Providence’s staffing plans.

Nurses had also been pushing to align their contracts’ expiration dates across hospitals. That would increase the power of the union to strike and push for systemic changes.

The tentative agreement does not fully accomplish that goal, according to a union spokesperson. But it brings the nurses a step closer to it, aligning Providence Milwaukie’s contract expiration date with those at Providence St. Vincent, Providence Willamette Falls and Providence Newberg.

In a statement, Providence officials said the deal was crafted during intensive bargaining over the past three days. Nurses will vote on the new deal over the weekend. If approved, they would return to work on February 23.

This story may be updated.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/21/providence-nurse-strike-union-oregon-nurses-association-hospitals-health-care/