started on January 10has come to an end.
Monday evening, eight RN talk groups. voted overwhelmingly to ratify their contracts and end the strike, which was believed to be the largest involving health care workers and the first involving doctors in the state's history, according to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), which represented the workers.
Among the key provisions of the contracts were that nurses would receive pay increases ranging from 20% to 42% over the life of the contract, with immediate increases of 16% to 22% upon ratification, and that patient acuity would be factored into staffing plans.
“As nurses, we believe these contracts will lead to greater recruitment and retention of frontline nurses as wages become more consistent with other health systems and we have staffing language that will allow us to spend more time with the patients who need the most care,” said Virginia Smith, a nurse from Providence-Willamette Falls in Oregon City who was ONA's bargaining unit leader, in a statement.
In emailed comments, the health system said that “Providence Oregon is pleased that union-represented nurses at all eight Oregon hospitals voted to approve new contracts and end their strikes. We recognize the challenges we have faced over the past 6 weeks and are proud of these agreements, which address the issues that the union negotiating teams identified as priorities during negotiations.”
“We are grateful to the negotiating teams from Providence Ministries and the union for working together to find common ground,” the health system added. “We look forward to working together to find sustainable solutions to Oregon’s future health care needs.”
The strike was ended not without problems.
Earlier this month, hospitalists at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland voted unanimously for their own contract. However, they also expressed solidarity with colleagues who rejected either the last offer from Providence or preliminary agreement with the healthcare system.
“While there is always more change worth advocating for, this contract is a huge step in the right direction and lays an excellent foundation for ensuring continued quality care for our community and quality of life for our members,” Jahnavi Chandrashekar, MD, an internist at Providence St. Vincent and a member of the negotiating team, said at the time. “This means that when we return to work, we will have a safer staff, we will be able to better recruit and retain hospitalists, and we will be able to spend more time with our patients. But for now, we will continue to hold the picket line until the nurses who work alongside us also get the contract they deserve.”
The strike had attracted the attention of state leaders.
In late January, ONA and Providence Oregon issued a joint statement noting that, at the request of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), they “agreed to have representatives from both sides resume intensive in-person mediation… in an attempt to end this strike.”
“Both sides are working hard to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible and get people back to work,” the statement said.
The group of striking health workers included mainly nurses, but also doctors, nurse practitioners, junior doctors and nurse-midwives.
“We will be here as long as necessary,” said Jennifer Lincoln, MD, an OB-GYN in Providence St. Vincent. MedPage today on the first day of the strike.
“Doctors, nurses, all of us coming together on this scale is unprecedented,” Lincoln said. “We're taking back the power to do what's best for patients. Our voices matter.”
At the time, she also addressed the significance of Oregon's first-ever doctors' strike, noting that “we must keep our oath to care for our patients and do no harm first.”
