Historic Strike Involving Thousands of Oregon Healthcare Workers Comes to an End

began Jan. 10, has travel to an end.

Late Monday, 8 RN bargaining units voted overwhelmingly to ratify their contracts and extremity the strike, which was believed to beryllium the largest involving healthcare workers, and the archetypal involving physicians, successful the state's history, according to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), which represented the workers.

Among the cardinal provisions successful the contracts were that nurses volition person wage increases ranging from 20% to 42% implicit the beingness of the contract, with an contiguous 16% to 22% rise upon ratification, and that diligent acuity volition beryllium factored into staffing plans.

"As RNs, we judge that these contracts volition pb to greater recruitment and retention of frontline nurses arsenic wages go much aligned with different wellness systems, and we person staffing connection that volition let america to walk much clip with the patients that request the astir care," said Virginia Smith, RN, of Providence Willamette Falls successful Oregon City, who was the person of the ONA bargaining unit, successful a statement.

In emailed remarks, the wellness strategy noted that "Providence Oregon is pleased that union-represented RNs astatine each 8 Oregon hospitals voted to o.k. caller contracts and extremity their strikes. We admit the challenges faced implicit the past 6 weeks and are arrogant of these agreements that code issues the national bargaining teams identified arsenic priorities during negotiations."

"We are grateful to the bargaining teams from Providence ministries and the national for their collaborative enactment connected uncovering communal ground," the wellness strategy added. "We look guardant to moving successful practice to find sustainable solutions to Oregon's aboriginal healthcare needs."

Achieving an extremity to the onslaught was not without challenges.

Earlier this month, hospitalists astatine Providence St. Vincent Medical Center successful Portland voted unanimously successful favour of their ain contract. However, they besides expressed their solidarity with colleagues, who rejected either the latest connection from Providence oregon a tentative statement with the wellness system.

"While determination is ever much alteration to advocator for, this declaration is simply a immense measurement successful the close absorption and lays a large instauration to physique upon to guarantee continued prime attraction for our assemblage and prime of beingness for our members," Jahnavi Chandrashekar, MD, an internist astatine Providence St. Vincent and subordinate of the bargaining team, said astatine the time. "It means that erstwhile we spell backmost to work, we volition person safer staffing, beryllium capable to amended enlistee and clasp hospitalists, and tin walk much clip with our patients. But for now, we volition proceed to clasp the picket enactment until the nurses who enactment beside america besides get the declaration they deserve."

The onslaught had garnered the attraction of authorities leaders.

In precocious January, the ONA and Providence Oregon issued a associated statement, noting that astatine the petition of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), they "have agreed to person representatives from some sides re-engage successful intensive, in-person mediation ... successful an effort to extremity this strike."

"Both sides are engaging successful each effort to get this quality resolved arsenic expeditiously arsenic imaginable and get radical backmost to work," the connection added.

The radical of healthcare workers connected onslaught included mostly nurses, but besides physicians, caregiver practitioners, doc associates, and caregiver midwives.

"We'll beryllium retired present arsenic agelong arsenic it takes," Jennifer Lincoln, MD, an ob/gyn astatine Providence St. Vincent told MedPage Today connected the archetypal time of the strike.

"Doctors, nurses, each of america agreed astatine this standard is unprecedented," Lincoln said. "It's america taking our powerfulness backmost truthful that we tin bash what's champion for the patients. Our voices matter."

At the time, she besides addressed the value of physicians striking for the archetypal clip successful Oregon's history, noting that "we person to uphold our oath of taking attraction of our patients, and archetypal doing nary harm."