Nurses at Providence Medford have until Saturday to finish voting on the proposed deal

By Amelia Templeton, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Nurses at seven Providence hospitals across the state have voted to reject a tentative agreement that would have ended a nearly month-long strike.

The Oregon Nurses Association said the proposed deal failed to “adequately address the underlying systemic issues that have plagued Providence hospitals for years.”

According to ONA, 83% of members from all seven bargaining units voted to reject the agreement.

“ONA frontline nurses have spoken — with a unified voice — and it is clear they are willing to sacrifice more to get the contract they deserve,” read a statement from the ONA. “Nurses know Providence can do better and they are committed to continuing this strike until Providence responds to their demands.

In a statement Friday evening, Providence officials said they are disappointed in the results.

“Providence will explore next steps for these bargaining units with federal mediators and ONA,” read the statement.

The nurses union announced it had reached a tentative deal with Providence late Tuesday night, after being urged back to the bargaining table by Gov. Tina Kotek.

The deal included pay increases, a bonus to make up for some of the lost work during the strike, a one-hour pay penalty for nurses if they work through a break or lunch period, and the establishment of a workgroup to look at health insurance provided to the nurses at Providence’s hospitals, according to the nurses’ union. It also enshrines language from a state law mandating nurse-to-patient ratios into worker contracts.

But union officials said they were forced to compromise on key issues. The deal did not include retroactive pay for the time nurses spent working without a contract. It also left current contract expiration dates unchanged — the union had attempted to align negotiations for all bargaining units to make them simultaneous.

Ahead of the vote, nurses opposed to the deal said the contract’s language on staffing ratios did not do enough to clarify that patient acuity — a measure of how sick a patient is and how much care they need — should be factored into the maximum number of patients assigned to an individual nurse.

Nurses at Providence Medford, as well as a group of 70 doctors and nurse practitioners at St. Vincent’s, have until Saturday to finish voting on their proposed deals.

Staff at Providence’s women’s clinics in the Portland metro area returned to work Thursday after accepting the hospital system’s offer earlier in the week.

OPB health reporter Amelia Templeton has reported for OPB since 2010. This article first appeared on opb.org.