Members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals in Oregon and Southwest Washington have ratified a new labor contract with Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
Ninety percent of voters approved the deal, which covers more than 4,500 workers, according to Portland, Ore.-based NBC affiliate KGW.
The agreement includes 21.5% in across-the-board wage increases, with some workers seeing a total increase of 30% over the life of the contract, the union said, according to KGW.
The deal also includes language and protections around AI and professional development, increased tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000 annually over the life of the contract ($3,500 in 2026), and a fully funded Labor Management Partnership Trust, according to the union.
Additionally, the contract preserves healthcare and retirement benefits, according to the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and a report from the Portland Business Journal.
The ratification vote in the Northwest comes as members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals have also ratified labor contracts covering about 31,000 registered nurses and healthcare professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California and Hawaii.
“Through our unity on the job and the incredible support we received from patients, community allies, and union siblings across the labor movement we were able to win a contract that builds power for the future,” OFNHP President Sarina Roher, RN, said in a statement shared with KGW.
The agreement follows a broader labor push that included a five-day strike in October involving more than 40,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers nationwide, including members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and other unions in the Alliance of Health Care Unions.
A Kaiser spokesperson told Becker’s the health system will send a statement once all union agreements are in place. The Alliance of Health Care Unions includes roughly two dozen local unions representing tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees.
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