Advanced practice providers represented by the Oregon Nurses Association have reached a second tentative agreement with Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health, ending their four-week strike.
Here are six things to know:
1. The 135 employees — including nurse practitioners, physician associates and clinical nurse specialists — had been on strike at Legacy Emanuel and Legacy Good Samaritan medical centers in Portland since Dec. 2, according to a Dec. 30 news release from the Oregon Nurses Association.
2. The hospital and union reached their first tentative agreement Dec. 23, which voting members rejected due to uncompetitive wages and what they described as a “lack of meaningful movement at the bargaining table since the strike began.”
3. The second tentative agreement “represents a major shift by Legacy Health,” the union said. It includes pay raises, a clarified extra shift pay provision and the creation of a labor-management committee to address workplace issues.
4. After more than 30 bargaining and mediation sessions over 20 months, the strike ended Dec. 30, according to a Legacy Health statement shared with Becker’s on Dec. 31. The system expects to know the vote result by Jan. 3, and employees will return to work no later than Jan. 4.
5. The union and Legacy agreed to a 90-day cooling-off period, during which bargaining will continue but another strike cannot take place.
6. There will be no lapse in benefits coverage, the system said. Legacy previously told striking workers it would stop subsidizing their health benefits Jan. 1. The system said the decision aligned with its established policies, while the union called it a “familiar strike-busting tactic.”
