OHSU and nurses reach tentative agreement on new contract, averting strike

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ/KGW) — Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the union that represents nearly 3,200 nurses employed there said they reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract on Monday afternoon, avoiding a strike nurses had voted to authorize last week, KGW reported.

The negotiations lasted 10 months, including nearly 60 hours of bargaining over the past five days, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) and OHSU said in a joint release Tuesday morning.

"This is a huge accomplishment, and we appreciate the time and efforts of everyone involved, including the nearly 3,200 nurses who are the heart of this contract," the two sides said in a shared statement.

Member discussion about the tentative agreement will begin Friday and a vote to ratify it will take place from Oct. 1-5, ONA said. If approved, the new contract will run through June 30, 2026.

In a news release, ONA said the new deal includes "historic" wage increases, safe staffing standards, paid training, workplace safety improvements, and changes to lockdown procedures, among other provisions.

Corinn Joseph, a registered nurse at OHSU and bargaining team member for ONA, said they negotiated this new contract not only for themselves but to set a standard for hospitals everywhere.

"Across the nation, and the world, nursing has become not only a risk to our mental health but our physical safety," Joseph said. "We set out with the intention to build a better contract, one that would change standards. We did this not only for our nurses, but to help raise the bar for hospitals everywhere."

Here's a list of key provisions in the tentative agreement, as provided by ONA:

• Minimum safe staffing standards guaranteed by June 1, 2024, including a specific plan for the emergency department levels, and 1:3 acute care (mixed IMC) ratios written into the contract, and a guarantee to follow professional standards that set ratios and levels for all other areas.
• Wage increases of 15%, 6%, and 6% each year as well as a new 30-step wage scale. The average base wage will increase 37% and will average to a $20.67/hour increase over three years.
• Major expansion of the Code Green team that includes social workers trained in de-escalation for the Marquam Hill campus and newly provided to the Waterfront campus.
• Paid training for trauma-informed care and in-person de-escalation training, including advanced physical skills, crisis intervention and assault prevention.
• 24/7 coverage of metal detector screenings and department of public safety (DPS) presence in emergency departments.
• Major improvements to workplace safety at OHSU, including 50% of positions for nurses and AFSCME members on a task force to allocate $10 million in funds. The AFSCME is the union that represents many of the other non-nurse frontline health care workers at OHSU.
• A commitment to immediately institute urgent changes to lockdown procedures, securing entrances and other workplace violence reduction.
• The right to bargain the impacts of a merger with Legacy Health system.
• Full retro pay.