Nurses at Providence St. Vincent hospital shot down management’s latest contract offer, moving nearly 1,600 workers closer to a potential strike.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) in early June announced its bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with management. Nurses voted on the proposal from June 20 to 23. When ballots were counted, workers had voted down the agreement by a more than 4-1 margin, said ONA member Jessica Lobell, a registered nurse and vice president of the St. Vincent bargaining team, during a June 23 press conference. The contract vote had about 80% turnout, ONA reported.
“Put simply, hundreds of experienced frontline ONA nurses looked at Providence’s offer and said, ‘It’s not good enough,’” Lobell said.
The agreement included a 10% raise upon ratification, an additional 3% in January 2023 and 1% in July 2023, for a total 14% over two years. It also provided a $2,000 ratification bonus and a $1,500 bonus at the beginning of 2023.
Virginia Smith, a nurse and member of the bargaining team at Providence Willamette Falls, said this is the first time ONA nurses have ever rejected a tentative agreement during Providence negotiations.
St. Vincent nurses previously voted to authorize a strike, as did workers at Providence locations in Milwaukie and Oregon City. ONA set July 11 as a tentative strike date.
