Providence Hood River nurses began their open-ended strike on Friday, Jan. 10. According to ONA Hood River’s bargaining chair, Brittany Foss, said the nurses are prepared to strike until Providence returns to the bargaining table.
Providence Hood River nurses began their open-ended strike on Friday, Jan. 10. According to ONA Hood River’s bargaining chair, Brittany Foss, said the nurses are prepared to strike until Providence returns to the bargaining table.
HOOD RIVER — Last week the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) and Providence Medical Group announced they had reached a tentative deal. That contract was voted on by nurses at the eight Providence locations and seven of them, including Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, rejected the proposals. Hospitalists at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center was the lone location that approved the proposal, and the over 70 members did so unanimously.
Across the seven other bargaining units, the ONA reported 92% voter turnout with 83% of the voters casting ‘no’ votes.
On Feb. 7, the ONA issued a statement that read in part: “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.”
It continued to say the latest contract proposals “do not go far enough to adequately address the underlying systemic issues that have plagued Providence hospitals for years.”
The union is demanding competitive wages to help recruit and retain nurses, a healthcare plan that considers the caregivers and their families and safe staffing levels to appropriately care for patients.
Providence issued a statement on Friday after learning the nurses voted to reject the latest offers.
“On Jan. 29, Providence’s bargaining teams returned to negotiations and materially enhanced their offers at all eight Oregon hospital tables, reaching tentative agreements with the union bargaining teams at each one. Ironically, the same union bargaining team members who on Saturday were criticizing the terms of those agreements, recommended that they be ratified when they passed them on to the bargaining unit members for a vote.”
The ONA claimed that Providence’s compensation packages were not market competitive, their inadequate staffing levels led to excessive turnover rates and the healthcare coverage offered is not affordable for nurses.
Providence provided figures in response.
They said that a 20% wage increase over a three year contract would bring the yearly pay for a typical full-time acute-care nurse to $150,000. ONA representatives have said to achieve that salary, a nurse would have to work 40 hours a week for the entire year at $72.11 per hour.
Providence's Oregon hospitals have hired more than 650 nurses over the last three years and the ONA vacancy rate is the lowest it’s been in three years (5.74%). In regard to the health coverage for nurses, Providence says the bargaining unit nurses receive the same medical benefits provided to their colleagues, including senior executives. Providence added that the medical plans pay for approximately 80% of all medical costs, compared to 72% from comparable large employers.
With the recent proposals off the table, the nurses continue their strike. The ONA has called on Providence to get back to negotiations immediately.
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