Oregon Health and Science University nurses reach a landmark deal 

The nurses at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) reached a tentative agreement with hospital management on Sept. 25, averting a strike after months of stalled negotiations. The agreement secures historic wage increases in addition to workplace safety and safe staffing language for OHSU’s more than 3,100 nurses who are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association.

The nurses' contract with OHSU expired June 30, 2023. They met with OHSU management for more than 30 contract negotiations before voting nearly overwhelmingly to approve an open-ended strike earlier this month. The nurses will vote from Oct. 1-5, to ratify the agreement. If approved, the agreement will last until June 30, 2026.

“Nurses at OHSU care for Oregon’s most critical patients—patients who require specialized nursing care that only we can provide. We deserve a contract that reflects the expertise, compassion and skill we bring to every patient in our care. This new contract will ensure we have the tools, the workplace safety and the staffing support necessary to deliver the high-quality care our patients deserve,” says Duncan Zevetski, registered nurse and vice president of the ONA bargaining unit at OHSU. “I am proud of the nurses who organized, fought for and won this historic contract—a contract that our union colleagues across the country can look to as an example in their own fights for improved working conditions that will support them in caring for their patients.”

Key provisions of the tentative agreement include:

• Nurse staffing standards that align with the higher complexity patients at OHSU.
• Minimum safe staffing standards guaranteed by June 1, 2024, including a specific plan for the Emergency Department levels, and 1:3 Acute Care ratios written into the contract, as well as a guarantee to follow professional standards that set ratios and levels for all other areas.
• Wage increases of 15 percent, 6 percent and 6 percent each year, as well as a new 30-step wage scale. The average base wage will increase 37 percent and will average to a $20.67 per-hour increase over three years.
• Paid training for trauma-informed care, in-person de-escalation training, including advanced physical skills, crisis intervention and assault prevention.
• Major improvements to workplace safety at OHSU, including a commitment to immediately institute urgent changes to lockdown procedures, securing entrances and other workplace violence reduction.

The nurses also were able to secure additional contract protections requiring break-relief assignments so that patient care isn’t compromised.

“AURN (Association of University Registered Nurses) won strong contract language for nurse staffing across our entire institution, including care areas ranging from ambulatory to inpatient. Most importantly, the contract centers on the expertise of the nurses providing care as essential to designing and driving staffing levels. We are proud to be raising the staffing standards for high-acuity hospitals across the country,” says Erica Swartz, registered nurse and ONA staffing committee co-chair at OHSU.

“Going into negotiations, our team was faced with the realities of what our workforce has been enduring,” says Corinn Joseph, registered nurse and ONA bargaining team member. “Across the nation, and the world, nursing has become not only a risk to our mental health but our physical safety. 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 also to help raise the bar for hospitals everywhere. With the help of our dedicated members, we have done just that,” says Joseph. “We can stand proud of what we have set into motion for the decades of nursing that follow. Together, we create our future. Together, we care for the people. Together, we care for ourselves. Together, we stand strong.”

[Adrienne Coles, ONA press release]