After a year of tense bargaining and one high-profile walkout, nurses and other health professionals at Kaiser Permanente’s Oregon facilities say they have finally landed a tentative deal that lives up to the “historic” label their union is giving it. Union leaders say the agreement delivers major pay bumps and new workplace protections, with members set to start voting on ratification Tuesday morning.
In a press release from OFNHP, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals said the tentative agreement covers all six of its bargaining units and was hammered out in marathon local sessions. The union says the package delivers higher wages, stronger staffing standards and improvements to scheduling and leave, while emphasizing that some national bargaining issues are still unresolved. According to the union, members will only ratify the full package after those national terms are finalized.
The union says the deal would provide a 21.5% across-the-board wage increase over the life of a roughly 3-year, 8-month contract, with ratification votes starting Tuesday morning, as reported by KGW. Union leaders also point back to a limited five-day walkout last fall that they say drew more than 3,000 local participants; that action unfolded alongside a multi-state, five-day strike by Alliance unions involving tens of thousands of Kaiser workers, according to AP News.
What the deal would do
Locally, the tentative agreements include market-based wage adjustments, new differentials and changes to scheduling, leave and education funds that the union says are aimed at improving recruitment and retention. The OFNHP RN bargaining summary outlines a 12.5% local market wage adjustment, a new $1.50 weekend differential, expanded bereavement leave, increased education funds and corrections to mileage reimbursement for home health nurses, among other changes, according to OFNHP.
Why it matters
Union leaders argue that these pay and staffing gains could help ease the turnover and staffing shortages that have strained care across Oregon and the Portland metro area. On the national stage, the broader bargaining fight has been contentious, with Kaiser putting forward its own across-the-board wage offer while unions pressed for more. The multi-state strike last fall highlighted how much leverage workers brought into the talks, according to AP News.
Next steps
Members in all six OFNHP bargaining units are set to begin casting ratification ballots Tuesday morning, and union representatives told KGW they expect the deal to pass. If members approve it, the tentative agreement would replace the current contract. If they reject it, the parties could be headed back to the bargaining table or into another round of union actions. Kaiser did not provide additional comment on the tentative deal as of publication.
