After nearly a month on strike, Legacy Health workers on Friday said they signed off on their first labor agreement with the hospital system.
The group of 140 advanced practice providers — nurse practitioners, physician associates and clinical nurse specialists who unionized in 2023 — staff Legacy hospitals and clinics in Oregon and southwest Washington. They’re one of several newly organized unions representing groups of Legacy health workers, and the first to reach a labor contract.
The vote follows an indefinite walkout that began Dec. 2 and ended on Tuesday, when the workers and Legacy reached a second tentative agreement. Under the terms of that deal, the advanced practice providers agreed to end the strike and return to work no later than Sunday.
The advanced practice providers and Legacy had previously reached a tentative agreement on Dec. 26, but workers overwhelmingly rejected it, saying it fell short on wages and long-term earning potential. After that vote, workers said Legacy revised its offer, including moving up the timing of pay increased and making other changes.
The Oregon Nurses Association, the labor union representing the workers, said the ratified contract includes across-the-board wage increases, faster timelines for raises and higher pay for extra, night and extended shifts.
It also establishes just-cause protections for discipline and termination, creates a labor-management committee and limits Legacy’s ability to make unilateral changes to working conditions, union leaders said.
In a statement, Legacy officials said they were “pleased” that the deal passed, which they said was the result of more than 30 bargaining and mediation sessions over 20 months.
“The contract supports market-competitive wages for our APPs while maintaining the long-term financial sustainability of our organization,” Legacy officials said in a statement.
Union officials said the agreement comes amid a broader wave of union organizing at Legacy. More than 2,300 nurses at Legacy Emanuel, Randall and Good Samaritan hospitals unionized nearly a year ago and have been negotiating their first labor contract.