St. Charles Bend, union reach agreement ending strike

“The agreement came together as both parties believe patient care is and should be the top priority, the strike has been distracting and difficult for all involved, and it is in everyone’s best interest to return to the table and continue bargaining,” the union and hospital said in a joint statement Saturday.

The hospital and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals have disagreed about salary and shift wages for about 154 workers. The hospital objected to the union’s request to require any new employees to join the union.

The walkout began March 4 and was the first work stoppage in more than four decades at St. Charles Bend.

More than 100 workers could be seen each day since the strike on a picket line outside the hospital near Neff Road and Medical Center Drive.

Nurses told reporters outside the hospital last week that their jobs had become more difficult since the medical technicians left the building. St. Charles said it limited surgical procedures at the beginning of the strike and moved some cases to St. Charles Redmond.

This is the first contract that the union has attempted to negotiate on behalf of the members with St. Charles, since it began representing the members in October 2019.

Over the past year, both sides met 29 times to resolve the labor dispute with medical technicians.

The hospital tried to stop the strike by filing lawsuits in state and federal courts. A federal judge ruled the court could not halt the strike.