Nurses at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., have reached a tentative agreement with hospital management, according to the union that represents them.
The tentative agreement came after a 20-hour marathon negotiating session on Jan. 6 — and 33 hours of talks over two days, the Washington State Nurses Association said via news release.
Negotiations between the union and hospital management took 14 months.
Union officials said the tentative agreement includes "strong, enforceable language on staffing and workplace safety," as well as no changes to short-term disability benefits and pay raises of 10 percent over the life of the contract.
Nurses covered under the contract are among about 13,000 nurses and other healthcare workers at Providence Health and Services locations in Washington state who halted their strike notices Jan. 3.
The workers, who are represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, UFCW 21 and the Washington State Nurses Association, were preparing to strike Jan. 14. But the three unions decided to pause their strike notices after progress in the talks.
Nurses at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center are scheduled to vote on the contract Jan. 16.