Legacy members ratify new contract following healthcare fight

After months of negotiations, caregivers at Legacy Emanuel, Randall Children's Hospital and Unity Center for Behavioral Health in Portland ratified a strong new 3-year contract.The contract campaign made the news when a nutrition worker's struggles over Legacy's unaffordable healthcare benefits became public. Union members filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against management for bad faith bargaining, and were preparing to go on strike before the agreement was reached.The new contract includes improved access to financial assistance to cover healthcare costs, higher wage increases than the previous contract, provisions to improve workplace safety, and more."It was a lot of work, but I am so proud of all our bargaining team for not backing down," said Caitlin Rogers, a sterile tech and bargaining committee member. "We stood up and fought back, and I was honored to be a part of it. We are definitely stronger together!"