Nurses at Providence's eight Oregon hospitals approved new contracts on Monday after over six weeks of strike, ending what the state nurses union has described as the largest health care strike in state history.

The strike by nearly 5000 nurses at 8 Providence hospitals around the state of Oregon is over after the union members ratified the tentative deal reached last Friday.

The strike, which is one of the largest health care worker labor actions in state history, included thousands of nurses at all eight Providence hospitals in the state.

Nurses on strike at all eight Providence hospitals in Oregon approved new labor contracts in a vote tallied Monday, clearing the way for their return to work. The result means that most striking nurses will return to Providence’s hospitals Thursday.

Providence Health & Services and the union representing nearly 5,000 of its nurses have reached a tentative agreement amid a weeks-long strike.

Leaders from Providence and the union only began meeting face to face after Gov. Tina Kotek intervened and urged both parties to return to the bargaining table to end the strike. That set off more than a week of round-the-clock mediation sessions that went late into the nights. News of last Tuesday’s tentative deal didn’t emerge until after 10 p.m.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) reached a tentative agreement with Providence Health following a strike, promising better wages and benefits.

The union representing nearly 5,000 Providence nurses who have been on strike for six weeks has reached a tentative contract deal, for a second time.