Nearly 4,000 nurses and other health care workers at Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and southwest Washington have voted 97% in favor of authorizing a strike.

The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, which represents the workers, said the union has been in contract negotiations with Kaiser since March, but the two sides remain divided over key issues, including wages, staffing levels and scheduling practices.

No strike date has been set yet, but nurses, lab techs, social workers, physical therapists, mental health counselors and other health workers could walk out at Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro and dozens of clinics across the region.

The union’s contract expires at the end of the month. If no deal is reached by then, union le

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