Nursing assistants, medical technicians and other support workers reached a contract agreement Sunday that ended a nearly 50-day strike of Essentia Health's hospital in Deer River.

The two sides found compromise on one of Essentia's key demands: that it be able to ask Deer River employees to work at other hospitals across northern Minnesota when they have staffing shortages.

The union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, said in a statement that the agreement allows workers to voluntarily sign up for shifts at other hospitals, and to receive a "premium pay incentive" when they do so.

"Despite the many cold days on the strike line, we became a family," said Becky Shereck, a radiologic technologist at Essentia Deer River. "We are proud of the progress we made and that Essentia came to the table to provide a better offer."

The 70 striking workers ranged from cooks to surgical technicians to phlebotomists who draw blood. More than nine in 10 voted on Sunday afternoon in favor of the contract, ending the strike at 49 days.

SEIU Healthcare said it was the longest strike by any of its members in 40 years. The union paid workers as much as 75% of their wages to help them during the walkout.

The workers will receive 12% raises across three years. Other contract terms include a bonus if workers return to their jobs within 10 hours of their prior shifts.

Essentia in a statement said it pursued a "fair and equitable" contract that was consistent with other labor agreements it reached last year at its hospitals across northern Minnesota.

"These negotiations highlighted the shared challenges we are confronting in rural health care, and opportunities to address them together," Essentia said in its statement.