Contract negotiations have been ongoing for more than a year, with many bargaining units working without contracts.  

Portland, OR – Nearly 5,000 frontline caregivers from seven hospitals and six clinics across Oregon have made the difficult decision to authorize strikes because Providence executives have refused to offer a fair contract that improves patient care, raises staffing standards, and creates a competitive compensation package to recruit and retain more staff.

These Providence employees are ready to continue negotiations and have not set a date for the strike but are increasingly frustrated with Providence executives' lack of serious offers at the bargaining table. If a strike is called, it would be the largest healthcare strike, and the first doctors' strike in Oregon history.

WHAT: Representatives from several of the Providence bargaining units, including doctors and nurses, will be available to talk with the media about what the strike authorization votes mean, how Providence management has failed the communities they are supposed to serve, and what frontline caregivers are asking for in negotiations.

WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 10:30 a.m. – Noon  

WHERE: Oregon AFL-CIO - 3645 SE 32nd Ave. Portland, OR 97202 (Downstairs conference room) 

Media who are unable to attend in person can schedule a time to talk with a doctor or nurse from a Providence bargaining unit via video conference or phone during the allotted time by emailing Myrna Jensen at Jensen@OregonRN.org

WHO: Doctors and nurses from Providence Oregon facilities.  

WHY: Providence is a $30 billion corporation whose top executives make million-dollar salaries and are too focused on profits and not enough on high-quality patient care. The corporatization of healthcare has left many Providence employees frustrated and burnt out as they are being told to spend less and less time with patients and more time trying to drive up profits.  

From dangerous practices like understaffing critical care units and emergency rooms that delay care and endanger patients, Providence has ignored its responsibilities to workers and Oregonians. Healthcare workers are asking Providence to invest more in patient safety, to follow Oregon’s landmark Safe Staffing Law, and offer regionally competitive wages and benefits to be able to recruit and retain more staff.

Over the last decade, frontline caregivers have lost a tremendous amount of autonomy, respect, and authority to best care for their patients and create a satisfying professional career. Instead, they have been forced into a corporate health care model that is causing moral injury and exhaustion. Due to Providence’s repeated failures to listen to and bargain with frontline workers ONA has filed multiple unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the following: refusal to bargain, bargaining in bad faith, unilateral implementation of mandatory subjects, denial of access to employee representatives, and retaliation against union leaders.

Striking is a last resort, and these employees are eager to settle this at the bargaining table. The Oregon Nurses Association is committed to bargaining around the clock to ensure this strike is averted but Providence must be willing to come to the table with a serious offer.

The strike authorizations come on the heels of more than 3,000 nurses at six Providence facilities striking in June of 2024 and 1500 nurses striking at two Providence Oregon hospitals in 2023.

Nearly 5,000 healthcare professionals at nine Providence bargaining units represented by Oregon Nurses Association or Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association have passed strike authorization votes.  

This includes:

• Doctors, Nurses, Certified Nurse Midwives at Providence Women’s Clinics. Vote passed October 11, 2024.
• Doctors, Physican Associates, and Nurse Practitioners at Providence St. Vincent. Vote passed October 22, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence St. Vincent. Vote passed October 31, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence Milwaukie. Vote passed November 11, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence Willamette Falls. Vote passed November 12, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence Newberg. Vote passed November 14, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence Hood River. Vote passed November 22, 2024.
• Nurses at Providence Portland Medical Center. Vote passed November 27, 2024
• Nurses at Providence Seaside. Vote passed December 3, 2024.

Nurses at Providence Medford launched their strike authorization vote on December 4.  

The passage of a strike authorization vote does not mean a strike is imminent. Leaders of individual bargaining units must discuss with their members the timing of any strike. When a date is set, a 10-day notice will be issued to Providence management. All nine bargaining units want to avoid a strike and will continue to be available to meet Providence management at the bargaining table.  

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents a diverse community of 20,000 nurses, and healthcare professionals throughout Oregon. Together, we use our collective power to advocate for critical issues impacting patients, nurses, and health care professionals including a more effective, affordable and accessible healthcare system; better working conditions for all health care professionals; and healthier communities. For more information visit www.OregonRN.org. 

The Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association (PNWHMA) was created in 2015 as the first hospitalist-specific labor union in the United States. It has since expanded to represent more doctors and advanced practice providers. PNWHMA is affiliated with AFT Healthcare—the fastest-growing healthcare union in the country. AFT Healthcare represents more than 200,000 members in 100 locals in 18 states and territories.  

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