Nearly 5,000 nurses, doctors and other health workers at Providence Health & Services hospitals and clinics in Oregon are walking off their jobs starting at 6 a.m. Friday.
It will be the largest strike by health workers in the state’s history — and the first to involve a union representing doctors. The strike includes union members at all eight of Providence’s hospitals, from the four in the Portland area to hospitals in the Columbia Gorge, southern Oregon and the coast.
Providence officials and the Oregon Nurses Association have said they are committed to reaching contract agreements — and each has blamed the other for the looming strike.
“This strike could have been avoided, and frankly, there is still time, even at this 11th hour,” Anne Tan Piazza, executive director of the association, said at a press conference on Thursday. “We need Providence to stop refusing to negotiate and come back to the table.”
In a statement this week, Providence officials said they have been negotiating in good faith for more than a year to reach an agreement with the union. They said union leaders have been reluctant to compromise.
Providence officials said the strike for nurses, doctors, midwives and nurses will affect patients.
“Our hospitals will be able to offer key services, but it will not be business as usual,” according to its statement. “For some services, Providence will need to cancel appointments and we are contacting affected patients to notify them.”
Providence said it will hire 2,000 temporary replacement workers to ensure continued patient care. But it acknowledged it is having trouble finding enough replacements for striking obstetrics, palliative care and other doctors at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland along with medical staff nurses at its six women’s clinics in the Portland area.
Providence physicians unionized in 2023 and joined the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medical Association. The Nurses’ Union negotiates on behalf of the doctors.
“There is no temporary labor available for physicians and providers,” Providence said.
Union officials said 70 doctors and nurses at the Providence St. Vincent will go on strike, even though surgeons, emergency physicians, specialists and others will be working. The strike will also affect Providence Women’s Clinics in the Portland area, with 80 doctors, clinical nurses, midwives and nurses on strike at six locations – Portland, East Portland, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro and Beaverton.
Providence plans to keep its emergency room in St. Vincent open, as required by federal regulations, but may have to divert some ambulances to other hospitals, according to reporting by KOIN TV. Two of Providence’s women’s clinics in Portland are expected to remain open.
St. Vincent, with 523 beds, has notified the Oregon Health Authority that it will likely limit occupancy at the hospital to 275 patients during the strike.
Hospitals are required to have contingency plans for providing care during a strike but are not required to share them with state officials, said Tim Heider, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority. These plans may include canceling elective appointments and procedures.
Providence is a nonprofit health system started by a Roman Catholic sisterhood and operates eight hospitals in Oregon and six women’s clinics in the Portland area.
The salary issue
At their news conference, leaders of the Oregon Nurse Association said wages and staffing at Providence hospitals remain key issues.
“We are asking for competitive compensation that reflects the reality of our work, the long hours, the emotional toll and the ever-growing demands placed on us,” said Gina Ottinger, registered nurse. “We are asking for wages that keep pace with inflation.”
She said nurses and other health workers are leaving Providence facilities for better wages and benefits. The union wants Providence to base staffing on “acuity” — the level of intensive care each patient needs — but said Providence had rejected the union’s proposal.
In a statement, the union said Providence has ample resources to “support frontline health care workers.” Tax declaration of ProPublica show that in Washington the company had $9.8 billion in revenue in 2023 and $10.1 billion in expenses. That compares to $5.5 billion in Oregon revenue for 2023 and $5.4 billion in spending. Combined, the company had more than $13 billion in assets, the 2023 tax filing shows. The company spent millions on salaries for its highest-paid executives, including $6.2 million over nine months in 2023 to Dr. Guy Hudson, who was CEO of Providence’s northern division until until 1 April 2023 and president and CEO of Swedish Health Services until September. 30, 2023.
Richard Botterill, a board member of the association and a registered nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, accused Providence of trying to circumvent the state’s personnel law, which is intended to establish safe relationships between nurses and patients.
Providence has denied the allegation and says it is committed to complying with the law.
In statements, Providence officials have said they have offered “competitive offers” for each hospital unit, “including double-digit pay increases for hospital nurses that represent more than $12,000 a year for a regular nurse.” Providence said it has also included language in its staffing proposals that takes into account acuity.
The union notified Providence of its intention to strike on December 30; health workers must give 10-day strike notice to give hospitals and clinics time to prepare. Providence said it had no time to negotiate with nurses in the past 10 days as it prepared for the strike.
But Providence tried to negotiate with doctors, which Tan Piazza, the union’s director, said was “disgraceful behavior.”
“They’re not too busy to negotiate with workers they can’t replace, but they’re too busy to negotiate with the workers they claim they can,” she said. “This is shameful behavior, and our members and the people of Oregon deserve better.”
In addition to Portland’s St. Vincent, the health system operates Providence Portland Medical Center and hospitals in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Seaside and Oregon City.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Lynne Terry with questions: [email protected].
