More than 90 registered nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Service near Eugene expect to begin a two-week strike at 7 a.m. Feb. 10.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) contract with PeaceHealth expired in April 2023. The union has met 40 times with health system management since Feb. 14, 2023, without reaching agreement on a new contract. It was prepared to meet again with a federal mediator Jan. 23, but PeaceHealth canceled.
This unit of nurses provides hospice and other care to patients in their homes in the Eugene-Springfield area. PeaceHealth is offering them wage increases that are less than recent inflation, ONA said in a press statement. It’s also offering them less than other similar home health agencies, and less than what PeaceHealth pays hospital nurses in Eugene and Springfield.
ONA had earlier announced the strike would begin Feb. 1, but postponed the start date, saying PeaceHealth had been slow to arrange alternate care for patients and would be unprepared to care for them during a strike.
ONA is calling on supporters to visit RespectOurNurses.com to sign a petition in support and to get updates about the negotiations.
