The largest healthcare strike in Oregon history started Jan. 10, as nearly 5,000 nurses, physicians, and other healthcare workers started picketing at eight Providence hospitals.
Nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) are on strike at Providence hospitals in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Portland, Seaside, Oregon City, and Beaverton and at the Providence Women’s Clinic, which has locations in Milwaukie, Portland, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro, and Beaverton.
Doctors are also on strike — for the first time in Oregon history. Roughly 80 physicians, nurses, midwives, and nurse practitioners at Providence Women’s Clinic and 74 physicians and nurse practitioners at Providence St. Vincent hospital are on strike. Both groups unionized in 2023 but still haven’t gotten their first contracts.
On the picket line, strikers said they were excited to see the solidarity outside the hospital but wished they were with their patients instead.
“I’d rather be at work. Taking care of patients is something that I’m passionate about,” physician David Stanley said. “In the long term, this is the right thing to do.”
“I’m sad that it has come to this, but over my 27 years that I’ve been here, there’s been so many things taken away from us and taken away from the patients,” nurse Rita Owens said.
Nurses say they want safer patient loads
In bargaining, workers are seeking higher wages, better healthcare benefits, and safe staffing ratios.
The median wage for a nurse at Providence is $50.66 per hour, which is $94,853 a year, according to ONA. Providence said a typical nurse working full time makes $125,000 per year.
Nurses say wages are higher at competitors like OHSU.
“Nurses and other frontline caregivers are leaving. They’re leaving for better wages, better benefits and better working conditions in neighboring hospital systems,” St. Vincent emergency department nurse Gina Ottinger said at a Jan. 9 press conference.
“When we get into higher and higher numbers of patients to care for, it puts us in a situation where we either have to lower the type of care we’re giving and give lesser service to the patients, or skip lunches, skip any bathroom breaks,” Stanley said.
The Sisters of Providence formed what is now called Providence Health & Services in 1859. Nurses said they’ve seen the Catholic healthcare system change over the years.
ONA has criticized the multimillion dollar compensation packages paid to executives. Outgoing Providence President Rod Hochman made roughly $14 million in 2023.
Lisa Gregory, a nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit at St. Vincent, started working for Providence 25 years ago, when the Sisters of Providence were still involved.
“The nurses are still the same. We’re still there to care, and we love taking care of our patients. It’s just that slowly, they’ve taken away more and more benefits and retirement,” Gregory said.
This time, strike will last until they get a contract
Approximately 1,875 registered nurses at St. Vincent, 220 nurses at Newberg Medical Center, and 340 nurses at Willamette Falls Medical Center have been working without new contracts for more than a year. Contracts for nurses at the Hood River, Medford, and Milwaukie hospitals expired in spring 2024.
Nurses at those six hospitals walked off the job for a three-day strike in June 2024. Unlike the June strike, ONA said the current strike won’t end until they get a contract.
On Dec. 30, workers represented by ONA and the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association (PNHMA) delivered 10-day notice to Providence management of their intent to strike, a step that is required by law for healthcare providers. Both unions are locals of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has a growing healthcare division. ONA is AFT Local 5905. PNHMA, which formed in 2015 and is staffed by ONA, is AFT Local 6552.
Employers given a strike notice often try to hammer out an agreement to avoid disruption, but Providence management declined to negotiate further with ONA during the 10-day notice period.
Providence has not met with union bargaining teams since Dec. 27.
“Providence wasted 10 days when they could have been at the table making progress towards a comprehensive resolution of their labor dispute,” Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement issued on the first day of the strike. “We must take care of the people who take care of Oregonians. All hospital staff deserve a fair contract.”
Providence said it had spent the days leading up to the strike focused on recruiting 2,000 temporary replacement nurses.
But Providence did continue negotiations with the physician groups in the days before the strike.
“There is no equivalent temporary replacement work force for physicians,” Providence said in a Jan. 2 statement. The hospital chain announced that it was asking federal mediators to look into potentially reopening mediation — but only with the units that include physicians.
The following day, doctors, midwives, and nurse practitioners at the Women’s Clinic and St. Vincent sent an open letter to Providence executives condemning the healthcare system’s statements to the media.
“This outreach underscores Providence’s unlawful refusal to bargain with nine out of eleven contracts — a tactic no other major health system has employed,” the providers wrote.
On Jan. 11, Providence said it was willing to discuss resuming mediation sessions with nurses, starting with those at the Medford and Newberg hospitals. On Jan. 13, Providence said it was ready to discuss restarting mediation at all of the hospitals except the two largest: St. Vincent and Portland.
Crossing the strike line
Providence said more than 600 ONA-represented nurses have been working during the strike.
“While Providence is highlighting the small percentage of caregivers who reported for work — a number no one can independently confirm — the overwhelming majority, nearly 90% of our members according to their figures, have chosen to stand together on the picket lines,” ONA responded in a Jan. 11 statement.
ONA isn’t asking patients to avoid seeking medical care during the strike.
“Going into a hospital or clinic to get the care you need is NOT crossing our strike line. We invite you to come join us on the strike line after you’ve received the care you need,” ONA said.
Some construction workers have reportedly honored nurse strike picket lines, however, walking off the site of an emergency room expansion at Providence St. Vincent. Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council leader Randall Friesen wrote to the general contractor Jan. 8 on behalf of 22 affiliates with a reminder that workers have the right to honor picket lines without fear of retaliation.
Strike Locations
- Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, Hood River, where ONA represents 140 nurses
- Providence Medford Medical Center, Medford, where ONA represents 380 nurses
- Providence Milwaukie Hospital, Milwaukie, where ONA represents 250 nurses
- Providence Newberg Medical Center, Newberg, where ONA represents 220 nurses
- Providence Portland Medical Center, Northeast Portland, where ONA represents 1,510 nurses
- Providence Seaside Hospital, Seaside, where ONA represents 115 nurses
- Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Washington County, where ONA represents 1,875 nurses and PNHMA represents 70 physicians and nurse practitioners
- Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Oregon City, where ONA represents 340 nurses
- Providence Women’s Clinic, with locations in Milwaukie, Portland, East Portland, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro and Beaverton, where ONA represents 80 physicians, nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners
