Courtesy of Portland Mercury
On Jan. 10, roughly 5,000 nurses and 100 doctors employed by Providence Health & Services went on strike. Those who went on strike are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). This is the largest healthcare worker strike in Oregon’s history.
Providence, a not-for-profit healthcare organization spanning 51 hospitals and 1000 clinics across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington has eight hospitals and over 90 clinics in Oregon.
ONA’s website states that workers are striking in response to the following issues: “Providence’s unfair labor practices, dangerously understaffed hospitals, the ability to spend more time with patients, employee healthcare and competitive wages and benefits to be able to recruit and retain more caregivers.”
Since the start of the strike on Jan. 10, members of local and federal government have spoken with both parties, urging for a speedy negotiation.
Two days after the strike was announced, Governor Tina Kotek released a public statement reproaching Providence’s inaction.
“Providence wasted ten days when they could have been at the table making progress towards a comprehensive resolution of their labor dispute,” read the statement. “We must take care of the people who take care of Oregonians – all hospital staff deserve a fair contract. Oregonians are already experiencing disruptions to care. All parties must return to the table immediately to resolve their disagreements so normal operations and care can resume.”
An editor’s note at the bottom of her Jan. 10 statement adds that “The Governor is aware of an internal Providence policy by which they choose not to negotiate after receiving a strike notice. She believes this policy is short sighted and unhelpful.”
Providence declined to negotiate during the ten day notice of strike issued by ONA. They cited their initial withdrawal from bargaining as a result of the efforts they had to take towards preemptively replacing healthcare employees. In a public statement responding to Kotek’s reprimand, Providence defended themselves, highlighting their focus on stabilizing clinical operations at the time.
“We take our responsibility to maintain hospital operations seriously,” read the statement. “Each time we’ve had a strike, we’ve needed all 10 days to prepare our hospitals to care for the community from the moment our nurses walk out. And this time it’s even more complex, because the strike is larger and there is no replacement workforce for physicians. We heard from the governor and share her sense of urgency to get back to the table. Providence is preparing to continue bargaining. First, we have to prioritize the stability of clinical operations.”
In the following weeks as the strike continued on without progress in negotiation, Providence continued to blame ONA for the strike.
“As we’ve said before, only the Oregon Nurses Association can decide to end the strike. Based on its rhetoric, we continue to anticipate a lengthy walkout,” the statement read.
Both Providence and ONA have accused each other of disingenuous tactics and attitudes since the release of the strike notice. This is not the first time that Providence nurses have gone on strike. In June 2024, over 3,000 Oregon nurses in six Providence locations went on strike for three days, over the same issues that the current strike is pushing for; better contracts, healthcare coverage and adhering to staff-to-patient ratios set by state law. In 2023, HB2697, also known as the Safe Staffing Law was set into effect in Oregon, which changed state hospital staffing regulation to be complaint based rather than a triennial survey given to nurses. In a public statement from ONA, Providence Medford RN Caroline Allison explained why she chose to strike in June 2024.
“Adding insult to injury, it has now become clear that Providence appears to be systematically trying to undermine Oregon’s Safe Staffing Law. The Safe Staffing Law was intended to solve the nurse workforce shortage crisis and allow us to greatly enhance patient care. Instead, Providence has again made the decision to focus on its bottom lines instead of their workforce, their communities, and their patients.”
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) published two investigative reports on Jan. 15 and 24 confirming complaints regarding Providence staffing at several locations. According to the Jan. 24 report, OHA will issue a warning to Providence Portland Medical Center but will not take any further action.
On Jan. 24, Oregon’s two Democratic U.S. senators and five representatives signed a letter addressed to Providence and ONA leadership, with a central message encouraging both parties to “offer and negotiate proposals that meaningfully address caregiver concerns about wages, working conditions, and staffing.”
After 19 days of strike, Providence and ONA released a joint statement agreeing to begin negotiation on Jan. 29.
“At the request of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, the Oregon Nurses Association and Providence Oregon have agreed to have representatives from both sides re-engage in intensive, in-person mediation beginning today, January 29, 2025, in an effort to end this strike,” read the statement. “Both sides are engaging in every effort to get this dispute resolved as expeditiously as possible and get people back to work.”
Though Providence has worked to replace the large number of striking nurses, hospitals and medical centers have been strained, particularly at St. Vincent Medical Center, where patient visits are anticipated to reduce by 10-20%.
Jan. 31 marked the first day that striking workers received no paycheck from Providence. Picketers remained visible and united through the rainy conditions outside of the Providence Portland Medical Center.
As negotiations continue, Providence nurses intend to strike indefinitely, persisting until an agreement is reached with the healthcare organization.
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