(TUALATIN, Ore.) – Providence has been missing the point for decades, and yesterday, they released a press statement that not only missed the point yet again, but it also tried to mislead the public, distract from the real issues facing caregivers and their patients, and tried to drag us into a battle over their misinformation. We aren’t taking the bait, and neither should you.

Providence claimed that “the current average full-time equivalent salary for a Providence Portland nurse is $128,000.”

This data is flat-out wrong, and it is also intentionally deceptive. Do NOT take the bait! Here is what we know:

Fact Number One: This isn’t just about money and never has been. It’s about Sick Time/Paid Time Off to care for ourselves and our families, ensuring safe staffing so our patients are properly cared for, making our careers sustainable, attracting new caregivers to support our work at the bedside, and protecting our communities. The end.

Fact Number Two: Providence doesn’t know what the word “average” means. Under our current agreement, the top base wage a nurse can make is $61.82.  If you add in Certification Differential, and Clinical Ladder Differential for clinical excellence, a nurse who works a standard 12-hour shift makes $128,000 a year. This is the TOP of the current pay structure; it requires over 30 years of experience, and less than 70 nurses are currently at the top of the scale to begin with, let alone receiving both differentials for clinical excellence.

Fact Number Three: Providence’s math is wrong. Based on the most recent data Prov provided us in October, the median nurse is at Step 6, making $50.66/hour. That comes out to $94,835 in base wages for a day shift nurse, and a nurse would make about $99,000 if they had a specialty certification. This is what PPMC Nurses currently make.

Fact Four: Providence’s math is wrong in the future, too. If you applied Providence’s most recent proposal to the median nurse, the base salary for a day shift nurse would be $107,845, and $112,000 if you included a specialty certification. Even under their own proposal, it falls well short of their claims.

We are ready to talk, and we are also happy to bring a calculator to the bargaining table if that would be helpful to avert this strike. 

Where is Providence?

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents more than 16,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state. ONA’s mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.

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