August 16, 2025 (Portland, Ore.) – More than two years after forming their union and after 21 months of bargaining, 400 registered nurses (RNs) at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, citing Legacy Health’s refusal to make meaningful investments in recruiting and retaining frontline caregivers, patient care, and fair wages and benefits.
Frontline nurses at Legacy Mount Hood are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA).
“Mount Hood nurses have been more than patient. After nearly two years at the bargaining table, Legacy executives still refuse to address critical issues like fair pay and caps on insurance premiums—changes we need to recruit and retain the skilled nurses our patients rely on,” said Lillie Charron, a nurse at Legacy Mount Hood and ONA vice-chair of the bargaining team. “We don’t want to strike, but if management continues to slow-roll negotiations, we are united and ready to act.”
Nurses at Legacy Mount Hood are demanding:
- A voice in decision-making about patient care and workplace conditions
- Fair compensation that is competitive with other health systems to recruit and retain more nurses
- Quality, affordable healthcare
- Protections against shifts being unilaterally shortened by management
- Appropriate compensation for RNs who work during times of crisis including inclement weather.
“We’re the ones at the bedside every day — we know our patients best,” Charron said. “We formed our union to speak up for the people we care for. A fair contract will help recruit and retain the nurses our community depends on, so every patient gets the safe, quality care they deserve.”
The vote does not set a strike date. Nurses are hoping upcoming mediation sessions on August 22 and 28 will result in a fair agreement and avert a strike. If a deal is not reached, nurses say they are prepared to act—and they have the support of RNs and frontline caregivers across the Legacy system.
Background on Legacy Mt Hood RNs
In January 2023, Legacy announced plans to close Mount Hood’s Family Birth Center—a move nurses, and the community successfully opposed, prompting the Oregon Health Authority to block the closure. The center reopened in April 2023. Nurses say the fight underscored the need for a strong union voice in patient care decisions. They won their union election and joined the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) that same month, with bargaining for their first contract beginning in December 2023.
Background on Legacy Health
Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, located in Gresham, is part of Legacy Health, the Portland metro area’s second-largest healthcare system, serving hundreds of thousands of patients and employing more than 14,000 people.
The strike authorization comes amid a broader push for frontline caregivers at Legacy Health to unionize. Eleven ONA bargaining units—representing nearly 3,400 caregivers—are currently negotiating with Legacy, seeking improvements in staffing, wages, benefits, transparency, and workplace safety. ONA’s sister union, Northwest Medicine United (NWMU), represents another 475 healthcare professionals, including physicians, who are also bargaining their first contracts with Legacy.
In recent years, Legacy executives have dramatically increased their own compensation—with executive spending growing by 90% from 2019-2023—even as they delay fair contracts for nurses and frontline caregivers.
Despite executives’ claims of financial hardship, Legacy reports having “a strong balance sheet,” more than 180 days of cash on hand, and a $1.3 billion investment portfolio that has generated $436 million in returns since 2019 — profits not counted in operating income.
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