Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, registered nurses, social workers and genetic counselors at Legacy’s Women’s Health Clinics File to Unionize with ONA

(PORTLAND, Ore.) – Health care professionals at Legacy’s women’s health clinics announced their intent to unionize with the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) on November 9. The employees are unionizing to improve patient safety and caregiver well-being through safe, sustainable staffing; reasonable work-life balance; appropriate wages and benefits; and to better advocate for their patients, colleagues and community.

The health care professionals include more than 60 registered nurses, social workers, certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and genetic counselors at Legacy’s women’s health clinics who provide personal, comprehensive, reproductive health care to patients throughout Oregon and Washington. The health care professionals filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Nov. 9.

“We value Legacy’s mission and values and hope to have long careers serving our patients and local communities here,” said Heather Webster, a certified nurse-midwife with Legacy Medical Group at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in North Portland. “We believe unionizing will spark a culture shift where Legacy management sees the irreplaceable value our nurses, midwives, social workers and counselors have as skilled leaders and changemakers in health care. Standing together in a union gives us a chance to use our voices and skills to improve how care is delivered systemwide.”

Unionizing providers work at the following Legacy facilities: 
Portland
Legacy Medical Group–Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Emanuel
Legacy Medical Group–Midwifery at Emanuel
Legacy Medical Group–Portland Obstetrics and Gynecology at Good Samaritan

Gresham
Legacy Medical Group–Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Mount Hood
Legacy Medical Group–Mount Hood Women's Health

Silverton
Legacy Medical Group–Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Silverton
Legacy Medical Group–Women's Health at Silverton

Keizer
Legacy Medical Group–Women's Health in Keizer

Woodburn
Legacy Medical Group–Women's Health in Woodburn

Vancouver, WA
Legacy Medical Group–Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Salmon Creek

"Since its founding over 100 years ago, Silverton Hospital has been known for the exceptional care we provide to our community. We care for families from all over rural Marion County and the Santiam Canyon. When Legacy moved to close the family birth center at Legacy Mt. Hood this spring, we saw that the kind of care we provide to our patients can disappear in a moment. We are forming a union to put protections in place to ensure that high-quality community-focused care remains the standard for birthing families in Marion County and across the Legacy Health system,” said Lori Swain a certified nurse-midwife with Legacy Medical Group at Women’s Health locations in Silverton, Keizer and Woodburn. 

A pre-election hearing will occur in the coming weeks unless there is an election agreement sooner. The election will occur soon after. If the employees vote in favor of representation, they will join nearly 700 ONA union nurses and behavioral health professionals already working in the Legacy Health system. They will also join hospitalists at all eight Legacy hospitals who are holding their union vote next week.   

Legacy Health is a private nonprofit health system that operates eight hospitals and more than 70 clinics in Oregon and Washington. It recently made news after illegally attempting to close the Family Birth Center at Legacy Mt. Hood, the horrific acts of violence in the workplace at Legacy Good Samaritan, and its announcement to combine with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

“While we have mixed feelings about the OHSU/Legacy integration, the evidence from other mergers is clear. When large health systems merge, the cost of health care goes up and patient outcomes go down. However, midwives and other women’s clinic providers are uniquely poised to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs,” Webster said. “By organizing now we can integrate our work into the fabric of these institutions to ensure we keep raising standards and improving birth equity for birthing people and families throughout the Pacific Northwest.”