Doctors, Nurses, Advanced Practice Providers, and Midwives at Providence are Going on Strike
It's Time for Providence to Put Patients Before Profits
We are nearly 5,000 healthcare professionals calling on Providence Health & Services to come back to the bargaining table and put their patients before profits by offering a fair contract to frontline caregivers.
The strike will start
January 10 and affect Providence St. Vincent, Providence Portland, Providence Milwaukie, Providence Willamette Falls, Providence Newberg, Providence Hood River, Providence Seaside, Providence Medford, and the Providence Women’s Clinic.
At issue: 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.
See the latest message from providers calling out Providence's misleading messaging and demanding Providence executives return to the table and reach fair agreements for all!
Get Involved: Sign the Petition to Tell Providence to Return to the Table and Avoid a Strike or Sign Up for a Picket Shift!
One of Oregon’s largest healthcare providers, Providence, is a system in crisis that threatens the health and well-being of all Oregonians.
We are nurses, doctors, physician associates, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives
from Providence facilities across Oregon. Some of us have been bargaining with Providence for more than a year and are working without a contract. Providence has rejected our common-sense proposals to improve patient care and safety by not committing to safe staffing and other critical patient safety issues in our contracts. That’s why we’re going on strike starting January 10.
When healthcare workers are asked to do more with less, patient lives are at stake. Providence has pushed nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals to work under unsafe staffing conditions.
Providence hasn’t offered any real plan to increase retention. Providence simply isn’t competitive with other healthcare systems in the areas where they operate. That means fewer workers; longer ER lines; longer surgery waits; and more medical complications, as Oregonians can’t get the care they need quickly.
We have made the difficult decision to go on strike because Providence executives aren’t listening to us. We need Providence to put patients before profits and do everything they can to make sure healthcare professionals can work to the top
of their practice and stay for the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are doctors, nurses and other caregivers going on strike?
A: Yes, starting January 10, nearly 5,000 frontline caregivers from 8 Providence hospitals and 6 clinics will go on strike. Each bargaining unit held its own democratic vote to authorize this strike.
Strikes are difficult decisions for healthcare professionals but are the most powerful tool when employers refuse to listen to caregivers and patients.
Q: Who will take care of me or a loved one if there is a strike?
A: We are going on strike to make sure patients have better care, now and in the future. As required by law, the union gave the employer 10 days' advance notice before a strike so that the hospital can make the proper accommodations. It is the hospital
or clinic’s responsibility to coordinate care for patients.
Multiple surveys and studies show that our healthcare workforce is on the brink of collapse. Caregivers across Providence are being forced to take on unreasonable workloads and have been bargaining in good faith for months to try to reach a compromise.
Unfortunately, management has repeatedly failed to engage on the issues that matter most.
Q: Why are nurses and other healthcare professionals going on strike?
A: Nurses and other healthcare professionals are fighting for more time with patients, safe staffing, and the ability to recruit and retain more employees. This will lead to greater patients outcomes and a better experience for you when you visit a Providence
facility.
Nurses and other healthcare professionals, just like workers from every profession, are sometimes left no other option but to go on strike.
Providence has not made substantial enough movement at the bargaining table. Management rightfully calls nurses heroes but it won’t commit to workplace improvements, so workers stop feeling demoralized and instead feel valued and rewarded.
Oregon residents know the truth: nurses aren’t avoiding hard work. They are advocating for their patients, their community, and themselves.
