Thousands of Providence nurses striking this week at six Oregon hospitals

Thousands of nurses at six Providence hospitals in Oregon walked off the job this week, embarking on a three-day strike that’s the largest of its type in the state’s history.

By 6 a.m. Tuesday, hundreds of nurses lined the picket lines at hospitals stretching from Medford to Portland. The strike comes amid stalled contract negotiations between the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents more than 3,000 nurses at the six hospitals, and Providence Health & Services, a nonprofit, Oregon’s dominant hospital group and the largest Portland-area employer.

Nurses at each of the hospitals voted in support of the work stoppage, and the union gave Providence a 10-day notice. Officials at the nurses union say the issues at stake include competitive compensation and affordable health insurance plans. To prepare for the strike, Providence officials hired traveling nurses and notified patients to continue to show up for care and treatment. Gary Walker, a Providence spokesman, on Tuesday said the transition went smoothly across all six hospital campuses.

The nurses work at Providence St. Vincent in southwest Portland, Providence Willamette Falls in Oregon City, Providence Medford, Providence Newberg, Providence Hood River and Providence Milwaukie. Nurses at the company’s other hospital – Providence Portland Medical Center in northeast Portland – are going to work as usual because they settled their contract last year. Labor contracts are bargained separately at each institution.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/06/20/thousands-of-providence-nurses-striking-this-week-at-six-oregon-hospitals/