Gina Ottinger, a Proviodence registered nurse, spoke at a press conference Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025, at the Oregon Nurses Association’s Tualatin offices. “We’re asking for competitive compensation that reflects the reality of our work, the long hours, the emotional toll and the ever-growing demands that are placed on us,” she said. (Screenshot)
Nearly 5,000 nurses, doctors and other health workers at Providence Health & Services hospitals and clinics in Oregon are walking off their jobs beginning 6 a.m. Friday.
It is set to be the largest strike by health workers in the state’s history — and the first involving a union representing doctors. The strike includes union members at all eight of Providence’s hospitals, from the four in the Portland area to hospitals in the Columbia Gorge, southern Oregon and the coast.
Providence officials and the Oregon Nurses Association have said they are committed to reaching contract agreements — and each has blamed the other for the looming strike.
“This strike could have been avoided, and frankly, there is still time, even at this 11th hour,” Anne Tan Piazza, executive director of the association, said at a press conference Thursday. “We need Providence to stop refusing to negotiate and come back to the table.”
In a statement this week, Providence officials said they have negotiated in good faith for more than a year to reach an agreement with the union. They said union leaders have been unwilling to compromise.
Providence officials said the strike of nurses, doctors, midwives and nurse practitioners will affect patients.
“Our hospitals will be able to offer key services, but it will not be business as usual,” according to its statement. “For some services, Providence will need to cancel appointments and we’re contacting affected patients to let them know.”
Providence said it is bringing on 2,000 temporary replacement workers to ensure continued patient care. But it acknowledged that it is having a tough time lining up enough replacements for striking obstetric, palliative care and other physicians at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland along with medical staff nurses at its six women’s clinics in the Portland area.
Providence physicians unionized in 2023, joining the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medical Association. The nurses association bargains on behalf of the physicians.
“There is no temporary workforce available for physicians and providers,” Providence said.
Union officials said that 70 doctors and nurse practitioners at Providence St. Vincent will strike, though surgeons, emergency doctors, specialists and others will be working. The strike will also affect Providence’s women’s clinics in the Portland area, with 80 doctors, clinic nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners striking at six locations — Portland, east Portland, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro and Beaverton.
Providence plans to keep its St. Vincent emergency department open, as required by federal regulations, but may have to divert some ambulances to other hospitals, according to reporting by KOIN TV. Two of Providence’s women’s clinics in Portland are expected to remain open.
St. Vincent, with 523 beds, has notified the Oregon Health Authority that it likely will limit occupancy at the hospital to 275 patients during the strike.
Hospitals are required to have contingency plans for providing care during a strike but they are not required to share those with state officials, said Tim Heider, an Oregon Health Authority spokesman. Those plans can include canceling elective appointments and procedures.
A nonprofit health system started by a Roman Catholic sisterhood, Providence operates eight hospitals in Oregon and six women’s clinics in the Portland area.
Wage issue
At their press conference, Oregon Nurse Association leaders said wages and staffing at Providence hospitals remain key issues.
“We’re asking for competitive compensation that reflects the reality of our work, the long hours, the emotional toll and the ever-growing demands that are placed on us,” said Gina Ottinger, a registered nurse. “We’re asking for wages that keep pace with inflation.”
She said that nurses and other health workers are leaving Providence facilities for better wages and benefits. The union wants Providence to base staffing levels on “acuity” — the level of intensive care that each patient requires — but said Providence had rejected the union’s proposal.
In a statement, the union said Providence has plenty of resources to “support frontline healthcare workers.” Tax filings by ProPublica show that in Washington, the company had $9.8 billion in revenue in 2023 and $10.1 billion in expenses. That compares with $5.5 billion in revenue in Oregon for 2023 and $5.4 billion in expenses. Together, the company had more than $13 billion in assets, its tax filing for 2023 shows. The company spent millions on salaries for its highest paid executives, including $6.2 million for nine months in 2023 to Dr. Guy Hudson, who was chief executive of Providence’s north division until April 1, 2023 and president and CEO of Swedish Health Services until Sept. 30, 2023.
Richard Botterill, an association board member and registered nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, accused Providence of trying to circumvent the state’s staffing law, which is intended to establish safe nurse-to-patient ratios.
Providence has denied the charge, saying it is committed to follow the law.
In statements, Providence officials have said they have offered “competitive offers” for each hospital bargaining unit, “including double-digit pay increases for hospital nurses representing more than $12,000 a year for a typical nurse.” Providence said it also has included language in its staffing proposals that takes acuity into account.
The association notified Providence of its intent to strike on Dec. 30; health workers are required to give 10-day strike notices to allow time for hospitals and clinics to prepare. Providence said it did not have time to negotiate with nurses during the past 10 days as it prepared for the strike.
But Providence did attempt to negotiate with doctors, which Tan Piazza, the union’s director, said was “shameful behavior.”
“They aren’t too busy to negotiate with workers they can’t replace, but they are too busy to negotiate with the workers they claim they can,” she said. “This is shameful behavior, and our members and the people of Oregon deserve better.”
In addition to Portland’s St. Vincent, the health system operates the Providence Portland Medical Center and hospitals in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Seaside and Oregon City.
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