Nurses from the Legacy Health System support nurses on the strike line at Providence Portland Portland Medical Center in northeast Portland. (Photo courtesy of Oregon Nurses Association)
After five days of strikes at Providence’s eight hospitals in Oregon and six of its women’s clinics, the health care company and union members representing nurses and others have agreed to return to negotiations.
Statements from the Oregon Nurses Association and Providence Health & Services said late Tuesday that they had agreed to move forward with negotiations with all 11 bargaining units at Providence hospitals in the Portland area, Medford, Newberg and Seaside, and at six women’s clinics in the Portland area. The announcement comes a day after Providence had agreed to negotiate with hospital bargaining units outside Portland and two units at Providence’s women’s clinics but not with Providence Portland Medical Center and nurses at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Providence said in its statement Tuesday it was now in a position to negotiate with all units, thanks in part to an “unprecedented number of ONA-represented nurses who have chosen to work.”
Providence said that 600 nurses among the 4,800 represented by the Oregon Nurses Association at Providence did not go on strike, something the union disputed. The labor action also included 70 doctors who work at Providence St. Vincent and 80 doctors, clinic nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners at Providence’s six women’s health clinics in the Portland area. This is the biggest such labor action in Oregon’s history and the first time physicians have joined a labor protest.
It’s unclear when the two sides will resume talking.
Oregon Nurse Association leaders said in a news conference that wages and staffing at Providence hospitals were key stumbling blocks. They said they want competitive wages that reflect the rigors and demands of the job and keep pace with inflation. They also want staffing to reflect the level of intensive care that each patient requires.
“As we move back into negotiations, we call on Providence to take this process seriously, come to the table with substantive offers to address the systemic issues that impact hospitals and clinics across Oregon and reach a fair contract that prioritizes patients and frontline caregivers instead of profits,” the union said in a statement.
Providence officials have said they have made “competitive offers” for each hospital bargaining unit, with a 20% raise over the next three years for acute-care registered nurses, excluding overtime, holiday pay or other incentives. Their contract offer for physicians includes compensation increases and incentives that could exceed $20,000 to $30,000 a year, Providence said.
Providence said that operations were running smoothly, but it’s had to curtail some health care services.
The strike prompted reactions last week from Oregon’s Democratic leaders. Gov. Tina Kotek criticized Providence on Friday for calling off negotiations after the union gave its required 10-day strike notice in December. And on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Andrea Salinas attended a rally at the Oregon Convention Center in support of the union along with national labor leaders Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Liz Shuler, the national president of the AFL-CIO.
Providence said it had to stop negotiating on Dec. 30 to spend time hiring replacement workers.
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