After strike and lockout, nurses in Providence are ready to return to the bargaining table

In a historic act of solidarity, more than 3,000 Providence Health system nurses at St. Vincent, Hood River, Newberg, Willamette Falls, Milwaukie and Medford hospitals went on a three-day strike on June 18. The nurses, represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, had planned to return to work on June 21, but Providence announced they could return to their regular shifts on June 23. The nurses continued their strike in response to Providence’s unlawful lockout and are ready to return to the bargaining table in good faith.

The nurses have been locked in negotiations for nine months. Despite holding more than 60 rounds of negotiations and spending hundreds of hours addressing issues such as unfair labor practices, disputes over health insurance benefits and staffing, no agreement has been reached. Their fight is driven by a deep-seated concern about patient care and safety. During negotiations, the nurses proposed raising staffing standards and stressed that adequate staffing is essential to providing quality care. The nurses say Providence has rejected their reasonable suggestions for improving patient care and safety and point out that health system administrators have refused to commit to safe staffing and other crucial patient safety issues in their contracts.

Caroline Allison has worked in Providence Medford’s medical-surgical department for four years. She is also a member of the ONA Providence Medford negotiation team. Allison speaks passionately about the increasing challenges: “When I started, a 1:4 ratio – one nurse for four patients – was pretty normal. Now it’s normal to have five patients during the day shift. It’s tough. It’s getting harder and harder to provide the quality care my patients deserve, and I’m also finding it harder to take care of myself. I get exhausted much more quickly. Morale injury is a very real thing and I feel it daily,” says Allison, adding that the hospital is losing good nurses “because they say: I can’t do this. This is too much.”

Virginia Smith, a medical-surgical nurse with 15 years of experience in Providence Willamette Falls, is the ONA Providence Willamette Falls bargaining unit chair and a member of the ONA Board of Directors.

“This is the fifth contract I’ve negotiated with Providence Willamette Falls. I’ve worked for them for 15 years,” says Smith. She has witnessed firsthand the transformation of her workplace from an independent hospital to part of the vast Providence network. “After the merger with St. Joseph’s Health in 2016, the relationship between nurses and administration changed. We’ve seen a continuous deterioration in our benefits, workplace safety and wages. Providence is more focused on profits than on supporting its employees.”

Smith’s words paint a grim picture of a healthcare giant losing touch with its values: “Providence has long relied on its reputation as a values-driven organization. But the reality is that we, the nurses, uphold those values. We build a reputation through our hard work and commitment to patient care. Yet when we raise concerns about our working conditions, administration remains indifferent, prioritizing business over collaboration.”

Allison recounted a pivotal moment in their fight. “We were in Wilsonville, Oregon, coordinating negotiations with five other negotiating teams. It was eye-opening to hear that all of the hospitals were giving the same dismissive responses that we had received. We realized that we were not negotiating with individual hospitals, but with a $28 billion corporation. Together, we sent a clear message: Stop it.”

The strike is not just about numbers and policies; it’s about real lives that are affected by the decisions of leaders far away. Allison shares the disheartening experiences of nursing students and new graduates: “We have students who love their placement here but don’t apply for jobs because of the conditions. New graduates are better paid elsewhere and experienced nurses feel undervalued. It’s hard to retain staff when they’re constantly being poached by better opportunities.”

When the nurses took to the streets during the strike, they were met with overwhelming support from friends, family, community allies and union members who turned out in droves at each of the six sites. The atmosphere was one of solidarity and determination.

The strike marked a turning point. For the first time, nurses from different hospitals were united and together challenging the monolithic health care system. “This is a truly historic moment for us in the Providence system,” says Smith. “We’ve always had separate contracts, but now we’re standing together and demanding change.”

(Adrienne Coles)