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UPDATE: Providence Health Workers May Strike As No Agreement Could Be Reached
After months of unsuccessful negotiations, 5,000 nurses, doctors, and other health workers have agreed to strike action at Providence hospitals and clinics across Oregon.
Simultaneous Strike Action Will Impact Thousands of Patients
If the health workforce decides to go on strike simultaneously, it will affect thousands of patients throughout the state over the Christmas holiday season. But the Providence Group says it is preparing for a statewide strike.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) and the newly established Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association, representing doctors, have not confirmed a date for strike action at the Oregon Providence hospitals and its chain of women’s clinics.
Federal labor laws require health workers to provide a 10-day notice period before staging strike action.
ONA Says Nurses Want to Avoid Strike Action
ONA spokesperson Peter Starzynski has confirmed that nurses want to avoid strike action and remain eager to reach a settlement agreement with Providence. However, months of on-off negotiations continue to stall as Providence refuses to bow to union demands.
Starzynski confirmed that no decision has been taken about joint strike action that could cripple the Providence health network in Oregon. He said…’all options are on the table.’
The Providence hospitals in Oregon that could be affected by strike action are St Vincent near Beaverton, Milwaukie, Willamette Falls, Newberg, Hood River, Seaside, Portland, and Medford.
A nurse at Providence Newberg, Beth Lepire, said most nursing staff employed by the hospital group are frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations with Providence. Discussing strike action, Lepire said…’we’re getting to the point where we don’t have an option.’
Nurses at the various Providence hospitals have negotiated with Providence for many months for improved working conditions and more competitive salary scales. Hundreds of nurses are working without a contract.
They were joined last November by about 80 personnel employed at the hospital group’s six women’s clinics in the Portland metro area. Clinic staff include nurses, midwives, and physician assistants.
Dr Robert Fojtasek of Providence St. Vincent said health workers are overwhelmed by inadequate staffing to handle the number of patients admitted for treatment.
He said medicine and business were now butting heads with frontline workers focused on providing quality care, while business was ‘optimizing a profit margin where the more people who see, the more business makes.’
Providence Says Union Leaders Know that Strike Action Would Not Be in the Best Interest of Patients
Strike action would not be in the best interest of patients and communities across Oregon, ‘and Union leaders know that’ says Providence in a statement. The hospital group says it is making the ‘necessary preparations’ to ensure the continued care of patients but does not elaborate on what those preparations are.
The hospital group repeated that it has made ‘highly competitive offers’ to nursing staff.
A joint strike action by Oregon nurses, doctors, and other care providers employed by Provident would be the biggest in the history of the state and impact thousands of patients.
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