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

In a historic show of solidarity, more than 3,000 Providence Health System nurses at hospitals in St. Vincent, Hood River, Newberg, Willamette Falls, Milwaukie and Medford walked off the job on June 18 for a three-day strike. The nurses, who are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, had intended to return to work on June 21, but Providence announced they could resume their regular hours on June 23. The nurses have continued their picketing in response to Providence’s illegal lockout and are prepared to return to the bargaining table in good faith.

The nurses have been locked in negotiations for nine months. Despite participating in more than 60 bargaining sessions and spending hundreds of hours addressing issues such as unfair labor practices, health benefits disputes and staffing, no agreement has been reached. Their fight is driven by a deep concern for patient care and safety. During negotiations, the nurses have proposed raising staffing standards, emphasizing that adequate staffing is fundamental to providing high-quality care. The nurses say Providence has rejected their common-sense proposals to improve patient care and safety, noting that health system administrators have refused to commit to safe staffing and other critical patient safety issues in their contracts.

Caroline Allison has worked in the medical-surgical unit at Providence Medford for four years. She is also a member of the ONA Providence Medford bargaining team. Allison speaks passionately about the increasing challenges: “When I started, having a 1:4 ratio, or one nurse for every four patients, was pretty normal. Now, it’s the norm to have five patients on the day shift. It’s tough. It’s harder and harder to provide the quality care that my patients deserve, and it’s harder for me to take care of myself. I get burned out a lot more easily. The moral injury is a very real thing, and I feel it every day,” Allison says, adding that the hospital is losing good nurses “because they’re like, ‘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 President and a member of the ONA Board of Directors.

“This is my fifth contract with Providence Willamette Falls. I’ve been with them for 15 years,” Smith said. She’s seen her workplace transform from an independent hospital to part of the larger Providence network. “After the 2016 merger with St. Joseph’s Health, the relationship between nurses and management changed. We saw a steady decline in our benefits, workplace protections and wages. Providence became more focused on profits than supporting its employees.”

Smith’s remarks paint a stark 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 nurses uphold those values. We build a good reputation for ourselves through our hard work and dedication to patient care. Yet when we raise concerns about our working conditions, the administration remains indifferent, prioritizing business over collaboration.”

Allison recounted a key moment in their struggle. “We were in Wilsonville, Oregon, coordinating with five other negotiating teams. It was eye-opening to hear that the same dismissive responses we had received were being echoed across hospitals. We realized we were not negotiating with individual hospitals, but with a $28 billion corporation. Together, we sent a clear message: Enough is enough.”

The strike is not just about numbers and policies. It is also about real lives affected by the decisions of distant leaders. Allison shares the disheartening experience of nursing students and new graduates: “We have students who love their placements here but refuse to apply for jobs because of the conditions. New graduates find better pay elsewhere and experienced nurses feel undervalued. It is hard to retain staff when they are constantly being lured away by better opportunities.”

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

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

(Adrienne Coles)