On Monday, nearly 5,000 Providence health care workers, including nurses, physicians and midwives at eight hospitals and six clinics across Oregon, gave notice of their intent to strike on Jan. 10.
The walkout would include nearly 400 nurses at Providence Medford Medical Center. Unlike other hospitals, physicians at the Medford facility did not vote to strike.
The announcement comes after a week of failed negotiations between Providence and workers represented by the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association and the Oregon Nurses Association. The decision by labor bargaining units follows a five-day “cooling off period” as well as additional sessions with a mediator.
Whitney Evans, a nurse at Providence Medford Medical Center and vice chair for the ONA’s bargaining unit at that facility, said her hospital is severely understaffed. She wants to see higher wages to retain staff who often move on to higher-paying facilities.
“There’s so much stress and burnout. People are texted daily to cover shifts for the next day because we're short-staffed,” said Evans.
She said nurses at her hospital make around a third less in salary than other facilities in the state.
“We just want to be within a few dollars of all of the other facilities, not only within Providence but within our local region, so that we remain mostly competitive,” said Evans.
In the case of a strike, Evans said Providence would likely hire outside workers to fill positions. Although she noted those nurses would lack knowledge of the facility.
In a statement, ONA accused Providence of bargaining in bad faith and retaliation against union leaders.
“Providence is a $30 billion corporation whose top executives make million-dollar salaries and are too focused on profits and not enough on high-quality patient care. Providence’s outgoing CEO made more than $12,000,000 in 2024,” according to an ONA press release.
Chris Pizzi, chief executive for the Providence Southern Oregon Service Area, said in a statement that ONA has “prioritized striking."
“Drawing out these negotiations seems to be a strategy to synchronize strikes across multiple hospitals, rather than reaching a timely and beneficial resolution for our nurses here at Providence Medford,” said Pizzi.
His statement also claims that union leaders refused to respond to a contract proposal from the hospital.
Providence nurses in Medford went on strike for three days in June. In contrast, this month’s strike would be open-ended if negotiations fail.
