Updated at 12:25 p.m. Monday: Officials at Providence Health and Services have agreed to return to negotiations with a union representing nearly 5,000 nurses across multiple hospitals, according to a press releases from the Oregon Nurses Association. Providence representatives said they will meet with the union for mediation on Tuesday and Wednesday after a number of public officials, most recently 11 Portland City Council members, urged them to return to negotiations. Nurses have been on strike for 39 days. Bargaining had been stalled for two weeks.
8 a.m. Monday - As nurses at seven Providence hospitals in Oregon enter their sixth week on strike, Portland elected officials are getting involved.
On Monday, nearly all Portland City Councilors signed on to a letter urging Providence to return to the bargaining table with the Oregon Nurses Association to resolve the strike.
The letter, signed by 11 councilors, encourages management to meet the union’s requests to increase wages and improve workplace safety.
“The well-being of our entire community is at stake,” the letter reads. “This is both a public health and public safety concern.”
The statewide strike, which began on Jan. 10, is the largest nurses strike in Oregon history. While some workers have returned to work after reaching a deal with Providence, several thousand nurses at seven hospitals — from Hood River to Medford — remain on the picket line.
The letter reflects the new council’s strong support for labor unions. All 12 councilors received endorsements from local or statewide labor groups on the campaign trail.
Only one councilor didn’t sign on to the letter, but not because they disagreed with its message. Councilor Eric Zimmerman, one of three representatives from District 4 in Southwest and inner Southeast Portland, chose to send his own letter to Providence leaders that is far more critical than his colleagues’ statement. Zimmerman said he was “alarmed” by the hospitals’ inability to reach a solution.
“Providence leadership needs to support workers and our community as one of the largest healthcare systems in our community,” Zimmerman, a former chief of staff to Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards wrote. “It’s long overdue.”
Other elected officials, including Governor Tina Kotek and all seven Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation have also urged the hospital and union to resolve the strike.
This is just the latest effort from Portland’s new council to show support for union members. In January, councilors voted unanimously to reverse a complaint made by the previous city council against the city’s largest employee union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 189.