Healthcare professionals at two Providence hospitals, including doctors and nurses, have taken a step towards industrial action amid growing frustrations over contract negotiations. According to a report by OPB, negotiations for staff at the Women's Clinics have been underway since November 2023, and hospitalists at St. Vincent have been in talks since last January. Central to their grievances are issues such as staffing levels, wages, and benefits.
Continuing the trend of heightened labor disputes among healthcare workers, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) noted that the vote to authorize a strike is historic, making it the first potential doctor strike in Oregon's history. The strike vote, according to the healthcare workers who feel unheard, is seen as a last-ditch effort, KOIN reports. Speaking to the sheer extent of the issue, Dr. Robin Richards, an OB-GYN at Providence Women’s Clinic, told KOIN, "don’t want to strike, but even more than that, we don’t want to burn out and have to move on."
In a recent demonstration of solidarity, more than 3,000 Providence nurses went on strike for several days in June over concerns that mirrored those currently being voiced, as OPB details. These concerns included paid time off and the cost of health care benefits. The breadth of the discontent suggests a systemic issue within the Providence hospital network, which is struggling to address the competitive needs of its workforce.
According to a KATU interview, Jennifer Burrows, chief executive for Providence, claims efforts are being made to avoid a strike and that calling a vote at this juncture was premature. Yet, for Dr. Robin Richards, the necessity of contract negotiations is clear, as it would help increase pay and staff recruitment, ensuring a safer environment for patients. "In my five years at Providence, the patient volumes are just skyrocketing. Meanwhile," Richards conveyed to KATU, "our physician team and our midwife team has not at all been growing. We are not able to recruit. We're not able to retain. We have lost a handful of my dear physician colleagues to essentially burn out," she said.
