Waving and cheering as passing cars honked in support, the striking nurses at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center proudly displayed picket signs with messages like “Prov Nurses Deserve Better” and “Patients over Profits.”
The nurses in Oregon City joined five other Providence locations across the state for a three-day strike involving 3,000 nurses that started at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18. The strike is intended to last until 6 a.m. on Friday, June 21.
“We went on strike because Providence would not negotiate with us over staffing language that we felt was really important in the contracts. Protecting patients, keeping those numbers manageable for nurses so that we can give the best care we can for patients,” said Nicole Hudson, emergency room nurse and executive committee vice president at Willamette Falls.
The nurses are part of the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents 20,000 nurses across the state. The strike is in protest of “Providence's numerous unfair labor practices,” according to the ONA strike website.
The nurses’ four demands for the contract negotiation are safe staffing, adequate paid leave, affordable health insurance and mental health care, and fair market wages.
Many of the nurses on the Willamette Falls picket line said they live in Oregon City and feel that the medical center is part of the community. They were joined in solidarity by ONA-represented nurses from Oregon Health and Sciences University and visitors wearing Oregon School Employees Association shirts.
“The insurance portion does impact me and my family. Both of my daughters and my husband work here at Willamette Falls; it’s kind of a family for us. We've seen the benefits decrease in what they cover, the cost increase as far as how much we have to pay out of pocket, the things that aren't covered under the plan,” said Hudson. “I've been here 14 years at Willamette Falls and we've seen those benefits just get worse and worse.”
The nurses have been working on expired contracts since last fall. After bargaining that lasted as long as nine months at some facilities, the nurses from the six facilities gave their 10-day notice of intent to strike on June 7.
“It remains our hope that Providence will agree to the fair contract we deserve. Going on strike is a last resort, but we will not accept a bad deal that simply allows Providence to continue the dangerous and unsustainable status quo,” said Virginia Smith, a medical/surgical nurse and chair of the Willamette Falls executive committee, during a press conference on June 7.
The nurses believe Providence is misusing the new Safe Staffing Law passed by the Oregon Legislature last year, which establishes patient-to-nurse ratios.
“The intent of the law and the language of the law is that those are maximum numbers, but Providence is interpreting it as how many patients you should be taking, not a max. We definitely see that as an issue,” said Hudson.
In response to the strike notice, Providence noted that all facilities would be open during the strike and “have secured the services of highly qualified, experienced replacement workers who will be working alongside our existing caregivers through Sunday morning, June 23.”
Jennifer Gentry, the Providence chief nursing officer, said the transition went smoothly Tuesday morning as replacement nurses took over during the end of the night shift, but Providence did ask ambulances to divert to other hospitals for about two hours while they changed over staff.
Providence held a news conference Tuesday morning updating how the transition went this morning inside the hospitals with managers on the floors along with the hired contract nurses.
“I’m pleased to report that the handover period went very well this morning at all six of our campuses,” Gentry said. “The Providence nurses ensured that the handover went well and ensured that our replacement nurses had all of the information they needed to ensure that we were able to continue providing excellent care.”
Providence disputes claims that it is not abiding by the new Safe Staffing Law and “locked out” striking nurses. Officials have also stated that Providence offered wage increases and contract improvements during negotiations.
Providence added that continuity of care, for any medical needs, would not be disrupted during the strike.
“I would say it’s very rewarding to see all of us united, saying we are going to stand up for this. We are going to say, ‘enough is enough,’” said Hudson. “I’m very happy to see other local unions step up and come through for us, showing their support.
The six Providence facilities on strike include Providence St. Vincent, Providence Milwaukie, Providence Willamette Falls, Providence Newberg and Providence Hood River.
“I have patients come in and say, ‘It must be so nice having free health care.’ That’s not how this works. That would be amazing, but that’s not the case,” said Hudson. “It was helpful to be able to sit at the table with those six other hospitals and say we're all on the same page. We're not being unreasonable.”
KOIN 6 News, a partner of Oregon City News, contributed in part to this story.
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