Largest health care strike in Oregon history begins as thousands picket Providence hospitals

[January 11, 2025]  By CLAIRE RUSH

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Some 5,000 hospital health care workers walked off the job Friday as they picketed all eight Providence hospitals in Oregon, in what the state health workers union described as the largest health care strike in Oregon history — and the first to involve doctors.

Most of those participating in the open-ended strike are nurses. But in a rare move, dozens of doctors at a Portland hospital and at six women's health clinics are also partaking, making it the state's first physicians strike, according to the Oregon Nurses Association union.

The strike came after more than a year of negotiations failed to produce an agreement over staffing levels, pay and benefits.

The union has described “chronic understaffing” as detrimental to patient care, and has called for its members to have reduced caseloads, increased wages and improved benefits. Providence says it has made offers for pay raises and been “fully committed” to reaching an agreement.

Providence said it expected up to 70 doctors to strike at Providence St. Vincent in Portland, including hospitalists, obstetrics hospitalists who provide care for pregnant women and palliative care physicians working with patients with serious illness or injury. It added that surgeons and emergency doctors were not on strike.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Friday urged the two sides to return to the bargaining table.

“Providence wasted 10 days when they could have been at the table making progress towards a comprehensive resolution of their labor dispute," she said in a statement. “We must take care of the people who take care of Oregonians — all hospital staff deserve a fair contract."

In response, Providence said it spent those days recruiting and preparing 2,000 temporary nurses to care for patients at its eight hospitals.

“We take our responsibility to maintain hospital operations seriously," Providence said in a statement. “Each time we’ve had a strike, we’ve needed all 10 days to prepare our hospitals to care for the community from the moment our nurses walk out. And this time it’s even more complex, because the strike is larger and there is no replacement workforce for physicians.”

In anticipation of the strike, Providence had said Monday that it would start limiting admissions and capping the number of patients at the Portland hospital.

“We will defer or reschedule procedures requiring hospitalist support as needed, and we anticipate longer delays in our emergency department and more ambulance divert,” Raymond Moreno, chief medical officer at the hospital, said in a Monday news release.

Multiple Oregon lawmakers have expressed support for the health care workers on strike.

“The hard-working nurses, doctors and staff on strike today at Providence deserve a workplace that treats them like the health care heroes they are,” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said Friday on X, formerly Twitter.

Providence that it was preparing to continue bargaining.

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