June 7, 2024
Statement from Jennifer Burrows, RN, Chief Executive, Providence Oregon
First off, it’s important to know that from now and through the strike, our priority becomes ensuring we provide excellent patient care. We’ve been preparing for months, and we have contracted replacement workers coming in to help us care for patients and meet our commitments to our communities. We expect to continue providing our comprehensive services during ONA’s work stoppage.
ONA’s decision to strike is not a surprise. However, it does sadden me both personally and, as a fellow nurse, professionally. Since we started negotiating with ONA in the fall of 2023, we proposed substantial wage increases and contract enhancements that our nurses have requested, including adding language related to our new nurse staffing legislation.
- We negotiate each hospital contract separately – but across our six ministries, we have market-competitive offers of approximately 10% increases in the first year of the contracts. Keep in mind that a typical nurse working a full-time schedule in our hospitals makes more than $100,000 per year.
- Our benefits package is strong. We have 23,000 caregivers in Oregon. All those who are benefit-eligible – including me – have access to the same health package.
- These strikes will delay negotiations and resolution for these teams of valued nurses at Providence St. Vincent, Providence Hood River, Providence Medford, Providence Milwaukie, Providence Newberg and Providence Willamette Falls.
Our leadership team’s attention now turns to caring for our community during this work stoppage.
- We will not return to the bargaining table until the strike concludes.
- ONA has known this would be our position.
- Despite that, ONA repeatedly rejected proposed bargaining dates from Providence teams. In some cases, we did not meet for bargaining sessions for more than a month.
I look forward to the conclusion of this walkout so Providence’s bargaining teams can get back to work negotiating agreements that will benefit our caregivers and their families, and ultimately, our patients and the community.
Jennifer Burrows, RN, Chief Executive, Providence Oregon
