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About 700 nurse practitioners, physician associates and nurse midwives at Oregon Health & Science University have voted by a wide margin to authorize a strike. The workers, known collectively as advanced practice providers, are newly represented by the Oregon Nurses Association. They work across OHSU’s sprawling health system — including OHSU Hospital and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and clinics in Portland, Klamath Falls, The Dalles, Astoria, La Grande and Monmouth, among other locations. No strike date has been set and the vote does not mean a strike is certain to take place. The affirmative vote allows union leaders to call a strike at any time, though they must give OHSU 10 days’ notice before walking off the job. Union officials said negotiations for the group’s first contract have been underway since May 2024, but the two sides remain divided over pay and working conditions. The workers say OHSU’s offers have fallen short of providing competitive wages and protections against what they describe as unsustainable workloads. More health Dear Doctor: Proper nutrition, adequate protein is critical when treating COPD Readers respond: Homeless need housing, not punishment Opinion: An underused tool in Oregon’s fight against gun violence “We do not want to strike, but we will if that’s what it takes to protect ourselves from burnout and be there for patients for years to come,” Kelly Batte, a nurse practitioner at OHSU, said in a statement. “All work is work, whether we are caring for patients or teaching the next generation.” Carmen Henderson, a physician associate, said advanced practice providers are essential to maintaining patient access and timely care amid physician shortages. “Without us, it would take longer for patients to get care or they would go without,” she said. OHSU officials said both sides have been working with a state mediator and exchanged final offers earlier this month after the union declared an impasse. According to the university, OHSU’s latest offer includes an average 10% first-year raise for most clinical advanced practice providers, followed by 3% increases in 2026 and 2027, along with an 8.6% bump for academic-only staff. OHSU also proposed a $7,000 ratification bonus if the deal is approved without a strike, a $3,000 payment for those not receiving a raise in year one, a 12% night shift differential and annual workload caps of 1,792 hours for faculty APPs and 2,000 hours for clinical associates. In an email, a spokesperson for OHSU said the package “is designed to provide equitable, market-driven support for this vital team.” Both the university and union leaders said they remain committed to reaching a deal that supports workers and patients. The potential strike is the latest in a series of labor disputes in Oregon’s health care industry. Earlier this month, about 135 advanced practice providers at Legacy Health also voted to authorize a strike, while roughly 4,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other workers in Oregon and southwest Washington staged a five-day walkout. In February, nearly 5,000 Providence health workers ended a 46-day strike spanning all eight of the system’s Oregon hospitals. Meanwhile, hospitals are also grappling with financial challenges, citing stagnant reimbursements from insurers, rising operating expenses and recent state and federal changes. OHSU posted an adjusted operating loss of $133 million in its 2025 fiscal year, which ended in June. To contain costs, university officials have limited the growth of new, full-time equivalent positions to below 2% and are trying to control the increase in employees’ salaries and benefits. Providence Health & Services, the state’s largest health system, held two rounds of layoffs earlier this year, eliminating more than 260 positions across Oregon. Providence officials warned that more job cuts could come in the coming months as the health system contends with soaring operational costs and federal plans to cut Medicaid funding. The Catholic not-for-profit health system recently announced plans to close several occupational health clinics in the Portland area early next month, according to The Lund Report.
