Declaring that understaffing had them “running on empty,” 5,000 nurses, doctors, midwives, and nurse practitioners walked off the job January 10 in an open-ended strike at Providence Health and Services, the dominant hospital chain in the Pacific Northwest. The strikers work at eight hospitals plus women’s health clinics across Oregon. They’re demanding proper staffing, affordable health insurance, and competitive pay that can attract and retain seasoned workers.
We’re just starting unionization efforts at our workplace and some people have similar concerns because we’re not actually in a bad position, relatively.
Primarily people who have ongoing medical issues that can’t afford to jeopardize their income stream in any way at the moment. They’re supportive, but cautious.