Nurses and clinicians who work for Providence Health in Portland and Seaside authorized plans over the weekend to move forward with a strike.

Around 1,800 healthcare workers completed voting for three separate strikes on Sunday. In a statement, the healthcare workers’ union said the votes for all three strikes were “near unanimous,” though the organization did not release specifics.

The Oregon Nurses Association said the strike authorization was approved at Providence Portland, Providence Seaside, and Providence Home Health and Hospice.

The healthcare workers said they are overburdened with high caseloads and are not able to provide safe care for patients, an issue that has been widespread across the healthcare industry since the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/06/06/providence-nurses-portland-seaside-oregon-authorize-strike/