Friend,

I just returned from Oregon after two days on the strike lines, standing with frontline caregivers, allied union members and concerned Oregonians. Together, we’re demanding that Providence Health & Services—a $30 billion corporation—agree to a fair contract that prioritizes patient care over corporate profits. I saw firsthand that Providence is spending more on breaking the strike than on ending it.

Please add your name to our petition demanding a healthcare system that works for everyone—not just Providence’s executives.

You already know that our healthcare system is broken. Overworked nurses, doctors and caregivers are expected to do more with less, while corporations rake in billions and prioritize profits over patient safety.

At Providence hospitals and clinics in Oregon, the cracks have become unbearable and are putting patients at risk. Chronic understaffing, unsafe conditions, burnout and a profit-driven system that prioritizes executive bonuses over quality care are putting patients at risk and pushing nearly 5,000 nurses, doctors and other frontline caregivers to fix what’s broken.

AFT affiliates—the Oregon Nurses Association and the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association—have been forced into an open-ended strike across eight hospitals and six clinics because Providence Health & Services has refused to bargain in good faith. Their demands are simple: safe staffing, fair wages and a healthcare system that puts patients first.

Sign the petition telling Providence Health to stop ignoring workers’ calls for safe staffing and fair wages.

This strike impacts the Oregon community most acutely, but we’re asking everyone to sign the petition because safe hospitals, fair contracts and patient care are important to everyone, everywhere.

Physicians, nurses and other caregivers are being told to spend less and less time with patients and more time billing insurance companies to drive up profits. For example, at Providence Immediate Care, providers went from seeing 24 patients over a 12-hour shift to seeing 36 patients.

While Providence spends more on trying to break the strike than on confronting the issues, we know: One day longer, one day stronger.

Together, we can demand the contracts, staffing and support that Oregon patients and healthcare workers deserve—and send a message to corporations across the nation to put patients before profits.

Sign the petition and please share with your friends and family.

In solidarity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President

P.S. Looking for an additional way to help our members hold the line during their historic strike? Make a donation to the Providence Strike Fund now to help cover general expenses associated with supporting our healthcare professionals and allies on the picket line.