Legacy Health's primary care providers consider unionizing
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Legacy Health’s primary care providers could be the next to unionize.
On Wednesday, a group of 150 workers across the healthcare company’s primary care clinics in Oregon and Southwest Washington sent union authorization cards to the National Labor Relations Board.
According to the Oregon Nurses Association, the physicians, physician associates and nurse practitioners plan to join the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association — part of the American Federation of Teachers.
AFT also represents LabCorp workers at Legacy Health, after 86% of them voted in favor of a union earlier this month.
If the company’s primary care providers follow suit, they plan to advocate for patient safety, employee retention and safe staffing.
“Primary care has a significant level of burnout, as evidenced by the numbers of primary care providers leaving this profession,” Angela Marshall Olson, a doctor at the Raleigh Hills clinic, told ONA. “Patients must be our first concern. It’s vital for us to have a place at the table to discuss provider retention strategies, which will elevate patient care and staff satisfaction.”
Doctors at Legacy Health hospitals prioritized similar concerns when they unionized in November 2023. Other employees questioned the safety of the facilities, following a deadly shooting at the Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in July.
According to Oregon’s Nurses Association, NLRB could schedule a union election date for the primary care providers within the next few weeks.
In a statement, Legacy Health said it respects its employees’ rights to choose whether to unionize.
“We appreciate the continued hard work and dedication of our primary care providers, who play a vital role in delivering high-quality care to our patients and communities,” the company added. “We are committed to establishing a productive dialogue with the union representatives who will be working with Legacy on behalf of these providers.”