The strike was precipitated when, in 2019, the workers at the hospital unionized with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
In 2013, two separate class action lawsuits were filed by employees of the hospital, resulting in settlements in 2017 that saw over $10 million paid out to over 1,100 workers.
[2] In September 2019, technical workers (including medical technicians, technologists, and therapists)[5][6] at the hospital voted 90 to 34 to unionize, joining the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), an affiliate labor union of the American Federation of Teachers, which represented over 5,000 other workers at that time.
[4] In early December 2020,[4] after 28 negotiation meetings,[10][11] the hospital submitted a labor contract proposal which was ill-received by union members.
[4] On February 22, the union (which at this time represented 156 technical workers at the hospital)[1][12] filed a strike notice with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The notice said that the strike would begin ten days thereafter, which would tentatively place the start date at March 4.
Additionally, the hospital filed an injunction with the court system to "ensure healthcare services are maintained until the issue can be resolved".
[12] The following day, U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane denied the injunction, claiming that issuing the restraining order was outside of his power.
[8] On the first day, picketing took place outside the hospital, with many strikers wearing red face masks and holding signs reading "On strike against unfair labor practices".
Senator Jeff Merkley and State Representative Jason Kropf (both members of the Democratic Party).
[8] Over the course of the strike, Kropf and District Attorney John Hummel joined the picket line with the strikers.
[16] On the morning of March 10, union and hospital representatives met with a federal mediator to resume contract negotiations.
Hospital representatives asked for workers to return to work while negotiations were underway, a request which was rejected by the union.