Napa, CA – Healthcare workers at Providence hospitals and facilities across Sonoma, Napa, and Humboldt counties are scheduled to hold an informational picket on Wednesday, February 12, as part of a wider effort to demand higher wages and increased staffing. The picket, organized by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), represents about 2,000 respiratory therapists, medical technicians, nursing assistants, and hospice nurses working within the Providence network in Northern California.
Providence Health, which owns six hospitals in the region, including Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, has been the target of criticism from the union for what they claim are insufficient staffing levels and the closure of essential departments. These issues have led to concerns over the quality of medical care provided at the local institutions, which were once part of the St. Joseph Health system before the 2015 merger with Providence.
The union asserts that the combination of understaffing and service cuts under Providence’s management has undermined the quality of care at the hospitals. “It’s really heartbreaking how we have fallen so far in the past 10 years,” said Psyche Clark, an obstetrics technician at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Clark, who has worked at the hospital for nearly three decades, explained that when she started, the hospital attracted experienced staff from other local healthcare facilities. However, she now says it’s the other way around, with the hospital struggling to retain qualified staff.
Clark, who is also part of the union’s negotiating team, highlighted that wages under Providence are not competitive with those offered by other regional employers such as Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health. “Every time you turn around they’re closing something, and we’re so short-staffed,” she said. “We’re the trauma center. We should be the best.”
Providence responded to the picket by calling it a negotiating tactic aimed at garnering public support for the union’s position. The healthcare giant emphasized that the picketing is not a strike and that hospital services would continue without disruption. “We are maintaining all hospital services during the pickets, and our ability to care for the patients who are counting on us will not be compromised,” a spokesperson for Providence said in an email to The Press Democrat.
While the union represents about 2,000 workers, Providence anticipates that only a fraction of them will participate in Wednesday’s picket. Workers are scheduled to picket during their off-hours, between shift changes and lunch breaks. Picketing will occur at several Providence facilities, including Memorial Hospital and Memorial Hospice in Santa Rosa, Petaluma Valley Hospital and Hospice of Petaluma, Queen of the Valley in Napa, and St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka.
Union officials noted that NUHW members at these facilities are currently working without a contract. Negotiations at Queen of the Valley have been ongoing since March 2024, while workers at Memorial Hospital have been without a contract since September 2024. The union represents 820 employees at Memorial Hospital, including medical technicians, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, and a newly organized professional unit that includes dieticians and physical therapists. At Petaluma Valley Hospital, the union represents 150 workers, including medical technicians and respiratory therapists.
As the healthcare workers prepare for the picket, they continue their efforts to address the ongoing challenges they face in their workplace, with the ultimate goal of improving conditions for both staff and patients.