PeaceHealth Workers to Picket in Vancouver Tuesday
Healthcare workers at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center will hold a picket over their first union contract after a year of bargaining.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Unions
Live Poll
Do you think healthcare workers should be able to strike for better union contracts?
Healthcare workers from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, will picket on Tuesday, November 11, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Bargaining over the workers' first union contract has been ongoing since September 2025.
Why it matters
The picket highlights a stalled effort by workers seeking their first union contract, with economic issues such as fair wages, layoffs, and outsourcing to private equity still unresolved. The outcome could shape labor conditions for healthcare staff at a major Vancouver medical facility.
The picket covers a 2-hour window from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, following roughly one year of bargaining since September 2025. The stub does not indicate whether any negotiation sessions are scheduled before or after the event.
The players
Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP)
The union representing the caregivers in bargaining with PeaceHealth and organizing the picket.
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
The Vancouver, Washington hospital where the healthcare workers are seeking their first union contract.
The details
Members of the Professionals bargaining unit, along with patients, community supporters, and other healthcare workers, will gather in front of the PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center off Mill Plain Boulevard. The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) is organizing the picket and has bargained on the caregivers' behalf since September 2025.
Timeline
September 2025: OFNHP began bargaining on behalf of the workers.
Tuesday, November 11, 2026: Picket line begins at 4:30 p.m. outside PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
Roadmap
First contracts are often the hardest to secure, and the NLRB process leaves bargaining outcomes to direct negotiation between the union and employer. Pickets like this one are a common tool when talks over wages, layoffs, and outsourcing stall.
Patients and visitors at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center may notice picketers outside the facility during the 2-hour event on Tuesday. The outcome of the contract talks could affect staffing, wages, and job security for the workers who care for patients there.
The takeaway
First-contract fights often hinge on economic terms like wages, layoffs, and outsourcing, and those issues remain open at PeaceHealth Southwest. Readers following healthcare labor in Vancouver can watch whether the Tuesday picket leads to renewed bargaining.
What happens next
The picket line is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 11, 2026, outside PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center off Mill Plain Boulevard.
Further reading
For more on how labor disputes like this one unfold locally, see Unions coverage for Vancouver.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KOIN 6 Portland.
Live Poll
Do you think healthcare workers should be able to strike for better union contracts?
