NUHW now represents workers at every Providence hospital in Northern California, following a vote earlier this month by nearly 200 workers at Providence’s Healdsburg Hospital in Sonoma County to join the union.
“We’re excited to join our fellow NUHW members at the bargaining table and work together on a contract that secures market rate pay, improves patient care, and safeguards medical care in our community,” said Debra Lehnhard, a registered nurse at the hospital. “As the only non-union Providence hospital in the region, we have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to our wages and retirement benefits.”
The organizing drive was covered by Northern California Public Radio, Becker’s Hospital Review and the Healdsburg Tribune.
Providence, the nation’s fifth-largest nonprofit hospital system, emerged as a major operator in Northern California with its 2016 takeover of St. Joseph Health, which gave it control over a majority of acute care beds in Sonoma, Napa, and Humboldt counties.
When Providence purchased the 43-bed Healdsburg Hospital in 2021, it became the only non-union Providence hospital in the region. But that changed after a powerful organizing effort that culminated in registered nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, and medical technicians, voting overwhelmingly to join NUHW in a union election.
“We needed extra support, safety, and better pay and retirement benefits, and to have a voice and job stability,” said Donya Bornstein, a pharmacy tech, of what drove the union organizing effort. “This is going to give us a backbone. If something doesn’t seem right, we can follow the policies and procedures of a contract.”
Bornstein, who has worked at the hospital for the past 10 years, said the workers are excited about the union win and the opportunity to address some of the issues at the hospital, including call-outs, wages that are below market, and impact turnover and employee retention.
“I hope to have a safe working environment and better wages, where people like to come to work and are not afraid of losing their jobs,” Bornstein said.
With this victory, NUHW now represents more than 2,500 workers at all six Providence hospitals in Northern California: Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital, and Healdsburg Hospital in Sonoma County; Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa; and Redwood Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph Eureka in Humboldt County. NUHW also represents workers in two home health and hospice agencies owned by Providence in Sonoma County.
Overall, NUHW now has more than 2,500 Providence members in Northern California and an additional 1,800 members in Southern California, where we recently organized workers at Providence Torrance and Providence San Pedro hospitals following a major contract victory at Providence Tarzana.
“Union power is growing across the Providence system in California, and our members are determined to use their strength to win fair wages, secure safe staffing levels, and keep medical services in their communities,” NUHW President Sophia Mendoza said. “Our newest members at Healdsburg worked hard to win their union, and they’re going to join us in winning groundbreaking contracts across Northern California.”
Currently all NUHW members at Providence facilities in Northern California are at the bargaining table, seeking to secure wages that are in line with competitors such as Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente, as well as protection from service reductions.
Although Providence has $7.8 billion in financial reserves and a $150 million venture capital arm, it has laid off workers and sharply reduced available medical services in Northern California. Since 2020, Providence has closed its outpatient labs in all three counties, closed birthing centers in Humboldt and Sonoma counties, shuttered the only acute rehab unit in Humboldt County, and closed two urgent care clinics in Sonoma County.
