Frontline healthcare workers fight for first contract

Healthcare workers are turning up the heat on management as they fight for a first union contract at PeaceHealth SW

VANCOUVER, WA (April 21, 2026) — Hundreds of frontline healthcare workers at PeaceHealth Southwest will rally next week as they continue to fight for their first collective bargaining agreement. PeaceHealth Southwest Professionals (PHSW Pros) won their union with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals AFT Local 5017 (OFNHP) in May of 2024 and have been bargaining with management for months now. In total, OFNHP represents about 1,400 workers in the PeaceHealth system across multiple bargaining units.

OFNHP reports that PeaceHealth is stonewalling workers at the bargaining table, refusing to budge on even the most basic proposals. So, healthcare workers will rally on April 30, sharing directly with the community their demands that PeaceHealth management stop stalling and start extending the respect, collaboration, and social justice they claim to value to the frontline workers actually providing care.

Photo: OFNHP

From OFNHP:

PeaceHealth Southwest Professionals (PHSW Pros) have been fighting for their first union contract for months, but management refuses to address the most important issues affecting the future of patient care.

This rally is a chance to stand together and demand management settle a good for contract for the Pros. Our community is paying attention, and we will not accept delays or disregard for frontline healthcare workers.

Join us in Vancouver, Washington at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center at 5:00pm on April 30th to stand in solidarity with PHSW Professionals and call for a fair contract now.

This event is open to everyone — PHSW Professionals, other hospital workers, union members, patients, and community supporters. Together, we can protect the future of patient care.

TAKE A STAND: rally with PeaceHealth healthcare workers in Vancouver, WA at 5:00 p.m. on April 30 at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center (400 NE Mother Joseph Pl, Vancouver, WA 98664 — along the Mill Plain entrance).