Notices recently appeared at PeaceHealth workplaces across Oregon, Washington and Alaska, reflecting an agreement by the Vancouver-based hospital system to no longer unlawfully threaten the benefits of workers who are on strike.
While the full implications of the ruling are not clear, it appears to reinforce federal law’s existing requirement that workers cannot be punished for exercising their right to organize to advocate for better working conditions.
The agreement stems from an unfair labor practices complaint filed by the Washington State Nurses Association in October 2023 over statements made by PeaceHealth to workers that they risked losing their health insurance coverage if a strike organized by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professions at PeaceHealth Southwest in Vancouver and PeaceHealth St. John in Longview continued past a certain date.