Stop the Sellout! Providence’s For-Profit Partnership Endangers Patients

Tell state regulators to reject the proposed joint venture between Providence Health and Compassus to keep your healthcare driven by your needs, not corporate profits!

ALSO:

Background:

Providence is attempting to spin off its nonprofit home health, hospice and community palliative care programs into a joint for-profit enterprise run by private-equity-owned Compassus.

Right now, this Providence/Compassus joint venture is being reviewed by Oregon’s Health Care Market Oversight program. Healthcare workers and community members are speaking up to share their concerns about transparency, patient care, and the potential negative effects on health outcomes in Oregon’s vulnerable communities with this joint venture.

For-profit, private equity healthcare generally leads to higher prices, lower access and worse healthcare. Research shows private equity corporations consistently cut staffing and services, increase patients’ costs and illness, and contribute little to our communities’ long term health and wellbeing. The bottom line: Partnering with private-equity will lead to higher costs and worse care. Now is the time to act!

2025 School Board Endorsements

BerniePDX is excited to announce our Portland Public Schools Board endorsements! We endorsed these candidates because they will fight for more school funding for the classroom, not admin salaries. If elected, they promise a collaborative relationship with the teachers’ union, as opposed to the status quo of hostility and paternalism. They will also strive to protect students who are under threat from the Trump administration and increase services for students in need. 

With public education under attack from the highest levels of government, it’s more important than ever to elect a school board who will fight for Portland students and support teachers. Please join us in supporting Christy Splitt in Zone 1, Rashelle Chase-Miller in Zone 4, Jorge Sanchez Bautista in Zone 5, and Stephanie Engelsman in Zone 6!

Visit berniepdx.us/2025-school-board-endorsements to learn more about the candidates.

Tell City Council: Ban Algorithmic Rent Price Fixing!

Protect renters and stop corporate rent manipulation!

Landlords and property management firms are using algorithmic pricing software to coordinate rent increases, artificially inflating prices and worsening Portland’s housing crisis. These tools prioritize profits over people, displacing tenants, reducing affordable housing options, and deepening inequality.

Click here to email your City Councilors and urge them to support the Algorithmic Rent Pricing Ban Ordinance.

Or give them a call:

  • District 1: 503-823-4350
  • District 2: 503-823-4354 
  • District 3: 503-823-4360
  • District 4: 503-823-4359

Tell Governor Kotek: Don’t reappoint Sheryl Manning to the Portland State University Board

Email Governor Kotek and ask her not to reappoint Sheryl Manning to the PSU Board. Instead, appoint someone with a higher education background who will champion our working conditions and students’ learning conditions, not cut PSU to the bone.

Together we can recruit Governor Kotek to appoint a Board of Trustees that’ll invest in working conditions and learning conditions in our next contract. The Board of Trustees Finance and Administration chair Sheryl Manning has been a strong advocate of draconian budget cuts, which have led to the unnecessary and counterproductive layoffs of 17 of our faculty colleagues. Her current term on the Board ends on June 30th.

Tell City Council: We Support Social Housing!

Portland’s Housing and Homelessness Committee passed a resolution introduced by Councilors Green and Avalos to investigate more innovative models of affordable housing, or Social Housing models. Email Portland City Council to show your support for this resolution!

Read about the resolution in KGW: “Several members of Portland City Council are asking the city to explore a new effort to increase housing affordability, known as ‘social housing.’ The term refers to housing that’s owned and operated by government or nonprofits rather than developers and property managers in order to keep rent prices down and meet the needs of residents.”

Street Roots: City Council demands mayor investigate Zenith Energy agreement

This is a huge win for Portland thanks to our new City Council!

“Portland City Council voted 11-1 on March 19 in favor of a resolution demanding Mayor Keith Wilson investigate Zenith Energy’s potential violations of its franchise agreement after the Houston-based fossil fuel transport and storage company constructed and operated pipes at its Northwest Portland facility without first notifying the Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ.

… The City Council also urged the city auditor to investigate and prepare a report detailing the city’s handling of Zenith’s recent land use application, citing ‘competing statements’ made by city officials and Zenith in a Jan. 21 work session. Additionally, it directed Wilson to pause any administrative action with regard to Zenith until the investigation is complete.” Read more here.

Vote for the BerniePDX 2025 Portland Public School Board Endorsements!

VOTE HERE!

Learn about the candidates’ backgrounds and priorities, as well as:

– How they will protect and fight for more school funding
– The relationship they think the board should have with the teachers union
– How they will protect students under threat from the Trump Administration
– Their ideas for how PPS can support students experiencing housing insecurity
– and more!

…then cast your vote for the candidates you think deserve the BerniePDX endorsement.

LAST DAY TO VOTE IS SUNDAY, MARCH 23.