PORTLAND, Ore. — A three-day nurses strike at six Providence medical facilities throughout the state of Oregon comes to an end Thursday night, but the nurses union said they will continue picketing through Saturday due to Providence's five-day contracts for replacement nurses.
According to the Oregon Nurses Association, the union provided its legally required strike notice to Providence on June 7, and made clear that nurses would return to work at 6 a.m. on Friday following the three-day strike. Providence has since said it will welcome nurses back "to their regular shifts" beginning Sunday instead, ONA said.
In a statement, the union did indicate that some nurses were invited back to work shifts on Friday, but not all and not on their regular schedules.
"Many ONA nurses don’t want to go back to work while their colleagues are locked out, and others are uncomfortable about working alongside the strikebreaker nurses Providence brought in for strike coverage," the union said. "Nurses are also increasingly frustrated with Providence’s lack of clarity and poor communication, leading to confusion among the nurses."
RELATED: Providence claims nurses union is asking travel nurses to turn down contracts during strike
Because some nurses are not being immediately reinstated, ONA called this an "illegal lockout," pledging to file an unfair labor practice charge.
Citing Providence officials, OPB's reporting corroborated what the nurses union has said; that replacement nurses were offered five-day contracts in spite of the three-day strike, meaning the hospital system has contracted help for two more days.
Providence acknowledged as much in a statement Thursday, but suggested that ONA was well aware this would be the case.
"Providence is prioritizing patient care. Bringing in a replacement nursing workforce and building clinical contingency plans is a complex process across six hospitals," Providence said. "Doing it well – as we did Tuesday – takes a total commitment of hundreds of leaders, volunteers and replacement workers. We also want to honor our contractual replacement period with our temporary nurses.
"Bottom line: Union leaders knew there would be a five-day replacement period. They’re playing the media, and putting our nurses in the middle."
ONA said picketing will resume at 6 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday, and it urged nurses not to cross the picket line.
This week's strike comes after six months of bargaining. Nurses have been asking for better pay, a better nurse-to-patient ratio, and better health benefits. Providence claims that as of June 1, when a new law on staffing ratios went into effect, it has been following the rules that ONA helped to pass.
More than 3,000 nurses hit the picket lines Tuesday around six facilities: Providence St. Vincent, Newberg, Willamette Falls, Medford, Hood River and Milwaukie. ONA has said that this is the largest nurses strike in state history.
