Nurses in Providence continue picketing after three-day strike

Aimee Plante and Jenna Deml

1 hour ago

Nurses at Providence hospitals strike, June 19, 2024 (KOIN)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Nurses Association has announced that its union members will continue to strike outside six Providence hospitals after their three-day strike ends in response to the hospital’s “illegal lockout of nurses.”

Nurses on the picket line told KOIN 6 News they expect to show up for work on Friday and be turned awayIn response, union members plan to continue picketing on Friday – even though the strike is over.

Although the strike for 3 daysProvidence has determined that they will not leave full-time nurses until Sunday, due to contracts with substitute nurses who hired for five days.

Providence has since said nurses would be notified by phone Thursday evening whether they would be selected for their shifts.

ONA claims this tactic is an “illegal lockout” and is urging them to extend their picket lines and ask the nurses represented by the union not to break the picket line. The union clarifies, however, that the picket lines taking place on Friday are not an extension of the three-day strike.

“In its strike call, ONA warned that strikes would continue if Providence locks out the nurses, refuses to rehire them, or delays rehiring them,” ONA said in a statement. “Given Providence’s refusal to rehire the nurses, ONA will continue to strike until the nurses return to their regular schedules.”

Providence spokesman Gary Walker previously told KOIN 6 News that the company has “established processes to ensure a smooth transition in patient care,” similar to the process used to Transition from striking nursing staff to contract nursing staff.

“It is not uncommon for a Providence nurse to work with nurses from an agency,” Walker said. “We know the nurses will work together respectfully and professionally to provide quality patient care, as they regularly do.”

However, ONA nurses said a lack of clarity from their employer had led to them being unwilling to work with their successors.

“Many ONA nurses do not want to return to work while their colleagues are locked out, and others are uncomfortable with the idea of ​​working side by side with the strike-breaking nurses Providence has brought in to represent them,” the ONA said in a statement.

Walker released a statement on behalf of Providence Thursday afternoon claiming the replacement nurses were part of a “clinical contingency plan” to ensure patient safety and that union leaders knew about the five-day replacement period.

“They are manipulating the media and putting our nurses at the center,” the statement said.

The statement then highlighted further concerns for patients: Providence had heard union representatives talking about “staging a scene” at the hospital entrances.

“While we are aware of the union’s decision to continue picketing, Providence wants to ensure that union leadership puts patient privacy and safety first: Please do not allow union representatives or attorneys to try to advance their cause by putting our patients at risk,” it said.

In addition, Providence claimed that union leadership failed to respond to six wage proposals for weeks or even months before the strike was announced.

When Oregon’s new nurse staffing ratio law went into effect on June 1, Providence also found that those ratios were written into the law by ONA members.

“The union declared the passage of the bill a major victory – and again it passed with a coalition of unions and health systems. If union leaders want to change the law they fought for, they should go to the legislature instead of striking over something Providence cannot change.

The statement concluded, “Providence follows the law that the union helped author. When and if the OHA provides additional guidance, we will review it – and Providence will follow the law again.”