Providence nurses enter second day of strike for better staffing, higher wages

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – It’s the second day of the ongoing local Providence nurse strike in which thousands of nurses from six Oregon hospitals are on the picket lines.

The strike resumed at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning after nurses spent a total of 14 hours outside the Saint Vincent, Newberg, Milwaukie, Willamette Falls, Hood River, and Medford hospitals on Tuesday with the support of family members, friends, and other union members.

Previously, the nurses announced they submitted a 10-day notice for a three-day strike from June 18-20 demanding safe staffing levels, affordable health care, increased paid time off, and market wages.

Providence Oregon said it will not be negotiating with the nurses union until after the strike ends Friday morning. However, the hospitals are still open for patients in the meantime.

“The Providence nurses ensured that the handover went well and ensured that our replacement nurses had all of the information they needed to ensure that we were able to continue providing excellent care,” Jennifer Gentry, the Providence chief nursing officer, said.

Although the strike is set for only three days, Providence will not let full-time nurses back until Sunday due to the contracts made with replacement nurses that last for five days. 

However, the Oregon Nurses Association said they have received a “barrage of mixed messages we have heard from Providence executives.”

“On the other side: ONA has been clear about our intentions and timing to allow nurses and Providence to plan accordingly,” the union said, citing their notice for the strike that included specific times and dates for the event. “ONA nurses that are scheduled for shifts on Friday will be ready to return to work.”

Emma Dancer, a Providence nurse, said the most pressing issue among her coworkers at the start of the strike was their patient-to-nurse ratio.

“If they require a lift, which is a device that goes underneath them and lifts them out of bed physically, and we have to put them on the toilet, that can take 30 minutes to get a patient in and out of bed,” RN Emma Dancer said. “Meanwhile, I have four patients calling call lights and they also have to get up and go to the bathroom, or they need pain medication, or have heart palpitations or chest pain.”

Nurses are taking shifts on the picket lines. They are not getting hospital pay, and they cannot use paid time off during the strike. Instead, they can apply for money collected by their union.

Providence Portland has not joined the picket line, as their nurses previously held a strike last June and settled their contract.

Strikers will be on the picket line until 8 p.m. Wednesday and are expected to return Thursday morning.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.