PORTLAND, Ore. — A statewide strike involving nurses at Providence hospitals came to an end Friday morning, but heated rhetoric between the hospital system and nurses' union continued. The Oregon Nurses Association alleges that Providence has violated a new Oregon law governing hospital staffing ratios, something Providence denies.
Since the beginning of the strike, ONA has accused Providence of "purposefully undermining" Oregon's hospital safe staffing law, which was revised in 2023 with buy-in from both health care unions and hospital systems. According to the union, Providence has approved staffing plans without the participation of union nurses — when, under the law , they should make up half the committee that approves staffing plans. In a statement issued Friday, ONA said that the Oregon Health Authority had confirmed violations of the safe staffing law by Providence in a June 20 letter.
"Providence submitted staffing plans to OHA for approval that were never agreed upon by nurses and were unilaterally adopted by management without the required approval from the nurse staffing committee," ONA said. "According to OHA, this action violates Oregon’s staffing law, as ONA-represented nurses have been claiming. Additionally, Providence’s proposals at the bargaining table sought to eliminate the legal requirement for staffing committee agreement, which nurses have steadfastly refused to accept.
" In its own statement, Providence vehemently denied the allegation, saying .