The union representing nurses on strike at Providence Medford Medical Center and at five other Providence hospitals in Oregon plans to file an unfair labor practice complaint against the health system for not allowing the bulk of nurses to return to work on Friday.

Yet the Oregon Nurses Association does not expect that extending the picket into the weekend will impact bargaining sessions on Monday, according to Scott Palmer, the union’s chief of staff.

“What we are expecting is that Providence will come back to the table and negotiate a fair contract,” Palmer said.

Nurses he’s working with on the Medford picket line “expect nothing less,” he added.

“It’s very clear that the nurses have common-sense expectations for their contract,” Palmer said. “We’ve made it clear since January.”

Providence leadership pulled out of negotiations June 7 to prepare hospital operations for the strike after the 10-day notice came in. Palmer said he is looking forward to Providence’s return to the bargaining table.

“Now the ball is really in Providence’s court to meet those requirements,” he added.

The three-day ONA strike involving 3,000 nurses at Providence Medford, Providence Hood River, Providence Milwaukie, Providence Newberg, Providence St. Vincent in Portland and Providence Willamette Falls in Oregon City officially ends at 8 p.m. Thursday, but most striking nurses will not be allowed to return to work until 7 a.m. Sunday.

On Wednesday, the strike drew Oregon Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, to the Medford picket line to hear local nurses’ concerns.

Firefighters in Medford, Portland Newberg and Hood River also joined the picket line Wednesday. And Randi Weingarten, president of the ONA’s parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, spoke Wednesday at a rally outside Providence St. Vincent.

Hospital officials replaced the bulk of striking nurses this week with temporary nurses hired on five-day contracts. Providence leadership in Southern Oregon and across the state have said in interviews and in emails this week that union leaders knew there would be a five-day replacement period for nurses.

“Building a replacement nursing workforce and building clinical contingency plans is a complex process across six hospitals,” Providence stated in a news release Thursday afternoon. “Doing it well — as we did Tuesday — takes a total commitment of hundreds of leaders, volunteers and replacement workers.”

Providence Southern Oregon Chief Executive Chris Pizzi said in a Monday interview, “We’re not locking out nurses.” 

Palmer said the 10-day notice includes language stating that, at the conclusion of the three-day strike, nurses will “unconditionally” return to work at 6 a.m. Friday, June 21. The notice further includes language allowing for pickets to continue if the nurses are not allowed to return to work. He said that, based on what’s in the notice, the extended pickets “certainly shouldn’t be a surprise to Providence.”

“They have refused to reinstate the nurses, so picketing is going to continue,” Palmer said.

The ONA said in a Thursday afternoon email that Providence’s refusal is an “illegal lockout,” because nurses have a right to return to work, and that an employer “has to immediately reinstate them by law.” 

“Providence is refusing to do that, and that is illegal,” the email said.

In response, Palmer said the ONA is filing an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

“We’re also going to be seeking back pay for any of the affected nurses,” Palmer said.