PeaceHealth Continues Refusing to Meet with Nurses after Canceling Scheduled Mediation
(EUGENE, Ore.) - The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) has filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging PeaceHealth executives responded to a strike notice by threatening to terminate health insurance for home care nurses and their families throughout Lane County. While nurses from PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services remain willing to meet while preparing to picket PeaceHealth Feb. 10 - 24; PeaceHealth executives have refused to sit down with nurses and made plans to cut workers' health insurance.
After receiving nurses’ original strike notice Jan. 19, PeaceHealth executives told workers it planned to terminate striking nurses’ health insurance along with any covered family members—including people with chronic health conditions or disabilities. Threatening to cut its own workers' health insurance in retaliation for engaging in protected activities is a clear violation of federal law. The National Labor Relations Act prevents companies like PeaceHealth from threatening, punishing or retaliating against workers who engage in protected union activities including strikes.
“Even after everything PeaceHealth has put this community through over the last few years, threatening to cut its own nurses’ health care is a new low. This is a direct attack on local health care professionals and their families,” said ONA President Tamie Cline, RN. “Shame on the executives running PeaceHealth for putting profits before patients and the nurses who care for them. Why would anyone in this community trust PeaceHealth to provide health care for them when PeaceHealth refuses to provide health care for its own workers?”
The ULP states PeaceHealth broke federal law and its own internal policies by threatening to punish and retaliate against workers and their families for striking. The National Labor Relations Board adjudicates ULPs and can impose financial and legal penalties on companies like PeaceHealth which break federal law. The board is expected to open an investigation into PeaceHealth’s conduct.
“PeaceHealth has a bad reputation for threatening its own workers’ health care. While we are deeply disappointed PeaceHealth threatened to terminate health insurance for local nurses and their families at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services—we were not surprised,” said ONA spokesperson Kevin Mealy. “Nurses are willing to sacrifice to make sure everyone in this community receives the care and respect they deserve and we’re prepared to ensure nurses and their families continue to have access to health insurance throughout this strike regardless of the dates.”
While nurses have offered to continue negotiating with PeaceHealth to try to reach a fair agreement and prevent a strike, PeaceHealth executives canceled their Jan. 23 meeting with nurses and a federal mediator and have refused to meet with frontline nurses since. PeaceHealth’s refusal to meet with nurses and bargain in good faith also violates the National Labor Relations Act.
Local home care nurses are striking to protect community health and safety and address PeaceHealth’s staffing crisis. The strike runs Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 a.m. to Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 a.m. outside PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Home Care Services Springfield office (123 International Way, Springfield, OR) Nurses will hold a kickoff rally Sat. Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and invite community members to participate in the kickoff rally and join nurses on the picket line each weekday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization.We are a professional association and labor union which represents more than 18,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state, including more than 90 nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services and nearly 1,500 frontline nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center. ONA’s mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.
