Nurses in Florence picketed their workplace as part of Monday’s May Day observations.
Members of the Oregon Nurses Association – or ONA – are demonstrating against stalled contract negotiations with PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center.
Sandy Fleetwood is a registered nurse who participated in Monday’s event. She says disputes over staffing, wages, and working conditions are just a few points of contention.
"PeaceHealth currently is just stonewalling us," Fleetwood say. "We make a proposal, they reject. We make another proposal, they reject that one.
"So it’s very difficult to get anything through at this point. All of our negotiations have halted, and we’re going through a federal mediator.”
A PeaceHealth spokeswoman says they were ready to bargain in good faith, but the ONA didn’t seem to share that desire, presenting proposals that were a “step backward rather than forward”.
The next negotiation is scheduled for May 8th.
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