SAN FRANCISCO, June 19 -- Over 3,000 nurses at six hospitals in the U.S. state of Oregon continued their strike on Wednesday to demand fair wages and better staffing levels.

Nurses at six Providence medical facilities across the state from Portland to Medford started the strike on Tuesday, which was scheduled to last three days through Thursday.

Organizers said it's the largest nurses strike in the state's history, claiming that the nurses were overworked, understaffed, underpaid, and needed better health care benefits.

The strike was to protest Providence's illegal unfair labor practices and demand fair contracts that improve patient care, raise nurse staffing standards, make health care more affordable, and address Providence's growing staffing crisis, according to the organizers.

The strike comes after more than six months of contract bargaining between Providence and the nurses unions at each facility, including federal mediation to avoid a strike.

Providence said it plans to continue negotiations with the unions after the strike.

"We'll be working hard when the strike is over to come back to the table and get to a fair contract with our nurses as quickly as we can," said Jennifer Gentry, Providence Central Division Chief Nursing Officer.

  - Xinhua