Bargaining Update: April 19
As the deadline to submit new proposals draws closer, both bargaining teams presented a high volume of new proposals and counterproposals, including the ones highlighted below.
Local 328 Proposals:
Economics: The following proposals were made based on feedback from our members. Read the proposed changes in full here.
5.UX4 Preceptor/10.UX4 Preceptor Pay: These proposals will ensure that everyone who precepts is paid for it. Changes include opening preceptor pay to all job classifications and increasing the preceptor differential from $1.00 per hour to 10% of one’s straight rate of pay.
10.UX7 Additional Need Incentive: Our proposal establishes an ANI rate of 70% and is aimed toward reducing OHSU’s reliance on travelers, avoiding mandatory overtime when possible and ensuring that our members are appropriately compensated for covering difficult-to-fill shifts. It would also prevent OHSU from offering physicians $187.50 an hour to do bargaining-unit work. OHSU presented an ANI proposal prior to our union’s presentation — scroll down for a comparison of the two proposals.
9.1 Overtime: We’ve proposed increasing the premium pay for mandatory overtime to triple time and added other language aimed at disincentivizing OHSU’s use of mandatory overtime to address chronic understaffing.
10.UX5 Float Differential: This new proposal would offer a 5% differential to employees who are in designated float-pool positions or who float to a different location or speciality than that which they were hired for.
Miscellaneous:
9.3 Change in Reporting Time: Currently, employees whose reporting time is changed without the required notice are paid time and a half for all hours worked before or after their regular shift, until the notice requirement is met, with a carve-out stating that if the reporting time is changed for only one day, premium pay will only apply to the first two hours worked. This proposal would remove that carve-out.
MOU #7 Services for Employees Who Speak English As a Second Language or Who Speak ASL: This proposal dramatically overhauls an existing memorandum of understanding, in order to better serve these members by providing more translated information, notifying them of their right to interpreting services during investigatory and grievance meetings and establishing a joint committee to continue to develop further solutions. Read the proposed MOU in full here.
MOU #UX6 Training Trust: Under this proposed new MOU, OHSU would make monthly financial contributions to a trust that would provide eligible represented employees with career and training benefits. Other area employers, including Kaiser, participate in similar trusts.
MOU #UX9 Community Service Leave: Many employers, including Legacy, offer paid community-service leave to their employees. This MOU would establish 40 hours of such leave per year, prorated by FTE. Read the proposed MOU in full here.
Grievances and Officer/Steward Provisions: The following proposed changes to our contract will enable our union’s staff representatives, officers, stewards and other member leaders to work more effectively, and ease some of the language around discipline for our members.
2 Union Provisions: Many of the changes to this article of our contract are in response to changes made to the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act (ORS 243.650 to 243.806). We’ve also asked for additional paid release hours for our vice president, chief steward and unit stewards to ensure that our member leaders are able to fulfill their duties.
5.EX1 Coaching (counterproposal): This is a response to new language proposed by OHSU earlier in bargaining. It defines coaching and requires that a written communication about the coaching be shared with the employee within three days.
23.1 Progressive Discipline: This proposal removes demotion and the withholding of pay raises from the steps of progressive discipline, limits disciplinary unpaid leave to a maximum of 14 days and clarifies that coaching is not a step in the discipline process.
23.1.2 Suspension of Seniority Rights: We’ve proposed removing contract language that allows OHSU to suspend some of an employee’s seniority rights as part of a final written warning.
23.3 Notice re: Investigatory Interviews: Our proposed change would require HR to notify an employee of the reason for an investigatory interview unless the notification would compromise the integrity of the investigation.
23.6 Unauthorized Absences: Currently, employees are deemed to have resigned if they are absent from work without notification for three consecutive work days; our proposed change would increase that time to five day.
23.7 Limits on Pay Reductions: Our proposal would limit disciplinary reductions in pay to no more than 3% for four pay periods.
24.3 Release Time: Our proposal makes changes to the amount of release time an employee will be given in order to prepare for an arbitration.
OHSU Proposals and Counterproposals:
5.EX4 Business Day: OHSU proposed new language defining what a business day is.
6.1.3 Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment: This proposal ties in with OHSU’s earlier proposed changes to 24.1.4 Grievances of Specific Matters, which would require complaints in this area to go through OHSU’s process before a grievance could be filed.
6.EX1 Return to Work: OHSU is proposing language that would allow OHSU to require fully remote teleworkers to return to work on campus with 28 days’ notice.
7.6 Meal Periods (counterproposal): OHSU presented another counter re: this language. You can review the counterproposal here.
7.12 Modified Operations: OHSU proposed revisions to this language, including expanding it beyond inclement weather, to include natural disasters, pandemics and local/regional emergencies.
9.X Sign-on Bonuses: OHSU proposed new language stating that the employer may offer sign-on bonuses to newly hired employees.
10.EX1 Additional Need Incentive: OHSU proposed its own ANI language early in the day. One notable difference from our union’s proposal is that the rate of the ANI pay isn’t specified. Click here to compare the two proposals.
14.1.7 Pre-Retirement Counseling (counterproposal): OHSU’s counter adds clarifying language to our original proposal.
Appendix C Employee Benefits Council: This proposal will give the House Officers Union representation on the EBC. (This language mirrors an earlier LOA to this effect.)
MOU #3 Telecommuting Task Force: OHSU has proposed striking this language, which would have formed a joint task force to discuss telecommuting opportunities. Local 328 will be presenting a number of teleworking proposals next week.
MOU #18 Workforce Mental Health Support and Peer-to-Peer Group Counseling Task Force: OHSU has proposed removing processes that haven’t worked, which would enable the task force to develop recommendations that are more functional.
MOU #EX1 Pandemic, State of Emergency and Disaster Bargaining: This new language states that OHSU and our union agree to bargain the effects of necessary changes within a reasonable time after either party requests to do so.
MOU #UX7 Employee Designations (counterproposal): OHSU accepted most of our proposal, except the section on reporting the information to our union upon request.
MOU re: Exit Interviews (counterproposal): The management team re-presented their last counter, which states that OHSU will make a good-faith effort to offer exit interviews.
27.6 Work with Dangerous Materials & 27.7 Exposure to Communicable Disease: OHSU presented these two proposals as a package that must be accepted together. The proposal for 27.6 adds a sentence stating that OHSU will follow appropriate policies/procedures; The proposal for 27.7 adds language regarding Occupational Health. Click here to review the package.
4/26 Deadline for New Proposals to Come: As you may be aware, next week is the last day for the bargaining teams to present new proposals, and our union’s team will present proposals on the following areas and more:
Appendix A (salaried employees)
Across-the-board pay increases
Vacation and sick-time accruals
Telework
Anniversary increases
Additional differentials
Check out linktr.ee/Local328 for the latest bargaining and union news, including our bargaining-forum schedule.