Bargaining Update: April 5
Today’s bargaining session was very productive! The Local 328 team presented 15 proposals and counterproposals, and we reached tentative agreement with OHSU on seven sections of the contract.
Tentative Agreements Reached:
2.5 New Employee Orientation: This language has been updated in response to a grievance settlement, ensuring that our union has ample opportunity to meet with new employees.
2.6 Bulletin Boards: This language clarifies what items can be posted to union bulletin boards without Labor Relations approval.
2.9.1 Union Communications from External Sources/2.9.2 Union Communications from Internal Sources: The changes to this language have provided clarity and will make our union’s communications work easier. We appreciate the OHSU’s movement in this area.
3.X Agreement Signatures: This language clarifies who in each party must sign letters of agreement, consensus agreements, memoranda of understanding, etc.
5.20 Preferential Hire List: We’ve added language stating that employees on the PHL must respond to a job offer within seven calendar days and that the employer has seven calendar days to notify them when a position has been accepted by another employee. There will be no limit on the number of positions PHL employees may apply for.
29.2 Negotiations for New Contract: This language moves up the dates in the bargaining process — going forward, we will begin regular bargaining sessions the first full week in February and schedule our first mediation session no later than the first full week in May.
Local 328 Counterproposals and Proposals:
Counter: 2.9.4 Access to OHSU Intranet: We presented a slightly tweaked version of this proposal, which would enable our staff representatives to directly access important policies, OHSU Now updates and other information affecting members of our bargaining unit, rather than using cumbersome workarounds.
Counter: 7.6 Meal Periods: We continue to counter with current contract language in response to OHSU’s proposed changes to this section of the contract.
2.10 Negotiating Team: We’ve proposed growing our bargaining team to 16 employees instead of 13, and have requested union-paid release time for bargaining-team members to participate in bargaining activities other than the weekly OHSU-paid negotiations.
5.3 Consensus: We’ve proposed additions to this section, so that departments can utilize the consensus process to tweak contract language re: on-call and shift trades (in addition to availability of additional work, scheduling and assignment of overtime, unit procedures and order of curtailment/cancelation).
7.10 Shift Trades: We’ve proposed language clarifying that salaried employees may trade shifts across pay periods, as well as giving supervisors more leeway in approving shift trades even if the trade would result in overtime or premium pay.
13.2 Attendance Recognition: We’ve proposed a 1:1 conversion of SIK hours to VAC hours based on an employee’s limited utilization of unscheduled sick leave. Click here to learn more.
20.2.1 Internal Job Change Evaluation Period: We proposed some housekeeping changes, as well as changing the term “bargaining unit position” to “classification.” OHSU made a counterproposal later in the day, accepting the housekeeping changes but not the wording change.
22.1 Promotion of Development Opportunities: We’ve proposed that OHSU work with our union on workforce development initiatives such as the employer’s recently announced “30-30-30” plan. Click here to view the details of this important proposal.
MOU #10 Hardship Fund: We’ve proposed renewing the hardship fund, where OHSU provides our union with $100,000 each year of the contract to assist members facing financial hardship around housing, transportation, food insecurity and more.
Market-Based Wage Committee Proposals: We made four proposals related to the market-based salary adjustments, downward adjustments and the work of the MBWC. Click here to view the proposal language.
Still to Come: In addition to making counters to outstanding OHSU proposals, the Local 328 team will be presenting a number of new proposals prior to the April 26 deadline, on topics including:
Appendix A (salaried employees)
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Economics, including across-the-board raises and paid leave
Steward language
Teleworking
Stay Informed: We have a number of ways for you to stay informed about bargaining! In addition to our monthly all-member bargaining forums (April 20 and May 18), we’ll be hosting a number of specialty forums in April for salaried employees, social workers, teleworkers and more. We’ll also be making worksite visits to various satellite locations on Mondays during April and May. We also post bargaining-related videos to TikTok. For more information on the above events, as well as the most current bargaining news, visit our Linktree.