Bargaining Update: May 17
Bargaining Survey: Our next bargaining survey will launch next week. The survey won’t be sent from our typical email address, so we want to make sure our members have the details and are aware that the survey is legitimate. The sender will appear as “president@local328.org via Survey Monkey.” Click here for a sample image of what the body of the email will look like.
What’s Important?: OHSU’s bargaining update today highlighted the cost of all of our union’s proposals combined. Yes, it’s high. However, both teams know that initial proposals are just that, and it certainly hasn’t been our union’s expectation that we would get everything we proposed. We had hoped that the management team would thoughtfully review our proposals and come back with a selection of counterproposals that show OHSU values the members of our bargaining unit and has heard our concerns. That didn’t happen, although the management team did make some movement on some proposals.
OHSU’s update also mentioned that our members’ wages are adjusted to the market rate. This is true, and it was one of the reasons given for the employer’s offer on across-the-board wage increases. However, the nature of work and how workers feel about their jobs have changed since the pandemic, and management doesn’t seem to recognize that. “Market-rate” isn’t likely to cut it with many employees now, including at OHSU. Leadership has no trouble investing in faculty or in buildings, or going above and beyond for whom and what they feel is important. It’s time for them to show our members that same consideration and invest in us.
Today’s Negotiations: The Local 328 team spent this morning and part of the early evening working on counterproposals; we passed no contract language across the table to OHSU today. In the afternoon, OHSU CFO Lawrence Furnstahl gave a presentation on OHSU’s finances. The management bargaining team then presented a 65-page package proposal over the course of several hours.
OHSU proposed current contract language for (rejected) the following:
5.25 Reclassification: OHSU rejected our proposal to change an instance of “and” to “or.”
5.UX3 Equity Lens: OHSU rejected adding this new definition, part of our union’s DEI proposals, to the contract.
8.2.1 Progression within Quartiles: OHSU rejected our proposed 0.5% increases to our anniversary raises.
8.2.2 Longevity Rate: OHSU rejected our proposal to apply the longevity rate every five years instead of just once.
8.3 Merit-Based Adjustments: OHSU rejected our proposal to make it clearer that merit increases and bonuses are not prohibited by our contract.
8.12 Retention Bonus: OHSU rejected our proposal for a one-time retention bonus based on an employee’s FTE and years of service.
9.1.2 Overtime Compensation: OHSU rejected our proposed changes — such as increasing premium pay for mandatory overtime — to this section of the contract.
10.2 On-Call Pay: OHSU rejected our proposal to offer on call-pay for every four hours on on-call duty instead of every six hours.
10.UX2 Degree Differential/10.UX3 Unforeseen Environmental Hazard Differential/10.UX8 Hazardous Materials Differential: OHSU rejected these proposed new differentials.
12.1 Accrual of Vacation Time: OHSU rejected our proposal for additional VAC hours, accrued more quickly.
13.1 Accrual of Sick Leave: OHSU rejected our proposed increase to SIK accruals, which have remained unchanged for at least 20 years.
14.1.9 Mental Health Leave: OHSU rejected our proposal for 16 hours of paid mental-health leave per year.
21.1 Reorganizations/21.2 Classification and Reclassification Procedure: OHSU rejected our proposed changes to these sections of the contract.
21.3 Upward Classification: OHSU rejected our proposed expansion of this language.
22.1.5 AFSCME Inclusion in Workforce Development Initiatives or Plans: OHSU rejected our proposal to dedicate a portion of funding and positions from any workforce development plan for our members.
MOU #19 Employees Employed Prior to 9/11/98: OHSU rejected our proposed deletion of this language, since our vacation-accruals proposal was also rejected.
MOU #20 Paid Family Leave Task Force/MOU #UX5 Paid Family Leave: OHSU rejected our proposal for up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, and also rejected our request to maintain a task force to discuss the matter if we couldn’t reach an agreement at the table.
MOU #UX6 Training Trust: OHSU rejected our new proposal re: participation in a training trust that would provide eligible AFSCME-represented employees with career and training benefits such as apprenticeships.
MOU #UX11 Employer Assisted Child Care Task Force/MOU #UX13 Child Care Stipend: OHSU rejected our proposals to form a task force to develop a plan for employer-assisted health care and to offer a child-care stipend.
OHSU made the following counterproposals:
2.10 Negotiating Team: We had proposed increasing the size of our bargaining team to 16 employees; OHSU countered with 14. We had asked for release time (union paid) for our team to attend all bargaining-related training; OHSU countered with release time of up to 16 hours.
5.UX4 Preceptor: OHSU proposed changing the title of this new definition to “Clinical Trainer” and rejected our definition in favor of a much different version.
7.7 Time Off Between Regularly Scheduled Shifts: We had proposed striking the “regularly scheduled” language from this article and offering higher compensation when employees don’t receive at least 10 hours off between shifts; OHSU rejected these changes but accepted others.
7.8 On-Call: OHSU rejected most of our proposed changes to this section.
8.1 Across-the- Board Increases: As you’re probably already aware, OHSU rejected our union’s proposed 9%-8%-8% raises in favor of 2%-2%-2% raises.
8.4 Market-Based Adjustments: OHSU accepted all of our proposed changes to this section, except for the addition re: the longevity step.
8.5.3 Promotion: OHSU accepted some of our proposed changes.
8.7.1 Upward Reclassification: OHSU accepted some of our proposed changes.
8.11 Overpayments & Underpayments: OHSU accepted only non-substantive changes to this section.
9.1.4 Scheduling and Assignment of Overtime: OHSU accepted some of our proposed changes.
9.2 Call Back: The management team rejected our additions to this contract language (including increasing the premium pay for reporting to work while on-call) and countered with a bit of their own new language.
9.3 Change in Reporting Time: OHSU accepted all of our proposed changes to this section.
9.X Sign-on Bonuses: OHSU reproposed this new language, which our union hasn’t yet responded to.
10.1 Shift Differential: OHSU reproposed this language, which our union hasn’t yet responded to.
10.3 Work from Home While On-Call: Our records show that our team agreed to OHSU’s proposed changes back on March 15, but the changes were reproposed today.
10.8 Inclement Weather Team: We had proposed increasing this premium pay to $15.00/hour; OHSU countered with a increase to $12.00/hour.
10.11 Weekend Differential: We had proposed increasing this differential from $0.50/hour to 10% (to a maximum of $3.00/hour); OHSU countered with an increase to $1.00/hour.
10.UX1 Advanced Certification Differential: OHSU rejected our proposal for a new 5% differential in favor of an MOU to form a task force to explore adding a certification differential.
10.UX4 Preceptor Pay: OHSU accepted moving this language from an MOU to the body of the contract, but rejected our proposal to increase the differential from $1.00/hour to 10%; OHSU rejected expanding the language to all employees who do this work, but did increase the number of eligible classifications from 16 to 27.
10.UX5 Float Pool Department Differential: OHSU agreed to adding a new float differential (in the amount of $1.00/hour instead of our proposed 5%), but only for employees in a designated float-pool position; OHSU rejected our language re: notice of float shifts.
10.UX7 Additional Need Incentive: The teams each proposed new ANI language on April 19; OHSU countered with a combination of the two proposals.
11.1 Recognized Holidays + MOU #UX2 Juneteenth & Indigenous Peoples Day: OHSU accepted our proposed two new floating holidays — if we give up President’s Day — and rejected the other two new holidays we proposed.
13.2 Attendance Recognition: OHSU accepted some of our proposed changes, but retained the 2:1 conversion instead of our proposed 1:1 conversion.
14.1.1 Jury Service: OHSU reproposed this language, which our union hasn’t yet responded to.
14.2.4 Bereavement Leave: OHSU accepted some of our changes, but countered our 56 paid hours per year in favor of 12 paid hours per year.
22.1.4 Promotion of Development Opportunities: OHSU accepted only a non-substantive change to this section of the contract.
22.3 Attendance at Educational & Training Functions: OHSU accepted some of our proposed expansion of this section of the contract.
22.5 Education Expense Reimbursement: OHSU accepted some of our proposed expansion of this section of the contract.
Appendix A Salaried Employees: OHSU proposed retaining all contract exclusions except those regarding shift trades and weekend differential. The management team also rejected most of our other proposed improvements, including VAC accruals, shift differentials, on-call, anniversary increases and a process for employees to move from salary to hourly pay.
MOU #7 Services for Employees Whose Primary Language Is Not English: OHSU proposed an improved title for this MOU and accepted many of our suggested changes. We’re pleased with the movement here and hope we can reach an agreement that will improve the work lives of these employees.
MOU #8 Transportation Assistance Program: OHSU rejected our proposal for free TriMet passes, plus free daily parking for our lowest-wage members, instead retaining the current $50 passes: OHSU did add language stating that new employees could receive their first TriMet pass for only $25.
MOU #UX3 Recommendations to the Market-Based Wage Committee: We had proposed changing this language from a letter of agreement to a memorandum of understanding within the contract, which OHSU accepted. OHSU accepted some of our additional changes but rejected others.
MOU #UX4 Downward Adjustment: OHSU accepted most of our proposed new contract language.
MOU #UX9 Community Service Leave: OHSU accepted adding this new leave to the contract, but in the amount of 8 hours of unpaid release time per year instead of 40 hour of paid leave.
MOU #UX14 Access to Computers & Time to Review Work-Related Communications: OHSU accepted most of our proposed new language around dedicated work time to review OHSU communications, but rejected the language around computer access.
The entire set of OHSU’s counterproposals can be read here. Since the management team presented the above as a package, their expectation is that our team would have to agree with all of the language to get any of it.
Important Dates:
May 18 Bargaining Forum: It’s not too late to participate in tomorrow’s bargaining forum! Register here for the Zoom link.
May 20 Proposal Feedback Drop-in Session: Join members of the bargaining team on campus and let us know which proposals are a priority for you! See the flyer for details.
May 24: Our first bargaining session with a mediator is next week.