Budget Talks Update #6 -- Brief Report-Out

Today the AFSCME Local 328 COVID-19 Impact Response Team met with OHSU to discuss our counter to the employer’s proposal. We’ll have a more detailed article for you as soon as possible, but wanted to post a brief update in the meantime.

The CIRT is trying in good faith to help OHSU with its budget issues by proposing a number of voluntary options, such as FTE reduction, unpaid furlough days and early retirement, while also preserving financial security for our members. We want to ensure that employees who are temporarily laid off still receive health-care benefits and that seniority rights are preserved. A copy of our proposal may be viewed here.

We believe that OHSU’s budget crisis doesn’t need to be solved by a high volume of layoffs in our bargaining unit. In keeping with the spirit of one of OHSU’s advertising slogans, “We’re Here to Do What Can’t Be Done,” we also suggested options such as people-first OHSU Foundation fundraising campaign.  We also raised the possibility of worker-led, department-specific solutions to layoffs, rather than a punitive, one-size-fits-all solution; e.g., workers in a department choosing as a group to take furlough days or FTE reductions in order to eliminate the need for a targeted layoff in their department.

OHSU will be discussing our proposal and other issues over the next week; the CIRT’s next meeting with the employer is scheduled for Thursday, June 4. In the meantime, please continue to share your feedback, and stay tuned for additional communications in the coming days.