Bargaining Update: March 29
In our third joint bargaining session of the year, the teams again exchanged a significant number of proposals and counterproposals. We’re pleased with the progress being made so far. That being said, our team is again concerned about some of OHSU’s proposals:
OHSU continues to propose changes to our contract language regarding meal breaks, including language that we feel shifts the burden of meal-break scheduling from managers to employees.
In addition, some of the proposals OHSU made today would weaken our employees’ seniority rights. Due to the volume of proposed changes and the importance and complexity of the language, we’ll be linking to the full proposal language below.
Please read the linked materials and let us know your thoughts, suggestions and feedback regarding these proposals!
Tentative Agreements Reached: The teams agreed on changes to the following articles:
1.1 Recognition: This language creates two separate bargaining units represented by Local 328 at OHSU: one consisting of classified campus dispatchers and one consisting of all other Local 328 classifications (because the campus dispatchers take 911 calls and are considered strike-prohibited employees).
28.2 Labor Management Committee Composition: Non-member Local 328 representatives on the LMC will now receive a 30-minute LMC orientation from the union.
Local 328 Proposals:
1.1.1 Classified Employees: Employees currently must work at least 18.5 hours/pay period to be eligible to join Local 328; we proposed dropping this threshold to 16 hours, which would enable more employees to become AFSCME members.
8.2.2 Longevity Rate: Employees currently receive a 3% longevity raise after being at the top of their pay scale for five consecutive years; we proposed that the longevity raise would be applied every five years, which would reward employee loyalty to OHSU.
8.5.3 Promotion: Employees currently receive a minimum raise of 4% upon promotion to a new classification: we proposed increasing the minimum raise to 5% or to 2% above the pay-range minimum of the new classification, whichever is greater.
11.1 Recognized Holidays + New Memorandum of Understanding re: Floating Holidays. We proposed four new holidays:
Juneteenth (floating holiday)
Indigenous Peoples’ Day (floating holiday)
Veterans Day
Day after Thanksgiving
The MOU describes the process for scheduling of the proposed floating holidays. Read the MOU here.
14.1.5 Test and Interview Leave: Employees currently receive up to two hours of leave with pay for interviews for promotional opportunities; we proposed increasing this to up to four hours, to be applicable to lateral transfers as well.
15.2 Insurance Contributions: OHSU currently pays for employee-only insurance coverage at 100% of the cost of the OHSU PPO, core vision, and Delta Dental insurance and 88% for all other tiers (employee + spouse, etc.); we proposed that OHSU pays 100% of the cost of the above for all tiers of coverage.
Appendix B Conditions of Flex Staff Employees: Our proposal raises the maximum limit of flex staff per department from 15% to 20% and reduces the number of contract exclusions (market adjustments, holiday pay, etc.) that apply to flex staff. The full proposal can be read here. We also added language to 20.1 Probationary Period clarifying that flex staff who move to or from relief positions in the same classification won’t be required to serve another probationary period if they’ve already completed one in that classification.
MOU 8 Transportation Assistance Programs: TriMet passes currently cost $50 per pass for benefit-eligible bargaining-unit employees; our proposal would make the passes free. We’ve also proposed parking assistance for employees making $20/hour or less: these employees would be eligible for free daily parking.
Local 328 Counterproposals:
2.6. Bulletin Boards: We responded to OHSU’s last counterproposal with language specifying which items can be posted on our public-facing bulletin boards without pre-approval and applying OHSU’s language to all other items.
3.X Agreement Signatures: We reproposed our our original language, which required signatures of a staff representative and the Local 328 president (or designee) on all agreements except grievances and separation agreements.
6.X Exit Interviews: OHSU rejected our original proposal, which required exit interviews for employees changing departments or leaving OHSU; we resubmitted our proposal with added language stating that employees would be able to decline to share their responses with Local 328.
29.2 Negotiations for New Contract: We rejected OHSU’s proposal to move the steps in the bargaining process to earlier in the year due to limitations imposed by the Local 328 constitution.
OHSU Proposals:
5.11 Flex Staff Employee: The employer has proposed requiring flex staff to be available to work at least 40 hours per four-week period (with two exceptions to accommodate time off for vacation needs) and requiring them to possibly work holidays (without receiving holiday pay) and weekends depending on organizational need. Read the proposal here.
5.29 Relief Employee: OHSU proposed changing the availability requirement from four days per pay period to eight days per four-week period.
5.EX3 Split Shifts: OHSU proposed new language defining split shifts: “Non-continuous hours of work equaling the total work hours of the employee’s shift length, completed within a maximum of sixteen hours from the start of the shift.”
7.2.2 Split Shifts: The employer proposed that the process used when a manager wants to change an existing shift to a split shift would only apply if the employee in question doesn’t consent to the change.
12.4.3 Submission and Granting of Vacation and Holiday Time Off Requests: OHSU has proposed that vacation and holiday time off requests be changed from four “requests” in the first round to four “blocks;” it has also proposed that no more than four total weeks and no more than four separate blocks will be granted to an employee in the second round. Read the proposal here.
12.5 Accrual Limit: OHSU proposed deleting the last sentence of this article (a non-substantive change).
18.3 Non-Temporary Transfer to Separate Location: OHSU proposed considering Marquam Hill and the South Waterfront to be one location.
The following OHSU proposals would weaken our employees’ seniority rights — please be sure to review the proposed changes in full at the links:
7.4 Availability of Additional Work: OHSU has proposed that additional work would not be offered in the order of seniority, except in certain circumstances. Other changes have also been proposed. Read the full proposal here.
9.1.4 Scheduling and Assignment of Overtime: OHSU has proposed changing when and in what order overtime is offered to employees. Read the full proposal here.
OHSU Counterproposals:
2.6. Bulletin Boards: OHSU agreed to our counterproposal above, with one non-substantive wording change.
2.9.1 and 2.9.2 Union Communications from External Sources and Internal Sources: OHSU agreed to adding some language re: safelisting Local 328 emails in the employer’s spam filter and to removing the time restrictions on our ability to send external emails to members, but rejected other changes we suggested. We’ll continue to work on this language.
2.9.4 Access to OHSU Intranet Pages: OHSU rejected our request to give staff access to content on O2 and OHSU Now. We’ll continue to work on this language.
5.20 Preferred Hire List: OHSU updated this proposal, changing the proposed limit on how many jobs a PHL employee can apply to at a time to four and agreeing with some of our language re: response time for job offers and acceptances (increasing the response time from five calendar days to seven, however).
7.6 Meal Periods: OHSU reproposed their original language, with some additions. Read the full proposal here.
25 Strikes, Lockouts and Picket Lines: OHSU accepted some of our proposed changes and rejected others; the employer also added language applicable to the contract change regarding campus dispatchers.
29.2 Negotiations for New Contract: OHSU updated this proposal, retaining the current “first full week in February” start date for negotiations but moving the other steps in the bargaining process to earlier dates.
We know this is a lot of to digest, but we want to make sure our members have as much information as possible. Let us know your thoughts!
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