Local 328 Remains Strong Amid Legacy-OHSU Announcement

Editor’s note: OHSU recently hosted a townhall regarding this topic—presenters clarified that Legacy Health and OHSU will be combined via a “member substitution” and not a merger. We have chosen to keep our original wording, as the term “merger” colloquially captures OHSU’s plans and will be more widely understood. To learn more, this blog post provides some details on the technical differences between the terms: https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/health-law-checkup/post/2020-01-07/top-considerations-for-structuring-health-care-mergers-and-acquisitions

Last week it was announced that OHSU and Legacy Health have signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge the two organizations. Merging these medical centers will be a long process and will ultimately require the Oregon Health Authority’s approval. While these steps are being made, we will continue to contact OHSU’s Labor Relations, Human Resources, and leadership team to stay informed. 

Additionally, this merger is an opportunity to grow our union and our collective bargaining power. Our Council leadership is in contact with our partners at SEIU and ONA. We are hopeful to navigate this with them. 

This is a potentially exciting venture, but much is unknown and still has to be worked out. However, one thing we do know is that we have the protection of our union contract and that's not going away. Our union will keep folks up to date as information becomes available. We are looking forward to seeing what the future of Oregon healthcare brings, and we are determined to support our fellow workers every step of the way!