Solidarity with BERG — Point of Action #6: Expand Opportunities to Candidates Who May Not Have Taken a Traditional Educational Path

To the BERG: Our union sees, recognizes and values the incredible leadership and perseverance of our Black colleagues at OHSU. We stand in solidarity with the BERG. AFSCME Local 328 has been reflecting as a union, and we recognize our ability to do much better.

As stated in our December 2020 letter to the OHSU Black Employee Resource Group, AFSCME Local 328 has committed to stand and bear witness to the BERG’s letter sent  to OHSU leadership and the board of directors on August 31, 2020, which called out concerns around OHSU’s racist practices, particularly those impacting Black employees. This month we address the sixth of the BERG’s 14 Points of Action, which is to:

Expand residencies and internship programs to candidates with transferable skills who may not have taken a traditional educational path. Although the fastest and easiest way to move forward is to continue to do what has been done in the past, OHSU is at a point where processes and policies must change for the better of all employees. Innovation happens when new ideas from new voices and perspectives are heard and valued, as well as those from those traditionally given voice and credibility.

Hierarchical structures abound in healthcare, research, and academia - this is the exact reason that OHSU should focus on expanding and recruiting program candidates with non-traditional education pathways. Variety in experience leads to diversity in thought, creativity, and innovation. These are all things that OHSU needs to excel, expand, and serve its patients, students, and community in the best way possible. It is also crucial to recognize and compensate OHSU members appropriately when they bring the depth of their lived experiences, especially those with marginalized identities, to the work they do at OHSU. This can look differently for different roles - by creating a way to recognize this when calculating compensation or by adding lived experience to rubrics when evaluating candidates for different positions, for example. 

Expanding past specific residencies and internship programs, OHSU can support individuals by creating processes that provide opportunities for advancement within OHSU for current employees who have diverse experiences, including those who have non-traditional educational pathways. We often see senior leadership bouncing around and passing through different departments at OHSU, like cars changing lanes in traffic. Often these individuals are taking on leadership roles for multiple departments, some of which they may have little to no experience with supporting. If processes were created that supported employees' growth to the top of departments, especially those with barriers to traditional educational pathways, years of experience could culminate into senior leadership of departments having deep, collective knowledge of the work they oversee. 

Traditional pathways to education support the status quo and therefore directly prop up institutional and systemic racism, socioeconomic inequities, and systems based in white supremacy. To continue working towards becoming an anti-racist instituition, OHSU must build processes to ensure that candidates who have not followed the traditionally defined path are included in residency programs and internships. It is imperative that these individuals are celebrated, revered, and compensated for the contributions they bring to the university. OHSU notes in their response that they’re implementing best practices for removing barriers for BIPOC candidates - what are these best practices based in? What constitutes a best practice? Do these best practices exhibit any white supremacy characteristics that may need to be re-examined? 

AFSCME Local 328 continues to hold the entire OHSU community accountable (including but not limited to members of our bargaining unit, OHSU leadership, students and researchers) to do their part — individually and collectively — in remaking OHSU into an anti-racist institution. In order for this to happen, we must all be accountable and demonstrate transparency. As such, we stand with the BERG and their call for OHSU to expand residencies and internships to candidates with transferable skills who may not have taken a traditional education path.