Vaccine-Policy Updates
Over the past few weeks, our union has been getting a lot of questions and feedback regarding our vaccine-policy negotiations with OHSU. Some of this feedback has been from unvaccinated members who felt we should have done more for them; some has been from vaccinated members who felt that negotiating anything at all signaled that our union doesn’t support vaccinations. We’ve also fielded a lot of questions from folks interested in more information about next steps. As such, we’d like to clarify a few things.
What Is Local 328’s Position?
In our August 23 vaccine-bargaining update, Local 328 stated “We represent a diverse membership with a multitude of positions and opinions, but our union’s leadership is pro-science and always works to do what is best for the communities we serve. Our reticence to allow OHSU to act unilaterally should not be construed as being anti-vaccination.” On July 30, we posted that “AFSCME Local 328’s No. 1 priority is to keep our members and the community safe. Our union strongly encourages our members to take the COVID-19 vaccine of their choice.” On June 4, we posted that “our union supports vaccinations for workers. We also believe that employers need to follow the law and create policies that make sense and are reasonable.” We want to keep our members and the OHSU community safe, and are pleased that 83% of our members were vaccinated before our negotiations even began. We continue to encourage our represented employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
That being said, a union has an obligation to ensure that the employer follows the contract (and the law), even under difficult situations, and regardless of how any of us as individuals feel about the situation. Some members have expressed dismay that our latest email said that our union supports an employee’s right to become vaccinated or not. We believe that the vaccine is an important tool to keep the community safe, at OHSU and beyond. However, we also recognize that, unless and until laws are changed, this vaccination is a personal choice — one that in this case will result in some employees losing their jobs at OHSU. During the negotiations around OHSU’s vaccine policy we did our best to come up with solutions that were balanced, thoughtful and safe.
What Do I Do If My Vaccine Exception Request Was Denied?
Local 328 believes it is in employees’ best interests to appeal OHSU’s vaccine-exception denials to the agency that regulates the ADA and Title VII, rather than for our union to file grievances to dispute the denials. This document more fully explains why, and includes information on how to file a complaint with the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission.
What’s in the Final Proposal That OHSU Will Implement?
OHSU’s final proposal is available here.
What If I Still Have Questions?
Local 328 will be holding two town halls where members of our vaccine-policy bargaining team will be present to review the policy, discuss the bargaining process and answer your questions. (We will not be using these town halls to debate the merits of the state mandate or of the vaccine itself.) These town halls will be open to all employees represented by our union. To register, just click the link for the session you wish to attend:
• Wednesday, Oct. 13, 12 – 1 p.m.
The meeting link will be emailed to you after you’ve registered. You must register with your OHSU email address, so that we can verify that participants are members of our bargaining unit.
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