Women’s ERG Seeks Local 328 Members
Employee resource groups are OHSU-sponsored and employee-managed groups meant to support growth and community through career-development opportunities, presentations, mentoring, networking, social support and more. Current groups include the Black ERG, Women’s ERG, Ability Resource Group, Latinos Unidos and OHSU Pride.
ERG participation by Local 328 members has been lower than we’d like, whether due to not knowing about the groups, being unable to get away from work to attend meetings or being unclear about what the ERGs do. Our union wants our represented employees to benefit from the opportunities and support offered by the ERGs and will be making an effort to share information and increase engagement. In addition to our current “Solidarity with BERG” series, we plan to highlight the various ERGs on our blog, starting with the Women’s ERG.
The WERG is a safe and welcoming group for women to find friendship, resources and support at OHSU. The WERG hosts presentations, networking opportunities, discussions and more. The group shares information in three ways: a monthly newsletter, a Teams page and monthly Webex meetings. WERG meetings are held from 12 – 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. Past meetings have covered topics such as workplace conflict, diversity training and career development. Future meeting topics include:
Jan. 12, 2022 (note Wed. date): “Staying Connected in the New Normal” panel discussion
Feb. 10, 2022: wellness resources
Mar. 10, 2022: book-club discussion
Spring 2022: women’s health panel, including specialists in breast health and fertility
Although the meetings are held during “lunch hour,” we recognize that getting away for a meeting can be difficult for our members, especially those who don’t use a computer at work or those whose managers don’t recognize the importance of these groups. However, the Local 328 contract includes language stating that managers must make a good-faith effort to release our members to attend ERG meetings if operations allow. Our represented employees may use up to an hour of paid release time each month to attend ERG meetings, and are also guaranteed up to 10 hours per year to attend ERG trainings, conferences and speaking events. You can cite Memorandum of Understanding #5 – Employee Resource Groups when asking your manager to attend ERG meetings.
If you are unable to attend the live monthly meetings, recordings are available in the WERG Teams page, so that you can watch at your convenience. The WERG Teams page is a great resource in general — there are channels for job postings, book talk, trainings and events, resources and general discussion. The WERG will also be launching a book club next year — in January 2022, members will vote to select a book and will hold the first discussion at the March 2022 meeting.
To receive the WERG’s monthly newsletter, be added to the Teams channel and be invited to the monthly meetings, please email women@ohsu.edu.