Thank you to everyone who turned out for our March on the Boss event today — we were 63 members strong! During our time with Dr. Jacobs, we shared stories of long hours with short staffing. Stories of discrimination, harassment and racism. Stories of two strenuous years of COVID, with only a pin to show as a token of OHSU's gratitude.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, we asked the mediator to remind OHSU that we’ve never expected to get everything we asked for in this contract, but that our members are demanding more than we’ve gotten in the past. No one could have predicted the circumstances we’ve been through, but now we see that the nature of work — and what employees will accept — has changed. OHSU’s leadership needs to see this too.
Read MoreThe stewards and member leaders of AFSCME Local 328 have received more than a few inquiries about the possibility of a strike, and it comes up often in the comments on our blog. The word “strike” is not one to be used lightly when a union is in negotiations with management. A strike is the most powerful tool our union has when it comes to forcing management to deal honestly and fairly with our membership. It is also a tool of last resort. There are still many weeks of negotiation ahead of us, and there are many other actions our union can take to put pressure on management and encourage OHSU to deal fairly with us.
Read MoreTravelers have been OHSU’s go-to solution for its staffing shortages. Their salaries are significantly more than what we get paid as permanent employees — we aren’t getting much incentive pay or retention bonuses, and we feel undercut and overworked. There must be something for those of us who hold loyalty for, dedication to and pride in OHSU. Additional-need incentive pay is critical.
Read MoreMany of you have asked where the teams stand on certain proposals, what the most recent offers are, etc. We plan to have a detailed post about this in the coming days—in the meantime, here is a comparison of several key proposals.
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