During the previous bargaining session on July 10th, we rejected OHSU’s proposal to pause bargaining and indicated that we expected a standard multiyear contract. On July 31st, OHSU management returned to the table with a 50-page package of counter proposals, some of which we’ve been waiting for since December. Needless to say, their response fell far short of the needs of our members.

To put it bluntly, the majority of our language that did not align with current policy was struck out in its entirety, whether it had an economic component or not, with little to no explanation of their reasoning. Management admitted their proposals did not offer notable improvements over the status quo. As far as a wage proposal, we did receive a multi-year compensation plan that offers two across-the-board wage increases: 2% in year one and 1.5% in year two. For year three, they proposed reopener language to negotiate another potential increase when the threats to research are better understood.

Their wage proposal rejected our proposal for a step-and-grade system of pay, despite clear indications of OHSU’s preference to move to that method. The proposed wage increases aren’t even enough to account for inflation, which was over 2% as of September. This proposal also does not respond to one of our primary priorities: progressive wage increases over the life of the contract that uplift some of our lowest-paid members.

Other notable aspects of their proposal include:

The Good:

• 100% coverage for employees and their dependents on the OHSU EPO plan

• Premium pay for non-exempt employees called back to work with short notice or those working on holidays

• New paid bereavement leave

The Bad:

• No increased contribution by OHSU for dependent health care coverage on other health plans besides the EPO plan.

• No pathway to equity in our retirement benefits for researchers hired after July 2017.

• No ability to cashout additional PTO when leaving OHSU.

• No increased protections for our members in the Hours of Work article.

• No pay differential for bilingual employees engaged in translation work beyond the scope of their job profile despite in-person testimony to management of the benefits of this extra work to OHSU, including cost-savings, relationship-building, and increased efficiency.

• No additional career development resources available to research workers.

• No response to our proposed changes on the reclassification process. In fact, management seemed completely unaware that we had given them this language 3 months ago.

• No hardship fund to assist our members with housing, child care or food insecurity.

We offered one counter proposal on Employment Funding Security and PI Eligibility, and shared testimony from two members who have been negatively affected by the current policy. Both of these members demonstrated the inherent unfairness in denying qualified researchers the ability to have PI status in appropriate circumstances, and described   significant grant funding opportunity losses to OHSU by refusing PI status to qualified professionals- a shortsighted decision in today’s climate. Despite the dire anti-science climate we’re in, researchers still deserve dignity and equitable wages. RWU will continue fighting for the best possible contract Our proposals included many no-cost changes to the status quo meant to improve our working conditions that were either struck by management or not responded to entirely. Research is an integral part of OHSU that informs every facet of the university’s mission - from quality education and cutting-edge clinical interventions to community health for all Oregonians.

We won’t be satisfied until we’ve reached a multi-year agreement that recognizes and respects our Researchers for the work they do.

• New videos and content! Meet your RWU Bargaining Team here and put faces to the names. You can also keep an eye out on our social media for quick video updates at the end of each session moving forward.