I want a union so I don’t have to choose between getting market rate pay and staying at OHSU long term. I like it here, and I like the team I work with, as well as the researchers.

If I am unable to address yearly wage increases that at the very least match inflation, I will be forced to choose between looking for a new job to increase my salary to match the market, or staying at OHSU earning less than market rate for my entire career. This choice serves neither myself, the research community, nor OHSU as a whole. It would be best if I could stay at OHSU long-term and not have to know I was losing out on pay increases. I would have more institutional knowledge, better relationships with OHSU researchers, and generally be able to contribute more to the OHSU community if I didn’t need to take into account my salary wasn’t matching inflation.

I worked at Iowa State before this. I had a coworker who had left Iowa State, worked for University of Iowa for a few years, and then returned to Iowa State. He had a salary considerably higher (30%) than others with similar skill and experience. I really don’t want to have to jump jobs just for money, but the system incentivizes this.

My coworkers only recently received pay parity across our group. For at least 10 years, my coworkers who had been with the group didn’t get raises to match inflation, or their increasing skills. When I joined the team, I was one of the highest paid individuals on the team, even though I had two decades less experience than some of my coworkers. A few months ago this was rectified, and now we are all paid similarly. Which is great, but now we all will be together not tracking inflation.