Bargaining and Thanksgiving Update
We did not meet with OHSU today as our regular venue was closed, our Oregon AFSCME staff gets the week of Thanksgiving off as part of their union’s contract, and several members of both teams were unavailable due to long-standing holiday plans.
With more than 100 pages of proposals being handed back to us last week by OHSU, we had plenty to go through today to prepare for what is sure to be a big day of mediation next week. As stated on November 18th, there’s a real sense that OHSU is hopeful that we’ll have a tentative agreement next Tuesday. The work we did today made that much more likely since we’ll be able to pass everything back early in the day and get down to the economics we’re still far apart on.
For context, APU came to a tentative agreement a week after their successful strike vote. OHSU wants this to be our last escalation.
I know I’ve said it here and in several meetings, but I want to thank everyone again for all the work that was done to secure our successful strike vote. As I personally reflect on the things I’m thankful for this week, my fellow union members are at the top of my mind and heart.
Sitting in a conference room every Tuesday and being in countless Zoom meetings can be lonely work. We’ve often been so busy that we don’t get much chance to directly connect with our coworkers and the other OHSU employees we support. When we made the call to run a strike vote, I knew that I was asking everyone to stand with us and while I had faith it would happen, I am by nature someone who plans for worst case scenarios.
That little voice that looks for every way something can go wrong whispered through the cracks in my confidence. People’s lives are so stressful - what if they missed that the vote was even happening? How would we tell everyone if we didn’t reach quorum? What would we have to accept from OHSU if it failed? What would it mean for the next bargaining team?
These were the questions that kept me up at night once the strike vote started.
But you came through. Thousands and thousands of you.
Of course you did. Our membership numbers have never been higher. Every time I’ve been able to peek my head out of our bargaining hole, people have been waiting to ask how I’m doing and offer support. Even in meetings where people share their anxieties about what they’ll do if we go on strike, others immediately jump in and promise to feed people and help in any way they can.
Our union isn’t a service. It isn’t really even an institution or organization. Our union is us. It’s the ways we stand up for each other and the work we do to make each others lives easier. Our union is our solidarity with each other and our communities. And our union is strong.
My role as a bargaining team member is to get everyone the best contract I can, but the power that allows me to keep pushing back a full 11 months into this process comes from every dues paying member of our union. The late nights writing language and blog posts wouldn’t mean anything without the collective power we attain when we say that we care enough about ourselves, our coworkers, and our communities to take our hard earned dollars and pool them so that we can do more together than we ever could alone.
In these difficult times, membership is a sacrifice but it is also a promise. A promise to each other and our futures as individuals and as the working class. A promise that when things go wrong, we will lock arms and hold back the tide.
Our membership numbers are never more important than during a bargaining year. OHSU knows how many of us there are and every time that number ticks up a percent or two, they lose a little more of their power to tell us “no.”
Thank you for being a part of this promise with me. Thank you for the work you do for each other. Thank you for the power we wield at the bargaining table.
While many of you have to work this weekend, I hope that everyone can see people they love and maybe get a little rest.
We’ll be locking arms with you again next week.
In Solidarity,
Jesse Miller
he/him/his
Local 328 Bargaining Team Member
Patient Access Specialist