Bargaining Update for 6/10/2025
We met with OHSU for nearly four hours, passing hundreds of pages of proposals across the table. As a peek behind the curtain, as much of the blog as possible is written in advance so that there’s less time spent summarizing the proposals at the end of the day. Ours were almost entirely written before we got to the SEIU building this morning and may not properly reflect the feelings of the team by the end of the day.
It is difficult to summarize OHSU’s 118 pages of counters when their main message is: “No.”
AFSCME’s major proposals today:
Responded to OHSU’s Step and Grade proposal, taking what was good about their proposal and improving upon it. Reduced the number of steps to get to your highest pay by three years from 18 to 15. Detailed the process that was discussed so it’s in the contract.
Responded to OHSU’s Scheduling package that consolidates all the scheduling language into one place. We made substantive changes as well as making small formatting tweaks. This has the potential to be a real benefit for everyone who interacts with our contract.
Moved everything that was in our court into OHSU’s for at least one brief moment.
OHSU’s major proposals today:
We finally received their wage proposal:
Year 1: $1 an hour
Year 2: $0.50 an hour
Year 3: 1.75%
The only additional time off is 4 hours of paid bereavement leave if a loved one passes away.
Appendix A’s counter showed they understand that there’s an issue with departments like ITG and Pharmacy having salary workers in what should be hourly positions, but not why that’s a problem, how it needs to be resolved, or how urgent it is.
OHSU characterized their ballooning mandatory overtime as being the fault of generous ANI rates rather than understaffing and general burn out.
Our retirement language was denied without any discussion.
AFSCME Counters:
2.11.2 Union Communication from Internal Sources: Increased the ability for our President to send out union-wide emails more often. Currently capped at 4 times per year and we’re proposing 2 times per month (not more than 1 time per week). Pushed back on a restriction against fundraising or membership drives and removed the old requirement that emails only be read on non-working time and instead states “reading the email does not disrupt their work.”
5.17, 5.41, 5.x, 19.11 Limited Duration and Temporary Employees:
Starts off with a possible tentative agreement allowing limited duration employees to have access to the preferential hire list and severance rights if they’ve been at OHSU for 12 months or more.
5.41 Temporary Employees, 5.X Temporary Non-Employee Workers: This is a continuing point of contention. We want this to include references to travelers and agency workers but OHSU continues to try to separate them out into another classification. To be blunt: If there’s some weird third classification being used out there, it’s because OHSU is in violation of our contract. If OHSU has signed contracts that conflict with our collective bargaining agreement (CBA), that is their problem to sort out. We will be defending our membership.
19.11.1 Order of Curtailment/Cancellation: We have added agency and travelers to item c, ahead of “Employees working beyond their FTE requirement for the week.” We want to be sure OHSU sends travelers home first. We have struck language stating “if permitted under their contract” because our contract takes precedence. Again, if OHSU has signed contracts that violate our CBA, that isn’t our problem to resolve.
5.29 Reclassification: Possible tentative agreement.
5.34 Remote Work: We struck “depending on the type of flexible work arrangement” to simplify the language and make it clearer that you’re either expected to be in the office or you’re not.
5.46 Work Unit: We continue to tweak and clarify this definition.
5.X and 10.5 Lead Work: Made it clear that lead work should be defined as performing any of the tasks and not demand some combination of the tasks. We added duties that would normally be assigned to the department lead and maintained our language stating that employees shall be entitled to lead pay if they perform the duties in absence of a supervisor.
5.X Hybrid Remote: Possible tentative agreement. This definition is less about how many days you’re on site and more focused on whether any of your duties require you to be there.
5.X Occurrence: Better defined occurrences, creating a new category of half occurrences for situations where you are more than 15 minutes but less than one hour late for your scheduled start time. One major goal we’re communicating is that we no longer want use of accrued sick time or situations where your supervisor sends you home due to an OHSU policy to count towards an occurrence.
Our team shared that there have been policy changes in a lot of departments where there are immuno-compromised patients where employees are not able to return to work if they are showing any signs of a respiratory illness. This is a great policy to protect our patients, but some of these symptoms can take weeks or even months to fully resolve and very few employees have sufficient sick time to cover that. No one should be disciplined for following OHSU policy.
5.X Protected Medical Leave/Sick Leave: We’re making sure that the language matches our ask that accrued sick time or absence due to OHSU policy don’t count towards discipline.
5.X Trainee or Learner: “One who is currently undergoing training, shadowing, or observing to acquire the knowledge or skills specific to the subject matter being shown, regardless of their employment status at OHSU.” The point in defining this is to be sure our trainer and preceptor differential language are properly supported.
6.6.3 Failure to Reach Agreement: Maintained our usage of a Labor Management Committee as part of this process as is is an appropriate usage.
6.14 Performance Evaluations: We’re willing to remove some of the “aspirational language” but we do believe that all feedback should be available to our workers prior to their evaluation.
6.15.7 Return to OHSU Work Site: We continue to hold that return to work mandates should be paused if there is a request for a reasonable accommodation in process. We also want a contract reopener if there’s a large-scale return to work order affecting 25 or more employees.
8.4.1 Annual Review: This can be a tentative agreement if our changes to 6.6.3 are agreed to.
8.7.3 Written Request for Market-Based Review or New Classification Request: We moved somewhat on timelines from 14 to 21 days (OHSU requested 45), demanded that denials must provide supporting evidence. OHSU added language about when OHSU decides to implement a new job classification or material change to an existing classification but were missing items we felt were necessary, like an explanation of why, a list of people who will be affected, and others.
9.2 Call Back: We reformatted OHSU’s proposal for readability and added a reference to 7.7 Time Off Between Shifts or Hours Worked in Callback. This article doesn’t contain the language that’s in dispute
12.3 Use of Vacation: Added language that made it clear that employees working a flexible work schedule may use fewer hours per shift as long as their work week is whole. So if an employee needs to reach 40 hours and have a flexible work schedule, they could work a 10 hour day so their day off only needs to use 6 hours of vacation.
13.3 Utilization and Payment of Sick Leave: Willing to make this a tentative agreement.
18.2.2 Selection Process and Priority to Internal Candidates: Added a limitation to only check references that have been supplied by the employee.
18.6 FIlling of Temporary Vacancies: Re-proposed an amended version of this proposal to have our relief and flex workers an opportunity to accept temporary assignments before OHSU attempts to fill them with travelers or agency workers. We still believe this would be a great way for OHSU to save money and give our workers a little extra money in their pocket without making any permanent changes to their work arrangements.
23.6 Unauthorized Absences: Changed the requirement that OHSU provide a “prompt” notice to the union when it has deemed someone to have resigned to “same-day” notice.
23.7 and 23.X Transmissions to Union: Possible tentative agreement. This is a big win for our members as they’ll have less of a financial impact when they’re placed on leave and with the other changes, our union and OHSU will be tracking these cases in a way they previously were not. Abuse of this language will be much more difficult to hide going forward.
23.X Unpaid Administrative Leave: Cut some regressive language that gave OHSU leeway to have people on unpaid leave for more than 14 days.
Scheduling Package: This is a response to OHSU’s proposal to move all of the scheduling language into one article. That makes it difficult to summarize because it’s both a massive change and no change at all. Most of the language is current contract language that has been rearranged. There are some updates like 7.2.6 Temporary Changes to Work Location where we’ve TA’d new language and now we’re agreeing to move the updated language into this updated scheduling article with the sub-article numbering changing to 7.3.5. Below is a summary of the substantive changes that were not just reordering and renumbering.
We have cut redundant language about varying shifts and holiday shifts - all shifts should be posted 28 days out.
Changes in Reporting Time: Updated notification for one hour or less from 12 to 24 hours and made it so employees would be entitled to time and one-half for all hours worked. Updated notification for 1-2 hours from 24 to 48 hours and time and one-half for all hours worked. Notification of 2 hours or more would go from 5 to 7 days.
Availability of Additional Work After the Schedule is Posted: Added that this would include overtime hours. Cut language that would allow OHSU to push employees to shift work hours, etc. to avoid entering overtime.
Shifts Becoming Available After the Schedule is Posted: When going through the list of employees who are offered the shift, all employees in overtime will be considered before temporary workers, not just FTE employees in overtime.
Overtime Limitations: When calculating the maximum number of hours someone can work in a 24 hour period, we want to be sure those hours count even when they aren’t consecutive.
Mandatory Assignments of Overtime: Clarified that mandatory overtime must be paid at overtime plus the highest ANI rate offered to recruit for the shift. Currently, overtime shifts that arises within 2 hours of the end of the shift and no one volunteers, a shift of 4 hours or more must be offered as ANI before it can be assigned as mandatory overtime. We’ve asked to make that apply to shifts of 1 hour or longer. We also added that anyone who works a mandatory overtime shift can’t incur parking penalties for that shift. This happens far too frequently to our employees who work evening and night shifts.
MOU 6 Services for Employees Whose Primary Language is Not English: We added our language back in requiring that disciplinary actions will first consider what translated materials have been provided if English is not the employee’s first language. This is covered by Appendix D: Just Cause, but not clearly and explicitly.
MOU X Consensus Agreement: While OHSU states that this is already contractually obligated, they have not been meeting those obligations.
MOU X Remote Work Transition: This now references the definitions we’ve been working on and have tentatively agreed to and guarantees that OHSU will report to the union how everyone is currently defined as well as how they are defined once the contract has been implemented. With this reporting structure in place and our ability to grieve any changes that don’t match our definitions, we’re able to compromise on our original, more restrictive requirements.
Step and Grade: This is a complicated enough article that it will be featured in its own blog post. Here’s a summary of the changes:
OHSU’s proposal is for 18 steps (13 regular, 5 longevity). Ours is for 15 (10 regular, 5 longevity).
Both proposals solve the longevity problem by including it in the new pay grade as additional steps. No more waiting for 5 years to see if you qualified or not.
Both teams are interested in being sure no one loses money in this transition, but AFSCME has gone into greater detail making sure that doesn’t happen
Counters OHSU Responded to:
5.23 Preceptor: Minor changes to this definition.
7.7 Double Back: Took choice from the worker to always require manager approval and leaned heavily on a rest option that is rarely actually offered in practice.
7.8 On-Call: Countered with current contract language.
7.81 On-Call Relief: Countered with current contract language.
7.8.2 On-Call Following Shift Cancellation: They’re open to putting limits on this, but not in giving the choice to the worker.
8.9 Travel Expenses and Allowances: They’re okay with paying expenses when a remote employee comes in for a conference or special assignment, but want to be clear this isn’t an offer to pay if their status changes (such as remote to hybrid remote or in-person).
10.1.2 Shift Differential Rates: Okay with increasing the minimum hourly rate, but not the percentage.
10.2 On-Call Pay: Struck all of our language that would enhance this language, only compromising on the number of hours (1 hours’ pay for every 5 hours of assigned on-call duty).
10.4 In-House Standby Compensation: OHSU approved with some minor word changes.
10.5 Lead Work: They continue to push back on people “assigning themselves” lead work, not understanding that there are situations where the work must be done but there is no one to assign it to someone. If your boss and your boss’s boss have both quit, it’s hard to get your director to assign who will be the lead for the day. OHSU doesn’t understand how frequently this happens.
10.6 Bilingual Differential/Pay: Made a proposal that matches what they have in other union contracts, leaning more on passing the required exam and interacting with appropriate patients than being assigned the work. Instead of a differential, this would be an annual bonus.
10.9 Transport Work: Approved by OHSU.
10.10 Work Out of Classification: Much like lead work, OHSU underestimates how often the work needs to be done but there’s no one to assign it.
10.12 Preceptor Pay: OHSU is unwilling to have this apply to all roles but rejected our training pay differential. They agreed to raise the preceptor rate, but only to $1.25 from the $3 we requested. They cut our language that opens up the language so that more classifications can easily be included. They agreed to all but one of the new roles we added (Pharmacy Tech) and added a few of their own. When pressed on why they didn’t include pharmacy technicians, they stated that their school should be supplying preceptors. This shows a lack of understanding of how precepting works in a clinical setting.
10.13 Float Pool Differential: We requested this be increased from $1 to $6 - OHSU proposed $1.25.
10.14 Additional Need Incentive: There were many changes here, most of which our team will be sending right back to OHSU. Management said their aim was to reduce mandatory overtime, but the proposal would increase burn out and torpedo its stated goal. There was a healthy discussion and it was clear to OHSU that they missed the mark with this proposal.
12.6 Cashout of Accrued Time: OHSU states that there are legal parameters they must follow and thus they’re limited in how much of this they can change.
14.1.8 Paid Bereavement Leave: An increase from 20 to 24 hours (we requested an increase to 40). OHSU also refused our request to allow hours to roll over into the following calendar year. This is our only source of additional time off in OHSU’s counters.
14.1.8.a Paid Bereavement Leave for Loss of a Coworker: OHSU rejected this proposal, but said we can use our paid bereavement leave for a coworker, if we choose.
14.2.4 Bereavement Leave: Agreed to our request to extend the time limit outside of the current 60 day requirement from the day the employee is notified of their loss, but put some guardrails around it and tweaked wording.
14.2.4.1 Denial of Additional Bereavement Leave Days: They agreed we can request a review, but didn’t like it being called an “appeal” and denied the presence of a union steward.
15.1.2 Relief Employees and 15.2 Insurance Contributions: Agreed to close the loophole that is keeping some of our relief employees from getting part-time insurance benefits.
15.3 Insurance Coverage and Employee Benefits Council: Agreed to add a national group plan for out of state employees, but left it at 2 medical networks because one of those may be able to provide both local and national coverage.
28.4 Labor Management Committee Funding: Approved funding.
Appendix A: Rejected most of our changes.
OHSU still doesn’t understand that the exemptions for rest periods and meal periods means we have salary pharmacists working overnight shifts with no breaks or meals.
Current contract language on vacation accruals
OHSU proposed reviewing all positions that have a salary and hourly cohort and then determining whether they should be one or the other and moving all employees to the new designation. While we can give some credit that they understand that there is a problem here, this is not a sufficient solution. Even if the only issue was that it wouldn’t be implemented until July of 2026, it wouldn’t meet the demand.
Rejected our voluntary process to move from salary to hourly in lieu of their solution summarized above.
Rejected a provision that states if a salary worker is out on OFLA, they are not required to use their accruals. This was a misunderstanding as our language could have been clearer this is a choice and not a demand that they can’t use them. This would bring our contract into accordance with Oregon law.
Appendix B Conditions of Flex Staff Employment: OHSU proposed a standardized pay structure for all Flex employees. They would be placed into the appropriate step and grade for their level of experience, then paid a flat 10% differential on top of that. We will be doing some math to see how this would shake out for our current flex workers before we provide any kind of response.
Appendix C Employee Benefits Council, Section 6 - Mandatory Coverage: This is a provision we added to make sure that our members’ and our members’ families can’t have their healthcare stripped away because of the unpredictable state of national politics. OHSU says this work should be done within the EBC, but that shows a misunderstanding of how the EBC functions. We will be working with all the other unions at OHSU on our response.
MOU 8 Hardship Fund: Agreed to increase, but from $200,000 to $250,000 instead of the $500,000 we requested.
MOU 28 Well-Being Leave: No additional time off. Relief employees would now qualify for a limited number of hours.
MOU 29 Advanced Professional Certification Pay: OHSU wants to jump straight to implementation with a support structure rather than continuing any committee work. This is a step in the right direction.
Step and Grade Package: It isn’t entirely clear why this was included again. They did amend their expected date to July 1st of 2027 but it is otherwise unchanged from the version we responded to today.
8.1 Across the Board Increases:
Year 1: $1 an hour
Year 2: $0.50 an hour
Year 3: 1.75% an hour
OHSU Countered with Current Contract Language:
5.19 Orientation
7.8 On-Call
7.8.1 On-Call Relief
8.5.3 Promotion
8.7.1 Upward Reclassification
9.2.1 Compensation Rate
10.3 Work From Home While On Call
10.3.1 Multiple Calls
10.11 Weekend Differential
11.1 Recognized Holidays
11.2 Holiday Compensation
11.2.1 Compensation for Work-Unit Holiday
11.3.1 Work on a Holiday
12.1 Accrual of Vacation Time
12.5 Accrual Limit
13.1 Accrual of Sick Leave
15.2.1 Full-Time Employees
OHSU Denied with No Discussion:
5.X Trainer or Facilitator
5.X Training
8.X Service Recognition Award
Excessive Call
10.2.1 Supplemental Call
10.2.2 Supplemental Call Plus
10.13.1 Float Differential
10.15 Trainer Pay
10.X Short Staff Differential
MOU X Indigenous People’s Day Personal Floating Holiday
16.2 Retirement Contributions (and all sub-articles)
28.4.1 Across the Board Increases (LMC funding)
28.4.2 Carry Over Funds
MOU X Support for Labor Management Committees
MOU X Community Outbreak Leave Bank
MOU X Service Recognition Award (this is about implementation of 8.X)
MOU X Short Staff Differential (this is about implementation of 10.X)
MOU X Trauma-Intensive Healthcare Roles
MOU X Training Trust
MOU X Certification and Licensure Renewal Program
Our bargaining team can’t wait to work with you to get the contract we all deserve. There will be much more to come.
Please be sure that any comments follow our blog commenting guidelines.