Mediation Update for 10/28/2025
An historic number of our members have signed their strike pledges and we want to take a moment to thank you for your support. Every ounce of strength that the bargaining team has at the table comes from our membership and their engagement.
Without you, our bargaining team are just a handful of opinionated workers in a conference room.
In an attempt to make significant progress towards a tentative agreement, we began today with what is known as a confidential supposal. This is a non-binding proposal that lets a team indicate where they’re willing to move without it being something that we can’t pull back.
It’s a common tactic towards the end of a contract campaign, allowing teams to find common ground on the larger issues so they can build a foundation to wrap up a tentative agreement.
This year we have avoided supposals, saving them for the end of the campaign so that we could share as much information as possible with our membership. Just like our ongoing strike pledge greases the wheels for a strike vote, the supposal is intended to give OHSU a way to show us if there’s any additional movement possible at the table so we can either come to a tentative agreement or declare impasse.
Today’s supposal covered most of the outstanding economic language and OHSU plans to respond early next Tuesday. The details will remain confidential until we are close to a tentative agreement or possibly in an explanation for why we’ve moved towards impasse once both teams have been able to respond.
Language passed today included:
Confidential supposal for all economic language.
Scheduling package to rewrite and consolidate all the scheduling related language in the contract to make our contract easier to read and interpret.
Language regarding the use and replacement of pagers and other communications equipment.
Layoff Package.
AFSCME Counters:
Scheduling Package: We continue to inch this closer to a tentative agreement. The final, small tweaks are under 7.5 Additional Work and involve the employer’s attempts to fill a shift without having to have anyone incur overtime and non-work hours not counting towards the calculation of overtime.
6.16 Access to Pager/Communication Systems and Equipment: Continued to push back on an employee having to use their own device unless it is by choice, even in an emergency. OHSU responded later in the day.
6.16.1 Replacement of Non-shared OHSU Issued Devices: Removed language creating a replacement policy based on OHSU’s feedback and existing policies.
OHSU Counters:
6.16 Access to Pager/Communication Systems and Equipment: OHSU added language back compelling employees to use their own equipment during emergencies, but with a more narrow list of examples. Also updated language that limits when an employee would be required to come in to pick up a device from not being required “outside of regularly scheduled hours” to “outside of scheduled hours” to capture times when someone may be working an additional shift.
6.16.1 Replacement of Non-shared OHSU Issued device: Agreed to our morning pass.
Article 19 Layoff: After hearing your feedback and explaining to OHSU that our members would not accept a proposal that removed their bumping rights, management retracted their counter and promised to bring us an updated version that added those rights back in. Part of their approach was to integrate letters of agreement that were used last year to help employees who were going through layoffs. This was their amended counter.
Preamble: OHSU softened our language demanding we meet to discuss measures to mitigate the impacts of job cuts.
19.1 Initial Selection and Notice of Layoff: During our layoffs last year, we saw managers claim that employees had special skills to circumvent laying them off in seniority order. OHSU agreed to our concept to be sure that the special skill that would keep someone from being the target of a layoff has somehow been established previously but took a different approach. Our language was “as of the last anniversary date of the employee,” but they added that the “special skills must be subject to a certification or otherwise only acquirable through a course of training beyond the orientation in the employee’s department, and documented in the position description prior to layoff.”
Increased number of days an employee must be notified of a layoff from at least 30 to at least 45 days.
Agreed to a scaled back version of our language ensuring employees have a report showing the reason for the layoff, severance information as of the date of the layoff, and health insurance coverage or COBRA equivalent.
Agreed to give our union notice of layoffs so that we can offer support to members going through a layoff and giving the employee reasonable time to meet with a steward after the layoff meeting.
19.4 Relief Positions: Gives rights to relief employees to bump the least senior full time employee if they do not wish to take advantage of their layoff rights.
Rejected our recall language.
19.7.1 Removal from list: Extended time on preferential hire from 18 months to 2 years.
5.24 Preferential Hire List: Refined language ensuring that the most senior well-qualified applicant is placed into the position.
Tentative Agreements:
Grievance Package: We have standardized timelines and made repercussions for missed timelines more fair. Going forward, instead of a grievance being lost when a steward or staff member misses a deadline, it will move forward to the next step. This matches what happens when management misses a deadline. There are huge wins here for our membership.
Extended Medical Leave: Added language that references Paid Leave Oregon.
5.x Trainer and 5.x Training: Definitions so we have a foundation for any future language involving training.
Both teams plan for next week’s mediation to include multiple economic passes. November 11th being Veteran’s Day means that we may have to change our plans for that day. More information will be available as soon as we can share it.
Please join us for our Rally for a Living Wage this Thursday, October 30th on the Mac Hall Lawn from 5PM to 7PM. RSVP here.
If you haven’t signed your strike pledge, this Friday, October 31st will be your last chance to do so. This Halloween, let’s scare OHSU into giving us the contract that we deserve.
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