News and Updates

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED FOR AFSCME LOCAL 328!

Jashua Bane
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We did it! After 21.5 hours in mediation, following more than five difficult months of bargaining, AFSCME Local 328 and OHSU have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. Thanks to the support of our members, our bargaining team was able to negotiate a fair contract with a lot of beneficial new language, while fighting off health-insurance take-backs, PTO and union-busting tiered contract language. Highlights include:

  • Length of contract: three years
  • Across-the-board wage increases: 3.25%, 3.0%, 3.0% (first increase is not retro to July); lump-sum payment of $1,000/employee, prorated by FTE
  • PTO: no
  • Tiered-contract language: no
  • Vacation accruals: one additional day for all employees hired after September 11, 1998
  • Transit passes: TriMet pass for $50/year for duration of contract
  • Hardship fund: $100,000/year for duration of contract, to provide relief for food, transportation or housing insecurity
  • Health insurance: no take-backs; lower-cost PPO option with a monthly subsidy
  • Vacation cash-out: no change to cash-out amount (up to 250 hours) upon termination; voluntary cash-out up to 80 hours/year
  • Differentials:
    • Weekend: $0.50/hour
    • Preceptor pay: $1.00/hour, for selected clinical positions
  • Appendix A (salaried employees):
    • Same progression increases as hourly employees (1.5% – 4.0%)
    • Meal and rest breaks
    • Modified-operations protections
  • Paid parental leave: no, unfortunately; we will, however, participate in a joint task force to explore a paid family leave program
  • Co-branding: acknowledgement of Local 328’s role in the Career and Workplace Enhancement Center and in new jointly developed initiatives and projects with OHSU
  • Employee advisory council: similar concept to our union-proposed community advisory board, bringing employee representatives together to bring issues and concerns to OHSU’s president
  • Staffing issues: twice-yearly meetings between Local 328 and OHSU administration to discuss staffing concerns
  • Steward program: strengthened language, including improved release time, increased steward hours and additional stewards to cover evening and night shifts
  • Bereavement leave: expanded definition of “immediate family;” broader leave eligibility, at manager discretion
  • Mental-health support/peer-to-peer group counseling: program to train members to provide critical-incident debriefings; hiring of internal counselor to provide on-site group counseling/support
  • Code of Conduct complaints: mechanism for employees to report bullying, intimidation and harassment (not related to protected classes) directly to our union
  • Preferential hire list: language improvements, including changing the amount of time an employee has on the PHL after extended medical leave

We will NOT be holding our strike-FAQ town hall on Wednesday, August 14. We will be sending out more detailed communications in the coming days, and will schedule a new town hall to go over the tentative agreement and discuss the process to ratify a new contract. In light of today’s agreement, the strike-authorization vote for August 19 – 29 is canceled. We will instead hold a ratification vote in early September.

Thank you again for your support. This contract campaign has shown us — when we fight, we win. Solidarity forever!