Get involved! There are a lot of ways to be involved in our union and make OHSU a better place to work, and a better place for our patients! 

Because of our union, we have a meaningful voice in our wages, benefits, working conditions, and how we care for our patients here at OHSU. Our AURN bargaining unit has been around since 1972 when nurses first joined together to organize and bargain our first contract. The continued strength of our union depends upon the involvement of nurses like us. Now more than ever we need more members to get involved in one of the biggest contract campaigns we’ve ever had! Two major leadership roles on our ONA/AURN executive committee are up for election: the Vice President and Secretary positions. The 45-day nomination window is now officially open to submit nominations, self-nominations, and consent to serve forms for these AURN officer positions.

It is also time for our annual election of half of our PNCC and Staffing Committee positions. Our executive committee positions, PNCC, & Staffing positions are two-year terms with half elected in odd years, and half in even years. Lastly, we have a variety of committees and other roles that are essential to building our union and making real change happen at OHSU. Consider nominating a nurse colleague, or, better yet, consider running and serving in one of these roles yourself!

Open Positions

Elected Positions:

• AURN Vice President
• AURN Secretary
• Staffing Committee:
  Hospital Based Nurse Staffing Committee Co-Chair
  Acute Care/KPV Representative (filling partial term due to vacancy)
  Acute Care Main Hospital Representative
  Pediatrics Representative
  Perioperative/Perianesthesia Representative
  Women & Infants Representative
• PNCC (seats 1, 3, & 5)

Appointed Positions:

• Communications Committee
• Membership Committee
• Grievance Committee
• Unit Representative
• Diversity Advisory Board
• Impairment Free Taskforce Alternate
• Parking Committee

Submit a nomination for a colleague or yourself here.

Our ONA-AURN Board of Directors includes two positions open for nominations: the Vice President and Secretary. These union officers are OHSU nurse colleagues who AURN members elect to act as the planning body of AURN, exercise fiduciary duties, establish a program of activities including educational opportunities, and develop agenda’s for AURN meetings.

AURN Vice President
The Vice President has the following official duties:
1. Assume duties of the President in his/her absence.
2. Assume the office of President in the case of vacancy.
3. Be a member of the Negotiating Team.
4. Be a member of District 52 for twelve (12) consecutive months prior to nomination.
5. Perform other duties as deemed necessary by the AURN Board of Directors.

AURN Secretary
The secretary has the following official duties:
1. Record or designate someone to record the minutes of AURN meetings as needed and post in a timely manner.
2. Conduct the general correspondence of AURN.
3. Be a member of AURN for twelve (12) consecutive months prior to nomination.
4. Preserve all documents, minutes, newsletters, and correspondence of AURN.
5. Prepare documents for ONA as required, including change of officers and an Annual Report to the House of Delegates.
6. Perform other duties as deemed necessary by the AURN Board of Directors.

Staffing Committee
Improve staffing by serving on the staffing committee. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) completed a survey at OHSU over two years ago and cited OHSU for staffing law violations. Since then, OHA has rejected five plans of correction submitted by OHSU and OHSU remains out of compliance. In light of this, the staffing committee is doing a lot of important work. The committee is made up of direct care registered nurses as well as an equal number of nurse managers. The committee meets monthly. Members are paid for attending these meetings. Members of the staffing committee review and approve staffing plans, staffing variance forms and any new policies or procedures that impact nurse staffing. If you are in one of the clusters or areas with open positions, please consider running to serve on this committee. If there is more than one applicant for the vacancy, an election will be held. The following positions are open for nominations:
• Hospital Based Nurse Staffing Committee Co-Chair
• Acute Care/KPV Representative (filling partial term due to vacancy)
• Acute Care Main Hospital Representative
• Pediatrics Representative
• Perioperative/Perianesthesia Representative
• Women & Infants Representative

Communications Committee
This committee is appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Committee and is responsible for: the internal communications to AURN members, maintaining a network of Unit Representatives, and overseeing publication of the AURN newsletter. This committee is expanding its work to include blogs, print materials, social media, videos, and many more exciting things to come!

Membership Committee
This committee helps with introducing our union to new hires and asking them to join. Since COVID management discontinued in-person new employee orientation (NEO) sessions. We are looking for nurses who are creative thinkers and problem solvers who can help introduce newly hired nurses to our union and explain how ONA-AURN works at OHSU and across the state. Specifically, we want committee members to talk with new hires about what it means to work at a union hospital, promote full membership to new hires, and talk about your experiences as a nurse and union member. Creative and new ideas are encouraged to help reach out to more people and inspire nurses to join and get involved! Membership is union power!

Grievance Committee
Our contract allows for 15 nurses to be paid to help with union representation and contract enforcement—an important role at a big hospital like OHSU. This grievance committee meets 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on the second Thursday of every other month. Being a part of this committee means being committed to attending training, to file grievances and attend investigatory meetings when needed, answer contract questions, and be an advocate for our contract. Nurse representatives on this committee also share responsibility for checking messages on the ONA-AURN hotline and returning calls to answer questions. The grievance committee seats are filled by appointment. AURN leadership will review all consent to serve forms received.

Unit Representatives
Unit representatives are ONA-AURN nurse leaders for their unit. Unit representatives are the eyes, ears and backbone of a union. Our union is stronger when we, as nurses, are empowered to advocate for ourselves and our patients. ONA-AURN unit representatives help peers to better understand their rights, and to help point them in the right direction when they have questions or concerns about our contract or things going on at work. Every nurse needs someone to turn to for quick answers when they need help, that means we need unit representatives on every shift in every unit. Being a unit representative is easy. The bulk of the commitment of a unit representative is simply updating your unit’s bulletin board, making sure your coworkers are receiving important updates and information from ONA, being available to your coworkers when they have questions/concerns and knowing how best to triage those questions. ONA provides beginning and advanced training (like basic contract interpretation and how to help your coworkers if they get called in for investigatory meetings), and we have a network of unit representatives across our facility who work to help one another as much as possible. We need at least one unit representative for every ten nurses on every unit, on every shift. If you can’t fill the role but know someone who would be good for it — ask them to help out! It’s important that nurses have someone to turn to that they already have a relationship with. Who in your area do you think would be a good fit for the role? Be sure to encourage them to consent to serve in this role!

Diversity Advisory Council AURN Representative
The Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) advises the OHSU President and the OHSU Executive Leadership Team on ways to enhance diversity, multiculturalism and equal opportunity for all aspects of our mission. As a campus-wide group, the DAC supports diversity initiatives across the university, everything from helping units understand the business case for diversity to providing practical resources for employees, students and community members. The DAC represents all of the university’s mission areas and student, staff and faculty groups. Working together, DAC members enhance communication and collaboration across OHSU’s schools and departments. The position on this committee is filled by AURN appointment. AURN will review all consent to serve forms.

Professional Nursing Care Committee
Oregon Health Science University recognizes the professional nursing care committee (PNCC) as a resource to direct care nurses in OHSU’s hospital and clinics on matters related to patient care and professional development. Per our union contract, the PNCC is composed of six nurses. Nurses elect the PNCC members annually, with members serving a two-year term as outlined in the AURN bylaws. The committee meets the fourth Wednesday of every month for two hours from 4-6 p.m. Nurses are paid for their attendance and for any work done to support the committee and its activities from a bank of hours. Three positions are currently up for election. If we have more than three nominations, an election will be held.
HERE ARE SOME THINGS THE PNCC IS INVOLVED WITH AT OHSU: In collaboration with the coordinating council, the professional nursing care committee (PNCC) does the training for new unit based nurse practice council (UBNPC) chairs. One member of the PNCC serves as a liaison to the staffing committee. PNCC also serves as an advisory committee for appointments of direct care nurses to all nursing councils and committees that relate to nursing service or direct patient care. PNCC monitors the distribution of staff development funds as described in Section 21.4. It is also responsible for maintaining and updating the national certification listing to inform staff of eligible certifications for the annual certification bonus and reimbursement. Seats 1, 3, & 5 are open for nominations, which can include the chair and co-chair of the committee who will be selected by the members of the committee. More information on the PNCC can be found in your contract Section 27.3

Impairment Free Taskforce Members
AURN has one more alternate position available on this taskforce. Training and mentorship will be provided to the new alternate. It’s a very unique taskforce that is more effective and progressive in its approach than nearly any other hospital in the state. It’s a rare opportunity to serve on such an important and well-run committee. Here is the full description from our collective bargaining agreement:
"26.8.1 Impairment Free Workplace Committee. A joint committee will be maintained to assist management and staff in understanding and administering the policy. The committee shall meet a minimum of one time per calendar year in the month of October to review the policy and changes in partners (drug testing and evaluation vendors). The committee shall be composed of six (6) members; three (3) members designated by AURN and three (3) members designated by the Employer. Every reasonable effort will be made to reach full consensus on any material changes to this policy. If consensus fails, the issue will be decided by majority vote among committee members. If the vote does not result in a majority decision, the matter will be referred to the Chief Nurse Executive for a final review and determination. Committee members will be paid at the straight time rate of pay for activities related to the committee."

Parking Committee
The Strategic Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee (“Committee”) will consist of stakeholders throughout OHSU, including at least two (2) representatives from the ONA-AURN bargaining unit appointed by the Association. The Committee will make strategic recommendations that focus on transportation goals, including but not limited to addressing issues such as employee parking, alternative modes of transportation and other matters that bear upon the daily commute of employees to and from the Employer’s facilities. Bargaining unit members who serve on the Committee will be compensated at their straight time rate of pay for time spent in meetings and for time working on the Committee as otherwise approved by the Employer. The Committee will be responsible for making recommendations to the Employer’s administrative leadership team for all matters within its scope of engagement as set forth in its charter, including the development and periodic review of a strategic plan. The Committee will report every twelve (12) months or as otherwise directed by the administrative leadership team.