This week the AURN Bargaining team met for the 16^th time since December and finally heard management’s first proposal on staffing. They only informed us that this would be their focus the afternoon before! Despite the ultra-short timeline, most of our nurse representatives to the hospital wide staffing committee came in person to observe negotiations, and hundreds of nurses from around OHSU joined virtually. It was crystal clear how much you care about staffing as our top priority.

Chief Nursing Executive Brooke Baldwin assisted in their presentation (you can read her comments here). Management largely focused on the hospital’s budgetary goals, rather than engage in a discussion on the actual safe staffing levels we have proposed. They referred to the numbers we proposed as not being evidence-based, but when pressed on what wasn’t evidence-based they pointed to the ED 1:3 non-critical care level we proposed. However, that 1:3 level is based on the Emergency Nurses Association standards. Management proposed that someone from the Finance Department attend UBNPC meetings and other staffing meetings to engage in the process at an earlier stage in development of acuity/intensity tools and staffing plans. At the core of Oregon’s Hospital Nurse Staffing Law, and at the heart of all efforts for safe staffing in Oregon for decades, is the direction to base staffing on nursing professional standards of safety, utilizing data-driven and evidence-based methods, not on external financial benchmarks. When we asked if the very best data was gathered, and the professional standards clear that a unit must have more baseline FTE allocated, and more nurses scheduled per shift, in what case would a finance person be able to not allocate the appropriate resources, management said it was complicated.

Management’s proposal for ambulatory/remote units and other areas not covered by the staffing law was to continue the status quo, which is unacceptable. When we asked if there is a unit at OHSU that is currently overstaffed, management could not answer. When we asked where the $21 million went that they saved by not paying for proper meals and breaks for the last 3 years of our current contract (which guarantees meals and breaks), they said it went into the surplus. The feedback we heard from our members who observed the negotiation session was clear - the status quo on staffing being decided by budget goals is unacceptable. We cannot base safe patient care on OHSU’s budgetary goals, which currently have resulted in doubling their reserves from $2 billion to $4 billion during a worldwide pandemic.

Management also gave a counter proposal on the Modified Operations, Communicable Disease Management and Emergency Preparedness Article. Management struck out entire sections of this proposal stating that they would deal with the next novel virus when it comes rather than negotiate standards and protections now. It is deeply concerning that management would let us be caught unprepared again after all that we went through during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crossing out our entire section on pandemic protocols dismantles three years of knowledge and expertise that goes into negotiating proper protections and standards going forward. Our nurses paid the price of management being unprepared and we will not do that again.

The teams exchanged proposals on several other articles that seem to be getting close to tentative agreements, however, when it comes to our top priorities, management is far from agreeing to properly address the crisis we face.

We only have one more negotiation session before we enter mediation, so we are asking all members to take part in our RISE TO ACTION event on June 7 through day and night shifts.

Our AFSCME colleagues are also holding a rally at noon on June 7 on the Mac Lawn to close the research funding gap! Please support them as well if you are able.

We need all Contract Action Team (CAT) members to help launch the next phase of our campaign for a fair contract during the June 7 Rise to Action event. Every AURN nurse should find a way to connect with a CAT member on or right after Wednesday to get further instructions. If you don’t know who your CAT members are for your unit, email aurnlaborreps@oregonrn.org.

To make sure OHSU is safe for patients, the community and nurses in the years to come, all AURN members must come together as one. Now is THE TIME to correct the course at OHSU and by making changes here, we will, in turn, affect the entire state.

RSV MOU extended to July 2nd
For folks in pediatric units and the Emergency Departments, our RSV MOU was extended through July 2. At this point it may not have anything to do with a RSV surge, and a lot to do with the dire staffing situation. Please help spread the word, and if any managers are confused, direct them to OHSU Labor Relations. See the extended MOU. 

St. Charles Bend Nurses to Strike starting June 12th
Please see the notice here, and please help spread the word!

OHSU needs to be ready for an influx of patients to prepare for the St. Charles strike starting June 12 in Bend. Please check with your UBNPC Chairs, staffing reps, unit reps, and labor reps about what your unit can do to prepare for this influx. If your unit could be impacted, temporary positions can be posted, and nurses can advocate for management to do that. There may even be St. Charles nurses willing to come up here for a few days at a time to help out if temp positions are posted. Most importantly, work up your chains of command so management at all hospitals worry about the implications of not reaching fair agreements. The responsibility sits with management to take action.

Click here to read the full story of what is happening at St. Charles Bend and how you can share a message of support, donate to their strike fund, and/or volunteer to help.