Management made some movement on wages, but it comes with STRINGS ATTACHED. Those strings involve a refusal to move on our highest priorities including the Legacy Health System. Management told us at the table that there is a “synergy” between OHSU and Legacy. What they meant is that OHSU is buying Legacy to get more patient referrals to OHSU. That means more patients for us, and that’s why OHSU doesn’t want to agree to our proposals on staffing and safety, nor agree to a reopener MOU so that we can renegotiate items that come up when and if this merger occurs. 

"It’s incredibly disappointing to have to negotiate the conditions of our work with people who don’t understand our work, who simplify us to a number and a wage, without consideration of our skill and knowledge. Management may discredit us at the table, but they can’t discredit us when we stand together to advocate for our patients and colleagues. Management is unmatched to nurses…nurses, who continue to be the most incredible humans I know. Thank you to all of our members for their dedication to our bargaining campaign, for diligently filling out surveys and pledges, and standing with one another in our efforts to protect OHSU patients into the future." -Elisa Youngman, RN, BSN, CCRN, 12K, AURN President

We have entered a portion of mediation where "supposals" or ideas about possible packages of proposals are floated between sides. Either side can take these ideas and turn them into new proposals that could be a part of a full tentative agreement. However, often one item is tied and contingent on the other side agreeing to a list of items. Moving forward you, our members, must understand that publicized deals might have strings attached.

Management continues to propose new task forces and hiring consultants instead of listening to nurses’ needs. We were discouraged that management continues to NOT budge on differentials or retroactive pay, which are key to retention, but changed some of the wage increases in an attempt to make their proposal more appealing. Don't be fooled, we know math! 

OHSU changed their 1st year offer to 15%, which is not much different than their last offer of 7% + $3.75; but continued to offer 4% for year 2 and 4% for year 3. See math below for a comparison:

Step 2 BSN wage = $44.78
         7% + $3.75 = $51.66
         15% = $51.50 (actually less) 

Step 10 BSN wage = $65.04
         7% + $3.75 = $73.34
         15% = $74.80 (slightly more) 

As we move forward with mediation, we will have to continue making movements on both sides to reach an agreement. It is important to share that the financial movement is very unbalanced between the two sides, and it's probably no surprise to our members that nurses have given more than management at this point. We remain stuck on some of our biggest issues including safety, staffing, contracted work, health insurance options, differentials and certifications, as well as provisions to protect our nurses in the anticipated merger with Legacy. If executives can spend $1,500,000,000 on acquiring an entire health system, they absolutely should come to a fair agreement with all of us.

We did find some points of agreement today, including not changing MRS for Resource RNs, and an adjustment to our pay scales to include more steps (although this may be appealing to management so it will be easier to combine with Legacy, it will benefit us too). Unfortunately, those wins for resource nurses come with strings attached and no guarantee that agreement can be reached just yet. While we left today feeling like we had a few potential wins, we still feel like management is not taking us seriously and many things remain far apart. Watch for an updated comprehensive side-by-side comparison coming out soon.

We're calling on each of you to keep standing strong in solidarity! Your efforts are getting us wins at the table and we have more to go so that all our nurses are safe and supported by our contract! For any remaining nurses who have not completed the Strike Pledge Survey, please do so by FRIDAY, September 1st...and stay tuned for next steps! 

In Solidarity, 
Your AURN Bargaining Team