Our AURN bargaining team arrived at our third day straight of mediation ready to reach a fair agreement. We were hopeful that we would be able to get some things off the table today and move toward reaching an agreement, but we have no deal after three very long days of passing things back and forth with management. We ended the day with everything back in their court, having only made changes to some language, but holding on our financial proposal.

There were some very complex conversations around management’s lack of movement toward differentials, retro-pay, and much more. Management’s stance today was that they simply can’t make our differentials a percentage and have to fit everything within their budget goals. They continue to assert that they have met the market for night shift differentials, despite OHSU nurses being far behind many hospitals. Management shared that they calculated their offer for night shift differential based on 3 hospitals in Portland. They had not done further market research. We provided to them the following market comparisons:

Night Shift Differentials

• St. Charles Bend $10/hr, $12/hr after 2 yrs, $14/hr at 5 yrs
• Sacred Heart Medical Center $8.50/hr, $9.50 July 2024
• Good Samaritan Medical Center (59 miles btw) 12.5% yr 1, 15% 2-5 yrs, 17.5% 5-9 yrs, 20% after 9 yrs
• OHSU AFSCME RTs (0 miles) you look up
  
• Peace Harbor Medical Center (21 bed hospital) $7.50 & Night Shift calculated into OT
• Samaritan Lebanon Hospital (49 bed hospital) $7.25/hr
  
• University of California San Fransisco (Level 1 Trauma Research Hospital): 16%
• Standford Medical Center (Level 1 Trauma Research Hospital): 18%

Management sent an email today where they referred to their Final Offer that was given 7 days after Impasse. These COLAs were smaller than their most recent mediation offer that they state is expiring on Sunday night. During the strike surveys you all let us know very clearly that we could not accept their Final Offer. This week, AURN members from across OHSU let us know that we could not accept their mediation offer. We have notified management about our members' stance and held strong through the last three days of mediation, notifying them today that we do not have a deal. We made it clear they should continue to bargain with us to reach an agreement closer to the interests and priorities of our members. They have a duty to come back to the table with an offer that includes significant movement toward our priorities. They must work hard to improve that offer in hopes of averting a strike.

We did reach a tentative agreement on Article 29: Modified Operations and an MOU on Novel Serious Communicable Diseases that captures some of the important things AURN advocated for during the Covid Pandemic. This is one small step to preventing future moral injury. We are hopeful that this will help OHSU be more prepared for any future outbreaks, endemics, pandemics, etc. 

Don’t forget to join us for the Ready to Bargain Ready to Strike Rally on Monday September 18 from 1130 - 1400! We will be meeting in Elizabeth Caruther’s Park near CHH 2. We have some amazing speakers joining us that day and we’re so excited to see you all for this incredible show of solidarity! Invite your friends, your neighbors, you family, your colleagues!

We also have a Sign-Making Party at the ONA Office in Tualatin tomorrow, Saturday, September, 16 from 1400-1600! We have markers and signs, but please feel free to bring any supplies you have to decorate cars, make friendship/beaded/Union bracelets, etc. This will be a fun way to build strength with your colleagues! 

Together we win.  We'll see you on the street.

Your AURN Bargaining Team