After a historic contract campaign, and record voter participation, we are excited to announce that our tentative agreement has been ratified by our AURN membership! 93% of our members (2603) voted on the contract, and of those 96% voted yes (2508) to ratify. Nurses throughout our campaign signed up to be full dues-paying union members. Just this past week, 25 nurses became full dues-paying members so they could vote and stand together with their peers to fight to make OHSU better. Starting November 6, a new and improved collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will go into effect, which includes historic gains to staffing, safety, retention, respect, and so much more! Be sure to read the full Redline Agreement.

Thank you to everyone who came to our meetings, asked thoughtful questions, and took the time to read our redline tentative agreement before voting. The improvements to this CBA only happened because our members took the time to learn about the issues and the process. And because our members consistently stood together, rounded, covered union bulletin boards, wore union colors, stickers, buttons, rallied, marched, picketed, even briefly occupied the OHSU Board of Directors meeting, and in the end–our members were fully prepared to go on strike. The engagement of our members has been so inspiring for everyone to see. It’s essential we take this energy forward and use our new contract to actually make OHSU better by staying engaged and involved. Once we win a strong voice, it’s time to use it!

What’s next? A contract is only as strong as we make it. It’s just a paper booklet unless we put it into action and make sure our employer follows it! We are counting on every member to learn about the new agreement, and we need unit reps (union stewards) from every unit and shift to make sure this new contract is implemented properly. We have an incredibly active unit representative committee and contract action team (CAT) that is excited to continue strengthening our union. Also, we hope every unit has an engaged and active UBNPC who is ready for all the new opportunities the contract provides for units to make improvements. Be sure to check Compass for the Oct. 23 training (12 p.m.-6 p.m.) for UBNPC members and many more trainings in the future. Don’t forget UBNPC meetings are open to all unit members, even if it’s not on paid time for everyone, you all can still pack the room! Educated members, educated UBNPC members, and educated unit reps are what will carry us forward to enact our new agreement! 

Holding OHSU Executives Accountable! We’re not done holding them accountable yet! The evening in which our bargaining team negotiated for over 24 hours, OHSU executives held a meeting at the same time to award themselves bonuses. Some executives earn over a million a year and decided to give themselves $100-180K bonuses (15.9% of their compensation). We’ve partnered with AFSCME to demand top executives not award themselves bonuses and instead bargain in good faith with our peers at OHSU who are still in negotiations. Please sign this petition to demand that OHSU executives do the right thing! Ask your family and friends, share this petition far and wide: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/decline-egregious-bonuses/

Implementation meetings: Additionally, AURN leaders will be meeting with management to discuss and make sure the implementation of the new agreement goes well and to troubleshoot any issues. We’ll need a strong network of folks involved in all units and shifts to connect with regarding implementation. Please watch for additional implementation updates! 

Over the next year, we’ll also be preparing for our reopener regarding the Legacy merger and will depend on our members staying active and engaged to be prepared for that. We didn’t just build a strong union for one contract, we built a strong union to have a voice in all things ahead of us!

Current and Potential Unit Reps and CAT members: Please remain or become a unit rep (steward) for your shift and unit! You can see our current list here, please fill out a consent to serve form if your name is missing and you’d like to volunteer or continue to volunteer. We also have monthly statewide unit rep (aka steward) trainings at ONA that nurses participate in from around the state. They are virtual so you can join from the comfort of your home. If you have been a unit rep for a while and feel like you need a refresher, that is possible too. Please see the calendar here: https://www.oregonrn.org/page/steward-training

We also have many committees that need more AURN volunteers right now, especially safety related committees. Over the next year or two, positions may open up on any of our committees. If you are interested in serving, please take some time to think about what could work best for you. Email aurnlaborreps@oregonrn.org or contact a current committee member, if you have questions to learn more about these committees. We’ll send out full descriptions, along with the process to volunteer to serve very soon!

• Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Grant Committee
• Professional Nursing Care Committee (1 new seat)
• Membership Committee
• Grievance Committee
• Communications Committee
• Housewide Staffing Committee (HBNSC) & the new Ambulatory Staffing Subcommittee
• AURN Elections Committee
• AURN/Management Cooperative Committee
• Benefits Council Representatives
• Impairment Free Workplace Committee
• Cognitive Behavioral Care Committee
• Culture of Safety Committee
• Emergency Management Committee
• Quality Oversight Committee
• Safety Oversight Committee
• Workplace Violence Committee
• Workplace Injury Committee
• Trauma Informed Care Advisory Committee
• Restraint and Seclusion Best Practices Committee
• Workplace Expression of Breast Milk Advisory Committee
• Strategic Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee
• Safe Patient Mobilization Committee

The entire AURN bargaining team and Board of Directors would like to thank each and every member for your tireless work to build this union and make OHSU a better place. We look forward to seeing you all at the next picket, protest, committee meeting, and celebration events to be planned and announced soon!

In solidarity,
The AURN Bargaining Team and Board of Directors