As you may have heard, on Monday, May 5, OHSU and Legacy released a joint statement that they will be terminating their proposed deal to merge and moving forward as separate health systems.
While we are disappointed in OHSU and Legacy’s decision not to merge, this will not change our path forward as a union. When you organized, you did so to have a seat at the table and a voice in your workplace. Having your union and a unified voice is as important now as it ever was.
Legacy has a track record of c-suite executives making decisions without the input of frontline staff – like closing the Mt. Hood Family Birth Center. Nurses and frontline caregivers at OHSU and other healthcare systems are making more per hour and better benefits than Legacy caregivers. When OHSU was going to acquire Legacy, we had a guarantee that Legacy caregivers would get those protections as well. Now there is no guarantee. Additionally, it’s unclear what’s next for Legacy but we know that the potential for out-of-state private equity to takeover is a real possibility.
We need to keep organizing, keep bargaining, and keep fighting for a voice in the workplace, and fair contracts. This is our path forward to a fairer and more equitable healthcare system that prioritizes patients and workers over profits.
No matter who the employer is, our power comes from one thing: standing together in a union to fight for the respect we deserve.
Please check back here for updates as more details about what’s next for Legacy become clear.
Unionizing is establishing democracy in your workplace. Through a union contract and solidarity with your coworkers, you have the power to enforce the rights and protections afforded to you through the contract. This includes protections for your livelihood,
a voice in your workplace safety, a say in your wages and benefits, and a seat at the table when decisions are made.
Unionized healthcare workers have the unique opportunity to elect representatives from among their peers to negotiate and work collaboratively with their employer to address issues within their facilitates and work towards improvements for their patients
and themselves. Furthermore, the minute you win your union election, you secure status quo conditions, meaning that your employer can no longer make unilateral decisions regarding your wages and working conditions without first negotiating with your
union.
Know Your Rights!
Many nurses in non-union hospitals assume they have inherent rights as employees to protect them from losing their jobs or from being treated unfairly by their employer. The fact is that, aside from a handful of laws that regulate overtime or protect
employees from discrimination based on a protected class (such as race, religion, etc.), nurses in non-union environments are generally considered "at-will" employees. That means they serve at the pleasure of the employer and may be dismissed or unfairly
treated at the will of the employer. Most nurses at non-union facilities only become aware of this reality when their employer takes some unfair action against them. That's when nurses realize they need the protection of a union.
Workers have the right to:
Self-organize to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection
Discuss union organizing efforts during non-work time (breaks, before and after work) or when other non-work discussions are normally allowed. This also applies to distributing literature.
Sign union petitions or cards without fear of retaliation
Engage in union activity without monitoring or the impression of being monitored by the employer
It’s illegal for management to:
Discriminate against any of us based on our union activities
Promise benefits, privileges, pay raises, to change working conditions to influence your feelings about forming a union
Threaten layoffs to discourage support for our union
Solicit grievances or promise to remedy them to keep a union out
Selectively discipline any union supporter
Spy on us for the purposes of observing union activities
Work at Legacy Salmon Creek?
ONA is partnering with the Washington State Nurses Association to organize nurses at Legacy Salmon Creek to make sure that colleagues across the Washington border benefit from the secured protections ONA won for union members at OHSU and Legacy Health. Click to learn more.
