We had a productive session on Thursday, June 4th with several resident observers in attendance.  We are moving forward in good faith toward agreement on a proposal that includes four weeks of vacation for every resident, an item of high importance to our HOU constituents.

OHSU proposal that began our session:

• Vacation: 4 weeks, not subject to cash out.
• Personal, professional, sick: 5 days for professional leave, 15 days for sick leave, and personal leave as needed with the approval of the Program Director. which is a continuation of the current practice (status quo).
• Parental leave: 3 weeks paid; starts after 1 year of employment; Must take them in a block. (status quo).
• Educational and conference funds: (status quo; Currently relegated to the various departments).  
• Childcare: status quo.
• Holidays: status quo.
• Home call stipend: status quo.
• Relocation assistance: status quo.

HOU counter proposed in session following discussion from our team and observers:

• Vacation: 4 weeks, withdraw cash out language. [agreement]
• Personal, professional, sick: no change [agreement]
• Parental leave: we made the following changes to our prior proposal: 6 weeks paid leave; Starts intern year day 1; Ability to take leave as needed, not in one block.
• Educational and conference funds: we withdrew the $2k for presenting, moved to $1k minimum for everyone each year in addition to what departments provide.
• Childcare: we gave up our formerly proposed stipend. no change. [agreement]
• Holidays: we gave up our formerly proposed set holidays off or payment for holiday work. no change. [agreement]
• Home call stipend: no change. [agreement]
• Relocation assistance: we moved to $1k for interns starting 2021, giving up our previous $5k retroactive to all.
• Labor-Management Committee: as last proposed by OHSU [agreement].

Following our presentation of the above, OHSU asked clarifying questions, appreciated our movement and stated they would send a counterproposal mid-week. We are making  progress and are hopeful that we will be able to announce our first tentative contract provisions in the coming two weeks. There are many outstanding issues that are vital to keeping pace with our union counterparts at other west coast GME programs and we remain optimistic about creating a healthier and happier training environment. You can find our latest proposals here.

Many of you have asked us about policies that have changed since we started negotiations, such as the external moonlighting policy, funds for books and conferences, and the reduced amount of the July 1st stipend increase. We have stated to OHSU that “when a public employer makes a unilateral change in mandatory subjects of bargaining it commits an unfair labor practice under ORS 243.672(1)(e).” We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement to restore these policies to what we believe is status quo without having to take formal legal action.

We will keep you apprised of this and any other updates we have from negotiations. We are grateful for your words of encouragement and participation in this process, as we create, together, a better version of our institution. We always welcome your participation in this process.

Please contact us by emailing Sarah Thompson at [email protected] f you wish to join as an observer in future sessions. Our next virtual bargaining meeting will be Thursday, June 18th from 5-8 pm.

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