Special thanks to all who joined our latest bargaining session. Your bargaining team met with OHSU on Tuesday January 30th for our 10th session. Our union also provided a counter proposal on Appointments/Reappointments and Layoffs with the intention to end “at will” appointments and ensure fair procedures in the instance of a layoff due to loss of funding. The bulk of the session, however, revolved around OHSU’s first response to our economic proposals.
The session began with a statement from OHSU’s subject matter expert regarding the funding and structure of postdoc positions at OHSU. Two important points from this statement were: 1. The institution’s role is to ensure Postdocs are paid and treated similarly across labs, and 2. OHSU is paying ZERO dollars towards postdoc salaries (with the exception of some labs that use start-up funds to cover postdoc salaries).
OHSU then proposed historically disappointing changes to the Economic proposals, which included: Benefits, Holidays/Paid Time Off/Leaves of Absence, and Wages. The OHSU management team summarized their proposals as “maintaining Postdocs at the status quo” (the conditions as they are now). These were not meaningful counter proposals. OHSU’s message was clear: They value our discoveries without considering what we need to provide world-class research and think they can continue to get that expertise for $0.00.
Below is a summary of the proposal PWU provided and OHSU’s status quo counter:
Your bargaining team stands firm in their position that Postdocs are underpaid for their level of expertise, and under-compensated in leave time (vacation/sick/PTO) when compared to other groups at OHSU. We hear your concerns that OHSU does not provide adequate resources for bereavement leave, parental leave, or childcare. OHSU’s proposal is contradictory to their research mission and statement that it is the Institution’s job to ensure equity for Postdocs across OHSU. We KNOW that our members do not have equity in wages, relocation benefits, and ability to contribute to retirement funds (due to W2/1099 income tax status). Let’s be clear, OHSU’s proposal was a serious underestimation of our organizing power. We will hold a town hall for a more in depth discussion on 2/14, 12:30-1:30, in LBRB 381, with lunch provided. We are calling all our fellow postdocs to unite together and fight for a fair contract.
In solidarity,
Your PWU Bargaining Team
