1/21 Bargaining Update
Hello union siblings!
Tuesday’s bargaining session was primarily focused on getting ground rules agreed upon for the future sessions. For those that are unfamiliar, the ground rules usually focus on aspects of how we will bargain and have discussions with OHSU. It generally includes items such as who can attend, what information can be shared, times and dates, etc. It sets up the framework for how we will bargain and interact with the OHSU bargaining team moving forward.
To that end; the bargaining team has a few big changes that they are pushing for that would make this year different than previous bargaining sessions. This is a very important contract for us to be bargaining and it can have far reaching effects on our members, so; in an effort to make the process and the discussions as transparent as possible our team has been pushing for an open bargaining with the freedom to both view and live stream the sessions.
While the platform and specifics have not been agreed upon, the idea that every member of our union could watch and see the negotiations between our team and OHSU management is an exciting one. This would give our members more transparency and visibility into the process and decisions that can have such a dramatic impact on their lives. This process belongs to all of us in the union, and so all of us should have the right to watch it happen.
There has been some pushback on this from OHSU which is why ground rules have not been finalized, but the team hopes to have them finalized soon. The other ground rule concern was that OHSU made a request to not allow picketing or rallies where bargaining is taking place. The team pushed back, uncomfortable with agreeing to ground rules that would prohibit our members from expressing the first amendments freedom of speech and the right to protest on public ground.
If having a more open bargaining is something that is important to you or, you have other feedback or ideas for our team please let us know through comments or send an email to bargaining@local328.org!
For Bread And Roses
- Sean Bovett, ICC Chair