What We've Won & What We're Asking For | OHSU Research Workers United

What the Union has Already Won for OHSU Researchers.

	Status Quo	Tentatively Agreed with OHSU
Job Security These are in effect as of 5/7/25 through MOU	Annual contracts – any researcher could be terminated on June 30th for any reason Not automatically eligible for unemployment insurance No preferential re-hiring of laid off researchers	We are permanent employees – no more annual contracts! 60 day notice of layoff required. Eligible for unemployment insurance if laid off Preferential hiring list to ensure laid off researchers get first shot at eligible position
Discipline	OHSU HR issues final decisions in disputes, without policies specific to researchers	Clear procedures for addressing violations of our union contract, once ratified RWU members have right to union representation at all stages of grievance procedure Right to appeal to neutral 3rd party arbitrator as final decision maker
Health & Safety	OHSU unilaterally set and enforced health and safety standards.	Protections for working with dangerous materials Protections for researchers who refuse to perform unsafe work No employee will be asked to pay out of pocket costs for exposure to serious communicable disease
Who can be in the Union?	Not all Research Workers were included as bargaining unit members when the union was certified in May 2024	Staff Scientists, Research Project Managers are in our union! No “supervisors” have been excluded from union so far
Non-Discrimination	Existing reporting systems are understaffed, tilted in favor of managers.	Non-discrimination article ensures that a researcher can file a grievance through the union in addition to existing avenues at OHSU if they experience discrimination, harassment or bullying.

RWU Economic Proposal 8/14/25.

	Status Quo	What We're Asking For
Wages	Annual raise determined by employer with no input from employees or managers. No guaranteed raise	Guaranteed raises in a progressive manner Across the board increase of 6% to 9.5% - lifting up the lowest paid researchers Differential Pay for bilingual researchers
Benefits	All Benefits subject to change at any time by OHSU	Benefits cannot change without negotiation with union
Insurance	88% coverage for dependents on all plans, except high deductible plan, which has 97% coverage for dependents. Domestic partners not guaranteed to be covered -OHSU tried to take this away last year	100% coverage for dependents on EPO plan (OHSU has agreed to this) Domestic partners guaranteed to be covered (OHSU has agreed to this) Addition of National health plan so that remote workers outside of Oregon can easily use their health benefits List of mandatory coverage to ensure our members can access the care they need
Retirement	Hired pre-July 1, 2017: 12% Hired post-July 1, 2017: 6% employer, up to 6% match	Ensures status quo levels of benefits, including for employees hired before July 1, 2017. Adds pre-retirement counseling (OHSU has agreed to this)
Paid Time Off	Cash out 80 hours PTO at 50% (i.e. 40 hours max) when leaving OHSU Access EIB after 40 hours PTS	Cash out 160 hours of PTO when leaving OHSU Access EIB after 8 hours of PTS
Reclassification	Only manager can initiate reclassification No guaranteed raise	Establishing an employee initiated reclassification process Minimum 5% raise upon reclassification
Hours of Work	No premium pay	Premium pay for non-exempt employees when working on designated holiday and when called back to the worksite with short notice. (OHSU has agreed to this)
Career Development	No universal career development policy. Left to departments/ institutes. Inequitable across OHSU	16 hours of dedicated career development time each year Counseling on how to progress in your classification series Paid time for licensure and certification
Hardship Fund	No hardship fund	$60K each year to help members facing food, housing, or childcare insecurity