In this update:

• OHSU increases their proposal by 1% in the second year

• OHSU modestly increases dependent care insurance coverage

• We reach an agreement on Contract Education

Hello Graduate Researchers,

Thank you to those of you that joined us for our virtual bargaining session today! We are happy to have come to an agreement with OHSU management regarding contract education training. This will hopefully ensure that everyone affected by the contract–from GRs to their mentors to administrators–will understand what is in the contract and how it affects them.

On a less inspiring note, OHSU management increased their stipend proposal by 1% in the second year, claiming that we are too expensive and that providing us with a living wage would funnel money away from the healthcare mission. OHSU also increased their insurance coverage for dependents (~2% increase). hey claim to be working on solutions for dependent care, but offered no specifics.

We have consistently seen that management is not willing to provide GRs with a living wage, or with a wage commensurate with the work we provide. This means the only way we will see real movement is by showing OHSU that we won’t accept arguments that we are too expensive, or statements from management like “you are being paid a stipend from the day you walk in the door when you take classes all day.” If OHSU truly values the work we do for the institution, they should show us with their proposals and not their words.

Getting real movement means becoming a member if you are not currently one and being on the lookout for union events!

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to [email protected].

In solidarity,

Adrian Baris, Raphael Kirchgäßner, JD Russo, and Austin Wright