Just hours before a strike was to begin, Oregon AFSCME reached tentative agreement with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) on a first contract for a unit of about 250 postdoctoral researchers.
The key to breaking the deadlock was that OHSU dropped its insistence on no raises. For months, OHSU said it would only pay the workers the minimum salary set by the National Institutes of Health, the federal agency that funds the research grants they work under. That formula currently sets pay at $61,008 to $74,088, depending on experience. But AFSCME argued that the formula doesn’t work in a high-cost city like Portland, which is why other research universities, like University of Washington, have agreed to pay similar workers above the formula.
Members were voting to ratify the agreement Aug. 21-23, after this issue went to press. If approved as expected, the agreement would raise wages over its four-year duration, starting with an immediate 6% raise above the formula, and followed by annual raises of 3.5% in the second, third, and fourth year of the contract. Members would also get a one-time $2,000 ratification bonus.
The agreement also helps post-doctoral researchers with the visa process. Over 50% of the post-doc researchers are from overseas, and OHSU will reimburse the fees they pay to apply for and renew their visas, and give them up to 10 days of additional leave.
OHSU has seen a succession of union campaigns in recent years. In September, bargaining will begin for another newly unionized group of workers — a unit of over 2,000 research workers who joined AFSCME in April.
