A unit of over 1,700 research workers at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) reached tentative agreement Feb. 13 on a first-ever union contract. The deal runs through Sept. 30, 2028, and averts a strike that was set for Feb. 18.
The workers unionized in May 2024 as Research Workers United, a local of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). After bargaining stalled over wages and the right to cash out unused paid time off, the union issued a strike notice Feb. 4.
If ratified by workers, the collective bargaining agreement will mandate immediate raises between 4% and 5.5% and at least $1.25 per hour, followed by across-the-board raises of 3.25% in year two and 3% in year three. It will also set a minimum wage of $23.18 per hour; the unit’s lowest wages are currently under $19 an hour.
The union bargaining team acknowledged in a summary of the agreement that the wage increases were significantly below what the union had last proposed but that it was “the best contract that we could realistically win in the current federal climate.” Research at OHSU has been hit hard by Trump administration cuts to the National Institutes of Health, and roughly 200 union-represented OHSU research workers have been laid off in the last year.
Though the raises are lower than the union sought, the timeline at least is faster. The “year two” raises will be implemented in October 2026, seven months after the initial raises. The tentative agreement also lets workers cash out up to 40 hours of paid time off when they leave their jobs. A ratification vote was scheduled to begin Feb. 19. ad
