Bargaining Updates
July 15th
When we fight together, we win together!
Your OFNHP Acute Care Bargaining Team spent a grueling two days of bargaining working to rectify the rescinded market adjustments that were offered to the Rehab department. We requested the exact list of employee names and proposed pay increases, which PeaceHealth eventually provided. We then did some quick crowdsourced research to determine that the market adjustments matched what caregivers had been promised and collected information about caregivers' years of experience to identify any significant discrepancies between pay and experience.
We provided a counter MOU that ensured anyone who did not receive a market adjustment would remain eligible for any future across-the-board wage increases, and we rejected PeaceHealth's proposed 12-month moratorium on wage increase proposals for Rehab. We also proactively affirmed our right to make proposals to improve wage differentials for Rehab caregivers.
The employer's original proposal barred us from making any proposals to improve differentials for Rehab caregivers, and we fought them hard on this issue. By the conclusion of bargaining, PeaceHealth moved to recognize that our Rehab members will be able to negotiate for improved differentials, certifications, educational funds, and other economic improvements alongside the rest of the bargaining unit.
We will also still be able to address wage discrepancies in the Rehab department related to years of experience beginning in Year 2 of the contract. Our members felt it was important to secure these funds for our coworkers as soon as possible. We will continue bargaining our full economic package for the rest of the unit as soon as PeaceHealth provides a response to the proposals we submitted back in September.
At the eleventh hour, PeaceHealth also made movement on the Job Postings article and recognized seniority as the determining factor among qualified applicants when filling vacancies.
The movement PeaceHealth made on the MOU and the article on Job Postings would never have happened without all the amazing support of our members and your willingness to show up and speak out on the issues that matter. We accomplished a lot together and will continue to fight to move our contract forward.
July 14th
Today, Tuesday, July 14, the OFNHP Acute Professionals bargaining team met with the employer and opened our session with questions about the rescinded raises that were offered to the Rehab department. For those who have not heard, our therapists were pulled into one-on-one meetings with their managers during the week of June 23 and told that they were receiving market wage adjustments that would take effect on July 3. Our members have self-reported the specific raises they were told they would receive, which ranged from 3% to 18%. On Friday, June 26, at 4:30 p.m., PeaceHealth sent an email entitled "Market Adjustment Miscommunication" rescinding the raises and claiming that active bargaining prohibited them from offering raises.
PeaceHealth's lead negotiator made a statement about wanting to "move past" this issue, which did not sit well with our members. Many of our unit members shared how they have been impacted, describing the moral injury of knowing what you are worth and yet still having to come to work for less, which they viewed as a professional insult.
PeaceHealth has insisted they are working on the issue but has not shown us the respect and urgency we are demanding around these retracted raises. At the end of the day, the employer presented a memorandum of understanding (MOU) proposing to provide the wage increases they offered in June (back paid to the June 14 pay period) in exchange for us foregoing any proposals to increase the impacted caregivers' wages for at least twelve months. This was not something we agreed to, and we need more information before we can offer a counterproposal.
We continued to bargain over the Job Postings and Layoffs articles, and we are specifically not in agreement over issues related to seniority in these articles. PeaceHealth continues to offer no role for seniority in determining hiring for open positions or in the event of layoffs and restructuring.
We made it clear during our bargaining session that seniority is of the utmost importance to our members and that if PeaceHealth continues to undermine these principles, a strike becomes more likely.
We will continue bargaining tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15, starting at 10 a.m. in HEC Room 3/4. Please continue to WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS and stop by to show your support. You are also encouraged to attend in the morning to hear more discussion about the PHSW MOU. Remember to sign up for the canvassing training this Thursday and check Discord for more updates and to read the MOU in its entirety.
June 17th
Today, Wednesday June 17th, we discussed articles on: Job Postings, Layoffs, Successorship, and Health & Safety. We came to a tentative agreement (TA) on the Health & Safety article after pushing for language that solidifies our right to identify unsafe or unhealthy working conditions without retaliation and requires that our employer provide us with adequate protective equipment to do our jobs safely. We now have 11 TA's overall. We are still waiting on 16 counter responses from PeaceHealth including all economic articles. For the Layoffs and Job Postings articles, we have proposed language that focuses on seniority in an attempt to eliminate employer bias, favoritism, and preferential treatment. PeaceHealth has countered with language that allows them to use subjective measures to make layoff and hiring decisions. We feel it is important to keep pushing back for clear, objective criteria. This is imperative in order to protect our jobs. PeaceHealth has held their position on their Successorship article, which is three sentences long. It simply says that they will notify the purchaser that we have a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) but it does not guarantee that the new purchaser has to recognize it. We've proposed language that requires the purchaser to follow our CBA. This article is important to maintain the rights and benefits we have fought so hard for, in the event that our jobs are impacted by a merger or sale. Lastly, while we remain in status quo, our Key Certification pay will be honored in the same manner as previous years. Please continue to verify your credentials on the PeaceHealth website as detailed in the email sent out by PeaceHealth to ensure that you receive your funds. We're returning to the bargaining table tomorrow, Thursday June 18th, around 10am in HEC classrooms 3/4. We look forward to seeing you there, wearing your red, and showing support! Visible support continues to be extremely important while we fight for a fair contract. |
June 9th
Today, Tuesday, June 9th, our union’s bargaining team met with management's Home Health and Community (HHC) bargaining team. Since PeaceHealth Southwest (PHSW) has switched out their lead negotiator, progress has gotten much smoother. We are working through their full non-economic counter-offer they provided us last session.
In the Recognition (Article 1.2), we were able to maintain that the Clinical Social Workers and Clinical Social Worker Leads are in the bargaining unit for HHC. Previously, there was confusion over whether this job title was in the unit or not. Now that we resolved it we were able to reach a Tentative Agreement (TA) on that article. We also TA’d on Management Rights (Article 6), Discipline and Discharge (Article 8), Labor-Management Committee (Article 22), General Provisions (Article 24) and Duration and Termination (Article 25).
We are still working on several areas, including No Strike No Lock Out, Layoffs, Job Posting and Vacancies, Grievance Procedure, Union Access, Successorship and Citizenship. Similar to the Acute Care In Patient group, the employer continues to propose a much more expansive No Strike, No Lockout clause than is standard for unions. PeaceHealth is asking us to give up our right to pass out handbills and fliers, which is a foundational and protected right that we need to keep our members informed and as an option for workplace action. We are working on a counter-proposal to protect our right to organize and communicate non-strike related information. You can view Management's latest proposals along with the TA’s here.
We are currently working on a counter to all above outstanding articles. Our next bargaining session is June 22nd, and you are invited to join us as an observer. Click here to watch our video update!
May 5th
Hi everyone! We completed two days of bargaining this week. Yesterday, we saw great momentum with four new tentative agreements (TAs). Today, we reviewed Health and Safety; Layoffs, Recalls, and Restructures; Job Postings and Vacancies; and Successorship.
Successorship is an article that both us and PeaceHealth feel strongly about, but for different reasons. We want strong successorship language that would require a new employer to honor our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the event of a buyout. This feels particularly relevant given the anticipated partnership between PeaceHealth and LifePoint, as well as anticipated changes with our IPR/3 West.
PeaceHealth, however, has made it incredibly clear that they are not interested in successorship at all and that, even if they do agree to successorship language, they will not include a stipulation requiring a successor to honor our CBA. As the cherry on top, they also said they’re “more than confident” that LifePoint’s nefarious reputation is not an issue or concern to them.
You can review all of the articles in greater depth in the table below. And click here to watch our bargaining update video!
Join us on Wednesday, June 17th, for our next Acute Bargaining session. We also hope to see you on Monday, May 18th, for the next Home and Community Bargaining session.
| Name of Article | Description | Status |
| Discipline and Discharge | Establishes corrective action and progressive discipline | TA |
| Grievance Procedure | How we are able to enforce our contract and the pathways we have to be made whole if there is a violation | TA |
| Citizenship | Immigration Enforcement and the Employer | TA |
| No Strike, No Lockout | Stops the Employer from locking us out during the duration of the contract and prevents us from striking during the contract | TA |
| Layoffs and Recall | In the event of a Layoff how would it take place and how would recall rights work | Union provided last counter |
| Job Postings | How to fill vacant positions equitably | Union provided last counter |
| Health and Safety | Establishes guidelines for the employer to abide by and our rights to work in a safe environment | Union provided last counter |
| Successorship | If PHSW sells us to a different entity we will still have a contract and a CBA | Union provided last counter |
April 28th
During today’s bargaining session, we continued negotiations with the Employer on three key articles: Union Access and Activity, Discipline and Discharge, and No Strike/No Lockout.
A significant portion of the discussion centered on the role of union stewards and representatives during work hours. The Employer maintains that when union stewards are representing a caregiver during their regular work hours, they are not obligated to pay those stewards for the time spent in representation. The Employer also maintains that stewards or union representatives are not required for the Employer and the union to engage in what they refer to as “labor peace.” Our question is why they aren't willing to pay their fair share to ensure “labor peace?”
The union maintains that when a caregiver is at work and exercising their right to representation during their regular working hours, they should be paid. Having a paid union steward available to represent caregivers on the clock is standard practice in collective bargaining agreements and already exists in other PeaceHealth Southwest union contracts.
The Employer finally made moves toward alignment with the union on both the Discipline and Discharge article and the No Strike/No Lockout article. We are trying to fight for a progressive and corrective form of discipline, while PeaceHealth continues to try to make it punitive. Later in the day the Employer made a move toward us to drop the back pay cap related to arbitration, a move in our direction. We also finally received counter-proposals we have been waiting on since January. The first is on the Grievance procedure, which we are already working on a new counter-proposal for. The other was a Citizenship proposal that had some language from WSNAs citizenship article, but our bargaining team is working on a counter. However, similar to yesterday, no Tentative Agreements (TAs) were reached.
Our bargaining team continues to push for protections that ensure caregivers have meaningful access to union representation without financial penalty. We remain committed to securing language that reflects established standards across the industry and within PeaceHealth Southwest itself.
Click Here to Watch Our Video Update!
We also want to remind you to RSVP for our April 30th rally and to come out by 5:00pm. It’s time to show management that we are united and that we have the community’s support in our fight for a better future for care at PeaceHealth. Please continue to take your photos with the Compassion Includes Caregivers signs and send them to SBurley@ofnhp.org, and post them on your own social media with the hashtags #peacehealth, #compassionincludescaregivers, and #unionstrong.
April 27th
Today, our Union bargaining team met with the Employer to continue negotiations. Our discussions focused on three key articles: Union Access and Activity, No Strike/No Lockout, and Discipline and Discharge. While both sides made movement, we did not reach any Tentative Agreements (TAs) during this session.
A central point of discussion was our position that union stewards must be paid when representing employees during discipline and discharge meetings. We reiterated that stewards should not be forced to use Paid Time Off (PTO) or personal time to carry out their representational duties—duties that directly support the Employer’s obligation to ensure fair and consistent treatment of employees.
The Employer maintained its position that it is not obligated to pay stewards for their time. We continued to push for language that protects members and ensures stewards can fully participate in the process without financial penalty. Discussions also highlighted what could be described as a philosophical distinction between corrective action and punitive discipline; the Union maintains that employees should be protected from punitive action, especially when the Employer appears to promote an atmosphere of staff development and a safe reporting culture.
Although no TAs were reached today, we made progress in clarifying positions and narrowing issues. We remain committed to securing strong, fair language that protects workers’ rights and ensures meaningful union representation.
Click Here to Watch Our Update Video
We also want to remind everyone to RSVP for our April 30 rally. This is a critical part of our campaign to put pressure on PeaceHealth to finally address the most important issues at the table. We also encourage you to join us tomorrow in bargaining in room HEC 3-4 as an observer! Talk to your coworker, join the PHSW Pro Facebook Group, and keep an eye out for our Tech and Service & Maintenance colleagues who are wearing “Solidarity With PHSW Pros” stickers. We also encourage all of you to post your own photos holding your Compassion Includes Caregivers signs on your own social media while tagging @OFNHP and using the hashtags #PeaceHealth #CompassionIncludesCaregivers. You can also send those photos to SBurley@ofnhp.org so they can be posted on OFNHP social media.
March 27th
We met with management today and jumped into articles around Discipline and Discharge (Article 8), No Strike/No Lockout (Article 27), and Union Stewards (Article 2), but we did not reach any Tentative Agreements (TAs). We pushed back on management’s attempts to create a draconian disciplinary process where they would have undue authority to discipline workers without any due process. We successfully pushed them to agree to a more equitable system, and that they could take action for workers engaged in discrimination and harassment.
On Article 27, we have secured the right for our members to support other union members by joining their picket lines when they are in an active campaign. And, after a contentious debate over Article 2, management has agreed to provide a thirty-minute paid union presentation for new hires.
While we are proud of the progress we made today, we continue to be outraged by management’s flagrant disrespect and unwilingness to respond to our proposals. Despite holding over a dozen bargaining sessions across nearly six months, we have only reached six TAs. We are still waiting on management to respond to an astounding 19 proposals. They have deferred any discussion of proposals they deem “economic,” and others they simply refuse to discuss. While we are spending our nights and weekends working on our proposals, management does not and are frequently unprepared. More than this, they continue to violate the “status quo” rules that should govern our work since they make unilateral changes to working conditions and our healthcare.
Enough is enough - it’s time that we hold management accountable. We won our union in a democratic vote and despite what management wants, we have decided to come together with a united voice to demand change. We were proud to see all of you who came out to our Union Visibility Day on the 25th - this is helping to show management that we are committed to this fight. We are planning a public action at the end of the month and to increase union visibility on the job.
Join us for our next bargaining session on April 27th, which all members are invited to observe. Wear red, talk to your coworkers, and let’s continue the fight for justice at PeaceHealth!
Click Here to Watch Our Video Update
February 23rd
Today we met with the employer's inpatient bargaining team and exchanged a number of proposals.
We went back and forth on the following:
Union Activity
- The employer maintains that we cannot talk to new employees at new employee orientations. This is standard in all contracts but for some reason they believe we should accept less.
Discipline and Discharge
- The employer is trying to create a separate article outside of the standard just cause and due process, specifically for attendance violations. This means they could fire you for violating their attendance policy while only giving a warning (or no action at all) to your colleague for a similar or the same infraction.
Job Posting and Vacancies
- The employer still does not want seniority to be a factor at all in the job posting process for internal vacancies.
No Strike, No Lockout
- Initially the employer was proposing language stating we would be fired for attending a picket or protest for a different union (e.g. WSNA) during our own personal time. By the end of todays bargaining session we were able to make progress in this area and PeaceHealth management amended their article removing language that would prohibit us from supporting another union on our own time, we still have not TA'd this article and have to present a counter at our next bargaining session.
You can view the totality of their proposals here.
These few articles have been passed back and forth between our side and theirs for several sessions with little movement on their side. While we have tried to show that we want TAs (Tentative Agreements) by moving in their direction, they have not done the same.
For whatever reason, the employer believes that the Professionals Unit can be treated differently than the rest of the hospital. Perhaps they believe we are less important, or maybe they think that we will just roll over and take whatever proposals they give us. Whatever the case, they are wrong. We are important and valuable pieces of this hospital and without us, patients can not be cared for.
We are bringing visibility to our fight by changing our profile pictures on Teams and Outlook to one of the below pictures. Join us and change your picture today! View the options and download them here.
February 11th and 12th
Yesterday (2/9/26) and today (2/10/26), we met with the employer’s Home and Community bargaining team.
We exchanged proposals around Corrective Action, Categories of Employees, Health and Safety, and Union Stewards.
The Corrective Action and Discipline article covers:
- Progressive discipline
- Investigatory interviews
- Progressive corrective action or discipline
- Removal from personnel file
- Just cause
The employer agrees that discipline shall only be for just cause. However, we disagree with management’s proposal that would allow them to discipline employees differently for the same infractions.
Health and Safety:
- Caregiver and patient safety during work
- Refusal to work in an unsafe condition
- A seat on the Health and Safety Committee
We have made some progress on Health and Safety and had very good discussions on the topic. We are mainly discussing employees’ right to refuse an unsafe assignment.
Categories of Employees – We TA’d this article
- Defines full-time, part-time, and per diem employees (unrelated to benefits)
- Defines the probationary period
- Restricts the employer’s ability to overutilize temporary employees for longer than 12 months
Union Stewards
- Right to have a Union Steward present in investigations
- Union representatives’ right to access the facility
- Time for the Union to have a presence at New Employee Orientation
- Union bulletin boards
We have broad agreement on the role of stewards. However, we are still discussing whether steward work will be on the clock, as well as where Union bulletin boards may be located and how many there will be.
Stay tuned for further updates. We are meeting again with the employer on March 12th and 13th.
Click here to watch our video update!
February 6th
We met with the Acute and Outpatient bargaining team on February 3rd and 4th. We have been going back and forth with them on the same five proposals. No Strike, No Lock Out, Union activity, Job Posting and Vacancies, Layoffs and Recall, and Corrective Action.
The biggest issues and sticking points that we have been unable to resolve between these proposals are:
No strike: The employer keeps lengthening our No Strike No Lock out proposals, limiting the actions we can take during the duration of our contract including attending another union's picket and controlling what we do on our off time.
Layoff and Recall: The employer has been unwilling to budge on the concept that they should be able to layoff caregivers using complete subjectivity. We proposed standard language that is in every other CBA at PHSW which uses reverse seniority in the event of a layoff and management has told us they need to be able to retain whichever caregivers they want and layoff whoever they want.
Job Postings and vacancies: The Employer and us are not in agreement about how job postings should be implemented. We proposed that the employer should allow internal candidates to apply and be considered prior to external applicants. This is something PHSW management is very opposed to.
Union Activity: We made progress on this article, however, PeaceHealth made it clear they envision a single bulletin board for the entire membership. They also do not want to allow our union to have the opportunity to speak to our new members at New Employee Orientations.
Corrective Action: PeaceHealth is holding on their position to be able to issue discipline in an inconsistent manner, namely different penalties for the same infractions.
Keep an eye out in your personal email for an update on how you can support a good contract in upcoming negotiations.
January 15th
This morning, we met with the acute care and outpatient bargaining team. They started the meeting with their COO, Michael Skehan, thanking us for the petition we delivered last week. He said he appreciated all the work we put into creating and delivering it, and that the shared values were very impactful because they are what unified us. With time, we will see whether this petition helps push the employer in a more collaborative direction. We then exchanged a number of proposals.
Union Stewards
- The employer wants to be able to limit what we put on our union boards, at management’s sole discretion.
- We countered by offering assurance that we are not using the union boards to threaten management or use offensive language.
- The employer is still insisting that our union board cannot contain any negative critiques of PHSW or its actions, including commentary on layoffs.
Grievance Procedure
- One of the biggest areas where we are far apart is whether an employee and/or union steward can attend an investigatory meeting or grievance meeting on paid time.
- The employer wants all meetings to be held outside of work hours for the employee, while management and HR would still be attending on paid time.
- The employer also wants to limit back pay in the event that they wrongfully terminate an employee, even when an arbitrator rules the employee must be rehired.
No Strike, No Lockout
The employer is still hellbent on restricting us from taking legal and rightful organizing actions during the length of our contract, and wants our union to be financially accountable if we were to participate in these activities. Having a No Strike, No Lockout clause is standard. However, it is not standard for that article to restrict activities beyond a strike or lockout (for example, handbills/flyering and picketing).
Citizenship
We presented a comprehensive, 2-page article that aims to protect caregivers in the event that ICE were to come into our facility, aims to protect any employees who were targeted by ICE, and would compel the employer to financially support visa needs for any caregiver they choose to hire. Management said this is an extremely sensitive issue that they take very seriously. They said they will need additional time, beyond today, to process this proposal and provide a counter.
Outstanding information requests
The employer is still refusing to provide us with a list of how they would implement layoffs according to their layoff proposal.