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BLAIR STENVICK

Wednesday was supposed to mark the beginning of a hearing—one that would determine if graduate students at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) would be allowed to unionize. As the Mercury reported last month, OHSU grad students made steps to unionize with AFSCME Council 75 in August, with students saying they needed collective bargaining power to negotiate better stipends and health benefits from the university.

In September, OHSU submitted an objection to the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB), the state authority on collective bargaining law. OHSU argued that grad students could not be considered employees paid for their work, despite receiving stipends, and therefore could not qualify for a union. It's an argument that felt wobbly, considering students at other Oregon universities have managed to unionize—in fact, OHSU is the only graduate program in Oregon to not have a recognized union.

The ERB was scheduled to hear OSHU’s objection Wednesday and Thursday, but the hearing was just rescheduled at OHSU’s request. This comes after the grad students and AFSCME put considerable pressure on OHSU, holding a rally on campus and hosting a social media day of action on Dec 5.

“Due to our pressure and pressure from the community, OHSU is seriously considering dropping their objections and requested more time to get their decision makers in a room,” Jesse Koklas, an AFSCME organizer, told the Mercury today. “They have two weeks to get back to us with a decision about dropping the objections.”

Koklas speculated that "the administration is realizing that fighting the graduate researchers is creating ill will, and would start out a working relationship with this group on the wrong foot."

When reached for comment, OHSU sent the following statement:

"ERB agreed to move the hearing to January 9, 10 and possibly the 11. OHSU respects the right of our Ph.D. students to pursue unionization and looks forward to continuing to explore their status."