OHSU, stop rollbacks now! Work with our union to make meals accessible, Now!
Steve Stadum, Dr. Sima Desai, and Dr. Joyce Hollander-Rodriguez
Our union negotiated for a meal allowance for OHSU House Officers in 2024 so that our members can get a quick meal when working extra long shifts that exceed over 12 hours. Meal allowance is more than a fringe benefit, it means that we can spend more time working for OHSU and serving patients. When negotiating our meal allowance, neither party anticipated requirements for federal and state income taxes which now present a significant rollback of the benefit, which is even more impacted by OHSU’s monopolized inflation of cafe prices and reduction in affordable food options. OHSU approached us to solve this problem, and is now offering only a $5 increase to monthly meal allowances (the equivalent of 6 pieces of cauliflower). THIS IS NOT ENOUGH and is an insult after we offered a mutually beneficial solution that would give us proper access to meals and would save OHSU up to $500K.
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To:
Steve Stadum, Dr. Sima Desai, and Dr. Joyce Hollander-Rodriguez
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Steve Stadum, Dr. Sima Desai, and Dr. Joyce Hollander-Rodriguez,
The primary purpose of the House Officer meal allowance was to ensure that we had access to quick meals when we work extra long shifts in excess of 12 hours. Our meal allowances are a trade-off for the long and often undocumented hours that medical residents have to work. Both parties admit that the taxing of meal allowance was an unexpected consequence and met to work toward a mutually beneficial solution. Taxing meal allowance presents a significant rollback! What’s more is that inflation of meal prices at OHSU’s cafes make it impossible for house officers to use the allowance for the original intended purpose, to buy a meal when serving OHSU and our community when our schedule prohibits our ability to take care of ourselves. OHSU’s “internal stakeholders and leaders” rejected our proposal because “there are many operational obstacles that make it not a viable option at this time.” As a consolation they offered us only $5 more per month, which is a paltry amount that does not offset the tax nor the inflation separately, let alone together.
We demand that OHSU reconsider our proposal to change meal allowance into a non-transactional scrip system that qualifies for tax exemption status under IRC119 requirement “meals provided for the benefit of the employer.” This system ensures we have access to nutrition during our demanding and unpredictable schedules so that we do not injure our health at the benefit of OHSU’s stakeholder’s pocketbooks. Our proposal ensures that house officers stay healthy, is a huge cost savings to OHSU, and ensures that OHSU will remain competitive nationwide for recruiting House Officers.
We expect OHSU to meet our demand and implement appropriate changes by July 1, 2025.
Sincerely,
The undersigned OHSU House Officers (Residents, Fellows, & Interns) and concerned community members.