PORTLAND, Ore. — OHSU President Dr. Danny Jacobs has received some employee pushback about $12.5 million in bonuses he announced late last month for top administrators and other employees.
The president's recognition awards are to be distributed to 2,000 of OHSU’s 20,000 employees, according to a slide deck shared with some employees at a recent town hall and first reported by Willamette Week.
The bonuses would start at $750 and top out at nearly $183,000 for OHSU Health CEO Dr. John Hunter, the highest-paid employee after Jacobs, according to compensation data obtained by the Business Journal through a public records request.
Executive vice presidents were to receive bonuses of 15.9% of their salaries, after senior vice presidents, deans, chairs, directors and managers receive their payouts this Friday. The bonuses will cost $12.5 million altogether.
"As Dr. Jacobs said when he announced the awards, the executive vice presidents’ awards were contingent upon availability of funds after all individual contributors and other (unclassified administrative) employees were accounted for," said OHSU spokeswoman Sara Hottman. "Following these evaluations, Dr. Jacobs has determined the EVPs are not eligible for these awards."
The bonuses have stirred passionate opinions among lower-paid workers on campus. As of Monday afternoon, 2,139 OHSU employees had signed a petition asking Jacobs and the OHSU Board to reject “egregious bonuses” in light of many workers' struggles to make ends meet.
The petition, first reported by Willamette Week, is sponsored by AFSCME, which represents 7,000 OHSU workers, and the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents 3,200 nurses. AFSCME negotiated a contract with OHSU last year, and the Oregon Nurses Union just last week ratified its most recent contract, averting a strike.
The Portland Business Journal, a KGW News partner has more details on the petition and on OHSU’s decision overall.
