Prioritizing Fair Economics for University Workers
“ [...] ground yourselves in the challenging economic situations our workers find themselves in. Our workers have no impact on the economic situation of the university, while you all have the most direct impact on the economic situation of these workers as their main source of income.” - SEIU 503 Executive Director Melissa Unger while delivering the Union’s initial economic proposal.
Our bargaining team met at OSU-Cascades campus in Bend for our ninth and tenth sessions with management. We were joined by SEIU 503 Executive Director Melissa Unger as we delivered our economic proposal along with a strong message about the priorities of Higher Ed workers: SEIU members need wage increases that keep up with the cost of living and protection of our healthcare benefits.
After pressuring our bargaining team for weeks to exchange economic proposals, management’s team switched gears at the last minute and refused to offer a proposal on wages, telling us they wouldn’t have a proposal ready until the May 14 deadline. We are disappointed with management’s decision and what it indicates about how they are engaging in bargaining. We are concerned they aren’t taking the needs of classified workers seriously.
Our team reminded management of the stark realities classified workers are facing. For example, 40% of us can't afford to live in the communities where we work, requiring us to commute long distances. With gasoline now over $5 a gallon in many places, far too many of us are struggling to meet basic needs. 71% of us pay more than 30% of our income towards housing, and 54% run out of money before our next paycheck. Highly paid university administrators should not balance their budgets on the backs of the lowest-paid workers on campus. We took the universities’ budget realities into consideration in our proposals, now they need to take our members’ budgets into consideration in theirs.
Union Economic Proposals (Article 21, Article 4, Article 15 plus new Letter of Agreement)
- July 1, 2026 wage increase: CPI-W (Consumer Price Index aka inflation) + 3% (but not less than 4% total)
- July 1, 2027 wage increase: CPI-W + 2% (but not less than 4% total)
- No changes to our healthcare contributions
- Longevity premium: 1% for every 5 years that an employee has been at their university added on top of our current 2.5% longevity premium
- A pilot program for a 32-hour work week with no loss in pay or benefits. Each university would run a pilot program in two or more departments during fiscal year 2027 to evaluate the long-term feasibility of this work schedule.
- Proposed improvements to cost of and access to parking.
- 2-year contract
Management Proposals
- Restructure how overtime is calculated by redefining time worked, removing comp, vacation and other paid leave as part of calculations. This would reduce the OT earned by workers. (Article 25, section 1)
- Opened Article 5 on Complete Agreement/Past Practices to limit our ability to file certain kinds of grievances
- Letter of Agreement for PSU Helen Gordon Child Development Center Preschool for All
- 4-year contract (Article 4)
Management proposed extending the term of our agreement to 4 years without any economic offers to offset a long contract.
Our team is determined to meet this moment head on, and it is going to take all of us to send management this message: classified workers need an economic proposal from management that respects us and the work we do every day to keep our campuses running.
On May 15, we will hold our biggest rally yet when we bargain at UO. Together, we will tell them exactly how we feel about their economics! We are asking workers to come from all universities statewide to join in this massive rally – we are arranging transportation options to help everyone get there. Register here for more information!