Once again, management’s bargaining team showed a totally inadequate response to the moment in our negotiations. While our team came to the bargaining table ready to tackle the issues classified workers care about the most—such as cost-of-living adjustments and ensuring we don’t continue to fall behind economically—management’s team did not even have an economic proposal to share with us. This means management is still proposing a four-year wage freeze for the classified workers who keep our campuses running. No steps. No COLAs. Nothing.
And this is while the average price of gas in Oregon is still $4.65.
Classified workers are keeping the pressure on management to take us seriously. Yesterday, hundreds of workers gathered at their universities to demand a fair contract with cost-of-living increases and respect for our work.
As we’re still actively negotiating, we did agree with the universities to extend our current contract to August 31, 2026. Our next bargaining session will be held at Eastern Oregon University on July 8 and 9.
It’s critical that we continue to step up to show management that we are not going to back down until we win the contract we deserve. Here’s how you can add your voice to the effort:
Wear purple (and ask all your coworkers to wear purple!) on July 8 and 9 to show management that we are united. - Use a purple zoom background and share them with your coworkers. You can download a background here.
- Talk to your coworkers who are not yet members of our union to join – this is the strongest action someone can take to help us fight for a fair contract. Text them this link where people can join our union.
Stay tuned for more ways you can be involved in the fight for a fair contract. Keep reading below for additional details on what was proposed in negotiations this week.
Bargaining Table Update
Tentative Agreements
We were able to fight back and win big on two of management’s attempted takeaways. Management withdrew their proposal to limit eligibility for overtime, and we successfully pushed back against management’s attempt to limit leave to eight days maximum per year and to require documentation for leave.
Union Proposals
- We made counter proposals on 10 articles, meaning the majority of items are back in management’s court; we are waiting for management responses.
- Our bargaining team is proposing Cost-of-Living adjustments (COLA) that match the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the first year, and CPI +1.5% in the second year, with a 3% minimum both years
- We continue to propose workers receive step increases in our next contract
- We continue to propose longevity increases of 1% for every 5 years of service while at the top step of the wage scale