EOU classified staff showed up in force this week to show management who runs this university! With management delivering yet another insulting proposal at the table, our collective action has never been more urgent. They continue to offer 0% COLAs over the next four years!
They did move off their step freeze proposal - only to propose a restructure of our steps, so it takes 19 YEARS to get from step one to step ten. Universities have honored the step system for nearly half a century. Now, they want to break that commitment permanently.
On layoff rights they continue to propose taking away bumping, a fundamental pillar of union power on the job and one of the most important ways we honor seniority. They also did not budge on their push to remove our rights around contracting out work, something that is actively happening on our campuses. It’s clear that management is actively trying to dismantle worker power at Oregon’s public universities.
How to Fight Back
- Take action by emailing university presidents: This online action has flooded presidential inboxes with 300 emails. Let’s keep the action going so they know that we’re not going to accept this attack on our livelihoods.
- Tell your Story: We need to make this fight public. We’re asking for more people to share their stories. You can complete the story form at this link and then record a short video here. We’re especially looking for people who are willing to speak to the public and the media about what you’re going through. It’s time to name what’s happening and shame university management for trying to short change their workers.
- Purple Up to Show Unity!
- Tuesdays: PSU, EOU and WOU
- Wednesdays: UO, OSU and SOU
- Thursdays: OIT
EOU was our last bargaining session before we enter mediation on July 21. Zoom observation is prohibited in mediation sessions. Thank you to the hundreds of people who observed bargaining during all of our sessions. Stay tuned for updates via emails, CATs, our webpage, and in the member Facebook group!
It’s going to take bold action to make serious movement at the bargaining table. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be launching a strike pledge. Withholding our labor is the strongest tool we have, and it looks extremely likely we’ll have to use it. Keep an eye on your emails and check in with union leaders and organizers on campus so we can get a strong majority of workers to commit to taking this bold action. Keep reading below for more in depth updates on bargaining.
Bargaining Table Update
We reached TA on 3 articles:
- Article 46: Academic Year Positions; increased communication around health insurance premium coverage in summer months and holiday break.
- Article 54: Computer Workstations; both sides agreed to current contract language
- Article 57: Uniforms, Tools and Protective Clothing; strengthened language on protective clothing and safety practices, added maintenance costs for some tools, and clarified ability to wear Union insignia.
We passed counter proposals on:
- Article 10: Union Rights; Strengthened language on Union rights, including staff access to workers, new employee orientations and steward representation.
- Article 16: Personnel Records; We held onto language improving records access for stewards representing workers and rejected management’s language to limit access and retain files for discipline.