Wages remain unresolved as Oregon university workers prepare to strike
Union leaders credit members’ collective action for progress on contract protections.
| Bargaining status as of the Sept. 27 emergency briefing
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon public university workers represented by SEIU Local 503 were preparing to strike Monday as wages remained unresolved, despite progress on contract protections that union leaders credited to members’ organizing and readiness to walk out.
At an emergency briefing Sunday, the bargaining team said university management had increased its first-year cost-of-living offer by 0.25 percentage points to 2.25%. The union is seeking a 3% increase for all covered workers effective Nov. 1.
The offer remained 0.75 percentage points below the union’s first-year demand. No overall tentative agreement had been reached at the time of the briefing.
For workers earning less than $25 an hour, the team is seeking wage increases totaling 6% over two years. Bargainers said the method for delivering those increases remained under negotiation as they considered alternatives to address complications involving job classifications. The team said it was willing to consider different approaches while maintaining its wage priorities.
On other issues, negotiators reported that proposed takeaways, including changes that would weaken layoff and contracting-out protections, were off the table. They also reported agreement on protecting the 97/3 and 95/5 health insurance plans, although final wording was still being worked out.
Union leaders attributed those gains to members’ collective action on campuses and preparations for a strike. They pointed to more than 100 people joining the emergency briefing on about 90 minutes’ notice as evidence of members’ involvement and said that support was helping the team maintain pressure at the bargaining table.
The team also said it had offered to accept management’s request for a four-year contract on the condition that health care, step increases and layoff protections be maintained throughout the agreement. Under the union’s proposal, negotiations over cost-of-living increases would reopen after the second increase.
Bargainers described the offer as movement toward management’s priorities but said the two sides remained too far apart on wages to reach a settlement at the time of the briefing.
Members participating in the call described medical bills, housing costs and difficulty covering expenses between paychecks. The bargaining team said those experiences, along with responses to member surveys, were shaping its push for wage increases and additional protection for lower-paid workers.
At Oregon State University, Local 083’s strike notice sets the intended start for 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28.
Union leaders told strike captains to continue preparing unless the union announces a tentative agreement and calls off the strike. Members would receive an email and text message if that happens. Negotiations were continuing at the time of the briefing.