Read this status note first
This guide summarizes the 2022-2026 collective bargaining agreement posted on our site. Article 4 says that agreement expired June 30, 2026, and successor bargaining is underway. Ask our steward team to confirm which terms govern your notice before you make an election.
This is a plain-language educational guide, not individualized legal advice. The governing agreement and law control if this page differs.
Right now
Protect the five-work-day deadline
Save everything
Keep the notice, envelope, email headers, attachments, seniority report, position description, and the date and time you received them. Save copies somewhere you can access away from work.
Write down the deadline
Use the response date printed in the official notice. Do not guess how OSU is counting work days; ask the HR contact to confirm the exact date in writing.
Send it to a steward today
Forward the complete notice and seniority information to [email protected]. If the deadline may have passed, contact us anyway; do not assume there is nothing left to do.
Respond in writing
The posted agreement gives you five work days after receipt to tell OSU HR whether you want the full layoff process or direct layoff and recall. Silence is treated as choosing direct layoff.
CBA Article 44, § 3(A), contract pp. 70-71 (PDF pp. 74-75)
Your notice should contain specific information
- The effective date and reason for the layoff.
- SEIU 503 Member Resource Center contact information.
- Your seniority and contractual layoff rights.
- The timeline for making your written election.
The usual written-notice period is at least 30 calendar days. The agreement allows a 15-calendar-day minimum only when circumstances beyond the employer's control prevent 30 days. If anything is missing or looks wrong, tell a steward immediately and still protect the response deadline.
Check the seniority report, too
Article 27 generally assigns one seniority point for each full month of unbroken university-system service, prorates part-time service, and contains special rules for breaks, prior service and ties. Have a steward compare the report with your complete work history before the election deadline.
Before the deadline
Choose one of two paths with your steward
This is the first major decision. The posted contract lets you enter the full placement process or skip it and move directly to layoff and the recall list.
Use the full layoff process
Choose this path to go through Article 44's placement sequence: intended-to-fill vacancies first, then bumping if no accessible vacancy exists.
- You keep the ability to elect layoff later in the process.
- If OSU advises you of a placement decision, the posted agreement gives you five work days to elect layoff instead.
- Have a steward review qualifications, seniority, geography, employment category, and any proposed placement.
Go directly to layoff and recall
Choose this path to skip the vacancy-placement and bumping steps and move directly to layoff and recall-list placement.
- Your default recall placement is for the same classification and employment category from which you were laid off.
- You designate the OSU geographic-area recall list or lists in writing.
- If HR receives no election within five work days, the posted agreement treats you as choosing this path.
CBA Article 44, §§ 3(A) and 3(E)(3), contract pp. 70-73 (PDF pp. 74-77)
Copy a written election template
Have a steward review the language, send it to the HR contact named in your notice before the stated deadline, and keep proof of delivery.
Template A: full layoff process
Template B: direct layoff and recall
If you choose the full process
Follow the placement sequence
For the sequence below, you generally must be position-qualified and placed in the same geographic area and employment category. At OSU, the geographic area is a 15-mile radius from your workstation. "Position-qualified" means meeting the classification's minimum qualifications and being able to perform the position's specific requirements within approximately two weeks.
CBA Article 44, §§ 3(C)-3(F), contract pp. 71-73 (PDF pp. 75-77)
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Vacancy 1
Same classification
A vacant position OSU intends to fill in your same classification.
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Vacancy 2
Same salary range
If none is accessible above, a different classification in the same salary range.
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Vacancy 3
Lower salary range
If none is accessible above, the closest lower salary range possible, no more than five ranges lower unless mutually agreed.
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Then, if needed
Bumping sequence
Displace the lowest-seniority eligible worker: first in the same classification, then certain previously held same-range classifications, then a lower classification.
CBA Article 44, § 3(E), contract pp. 72-73 (PDF pp. 76-77)
If you are placed
Confirm the classification, salary range, work location, FTE, schedule, start date, and whether a demotion puts you on a recall list for your former classification.
If you refuse placement
A refusal during this pre-layoff placement process means you are deemed laid off and moved to the applicable recall list. This is different from refusing a later recall offer.
If no position is available
You move to layoff and recall-list placement after the contractual sequence is exhausted.
At layoff or demotion
Set up and protect your recall rights
Confirm the default list
Regular-status workers laid off in good standing are placed by seniority on a recall list for the same classification, employment category, and geographic area.
Use the separate 30-calendar-day window
Within 30 calendar days of the effective layoff or placement, request in writing any eligible additional recall lists: classifications you held in the previous three years after completing trial service and lower classifications in your series.
Choose geographic areas in writing
Tell OSU which geographic-area recall list or lists within the university you want. Keep OSU updated with a reliable personal email, phone number, and mailing address.
Calendar the end date
The posted agreement allows up to one year on the list after losing university employment, or up to two years after a demotion in lieu of layoff while still employed.
CBA Article 44, § 9(A)-9(B), contract p. 75 (PDF p. 79)
Treat every recall offer as urgent
For a post-layoff recall offer, the posted agreement permits one written refusal. A second refusal removes you from all geographic-area recall lists. Failing to respond to OSU HR in writing within five work days counts as a refusal. By contrast, declining a temporary appointment covered by Section 10(D) - one expected to last longer than 45 calendar days - does not count as that refusal.
Verify pay when recalled
Article 22 sets the salary eligibility date and pay rules for appointment from a recall list. The exact rate depends on whether the new classification is at the same, lower, or higher salary range. Send the offer and rate calculation to a steward before accepting or refusing.
Before and after separation
Check pay, benefits, and unemployment
Audit your final leave payout
The posted contract requires payment of unused vacation upon layoff. OSU's current leaving-employment page also explains how it handles classified vacation and compensatory-time balances. Compare the payout with your final leave statement and raise discrepancies quickly.
If you demote, decide on comp-time payout
A worker demoted in lieu of layoff may request at that time to be paid accrued compensatory time at the rate earned before the demotion.
Confirm when health coverage ends
Ask OSU Benefits for the exact end date and written information about continuation options. Oregon PEBB's current page links to COBRA administration and rates. Compare COBRA with any other coverage available to you before choosing.
Start an unemployment claim
Oregon's official system is Frances Online. Create or use your account to file the initial application, review messages, and submit weekly claims. Respond quickly to anything in the Action Center.
External OSU, PEBB, and unemployment links were verified July 10, 2026. These programs can change; use the linked official pages for current instructions.
If something looks wrong
Start the grievance review immediately
Do not wait for the layoff to take effect
The posted agreement generally requires a grievance within 30 calendar days of when the worker or our union knew, or reasonably should have known, of the alleged violation. Its time limits are strict, and layoff or recall grievances begin at Step 2 with the university president or designee. Contact our steward team so our union can evaluate and file the correct grievance.
Red flags to send a steward
- Notice, reason, MRC contact, seniority, rights, or response timeline is missing.
- Your seniority points or employment history appear wrong.
- An intended-to-fill vacancy or required placement step appears skipped.
- A lower-seniority worker appears to be treated differently in the sequence.
Recall red flags
- You are missing from a recall list you requested in time.
- A vacancy appears filled out of seniority order.
- Your qualifications were rejected without a clear explanation.
- OSU counted a declined temporary appointment as a recall refusal.
Situations that need individual review
I am in initial or promotional trial service
The posted agreement says an initial-trial-service worker is not eligible for the full Article 44 rights. Section 6 addresses possible return to an active applicant pool. A worker in promotional trial service may have layoff rights from the classification in which they last held regular status.
CBA Article 44, §§ 3(B) and 6, contract pp. 71 and 74 (PDF pp. 75 and 78)I am seasonal or intermittent
Article 44 contains separate recall rules for regular-status seasonal workers, and Article 45 contains additional rules for seasonal and intermittent positions. Ask a steward to map the correct path before relying on the general workflow above.
CBA Article 44, § 7, contract p. 74 (PDF p. 78)My FTE or employment category changed instead of my job ending
Article 44's definition of layoff includes certain employment-category changes and an FTE change that causes loss of benefits eligibility. Do not assume Article 44 is irrelevant simply because you remain employed.
CBA Article 44, § 1, contract p. 70 (PDF p. 74)How these citations work
Each contract citation names the article and section, then gives both the page printed inside the agreement and the page number shown by a PDF viewer. The link opens the cited PDF page. That makes the source usable whether you read online or print the contract.
Primary contract sections used
- Article 44: Layoff, contract pp. 70-76 (PDF pp. 74-80) - notice, election, placement, bumping, recall, and special cases.
- Article 27: Seniority, contract p. 47 (PDF p. 51) - seniority computation and tie rules.
- Article 22: Salary Administration, contract pp. 38-39 (PDF pp. 42-43) - pay and salary eligibility after recall.
- Article 43: Vacation Leave, contract p. 67 (PDF p. 71) - separation payout.
- Article 18: Grievance and Arbitration, contract pp. 21-24 (PDF pp. 25-28) - deadlines and initial filing level.
Reviewed: July 10, 2026, against the PDF copy posted by Local 083. If you spot a mismatch, email [email protected].
You do not have to navigate this alone
Send us the notice, seniority report, and every deadline you received. Our union can help you compare the choices and protect the grievance clock.