Bargaining Session 23 Update (10.11.19)

Published by Communications Committee on

After a tense session in Bend, we met briefly with the administration team to exchange two proposals, and importantly, to set the agenda for our next bargaining session. The upcoming session on October 28, 9am–1pm will feature the following: 

  • Our counters to the outrageous administration proposals on Benefits and Appointment, Reappointment, Review and Promotion which threaten to weaken job stability and which refuse to guarantee existing levels of insurance and retirement benefits. 
  • The Administration’s response to our remaining economic proposals, which include Compensation, Family and Medical Leave, and Research Support. 

The issues we will discuss on October 28 constitute the backbone of our bargaining platform, which we developed using several years of input from faculty across OSU’s campuses. Our proposals reflect what faculty have been saying for years about how we can make OSU a better institution for all of us. Your attendance at the October 28 session will show the administration that faculty are paying attention and expect a fair contract that will provide equity and stability in employment and a robust grievance process that will ensure compliance with the terms of the Agreement. Read on for a full summary of the October 11 session. 

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The UAOSU bargaining team and the administration team met 9–10 on Friday, October 11 in the LaSells Stewart Center. Twenty-nine faculty members observed the session.

We presented a counterproposal on Academic Freedom, again seeking to limit the conditions under which grades can be changed by the administration. We affirmed the importance of being able to grieve violations of academic freedom: the grievance procedure is our primary means to enforce the Collective Bargaining Agreement and to hold the administration accountable to their stated values and policies.  

The administration presented a counterproposal on Dues Deduction, reflecting movement in alignment with state law. 

After the exchange of these proposals, both parties shared the expected agenda for the October 28 session. The administration will respond to our remaining economic proposals, which include Compensation, Family and Medical Leave, and Research Support. 

Our website provides a table with links to the forty-nine articles for which we have presented proposals, along with the administration’s proposals on twenty-three articles.

The next bargaining session is 9–1 on October 28 in the LaSells Stewart Center. We plan to counter the dismal proposals that administration presented in Bend, including articles on health-insurance and retirement benefits, appointment, position descriptions, annual reviews, promotion, and tenure. The administration’s team plans to return all of the remaining proposals that we have presented that have a financial component — except for any that they will entirely refuse to counter. October 28th will be an important session.  Even if you can only drop by for half an hour, your attendance will make a difference: show the administration that you are watching.

Join us after bargaining on Monday October 28, 4 – 6pm, for our quarterly happy hour at McMenamins on Monroe. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow OSU faculty, speak with members of the bargaining and contract action team, and to learn about ways you can help secure a strong first contract. Chris Sinclair, current President of the United Academics of the University of Oregon, will be there to share the history and successes of their union.  RSVP here by 2pm on 10/28 for a drink ticket.

We appreciate your support. You can find a full calendar of Fall Term bargaining sessions and events on our website. 

In solidarity,

Your bargaining team

Categories: bargaining