3.23.23 Updates from our March bargaining sessions on Paid Leave Oregon
Dear Colleagues,
Your UAOSU bargaining team met with the administration team on March 8 for an abbreviated, 30-minute session regarding the implementation of the Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) program. At that time, we presented a counterproposal for negotiation. The proposal is consistent with our original proposal from October of last year but takes account of new information gleaned from documents obtained through a records request to the administration.
We proposed the following:
- The employer will cover the .6% of salary that has been identified as the employee share of the costs for the program. OSU’s financial situation is strong, and the university is capable of providing this support to our bargaining unit.
- The employer will maintain the full salary of bargaining unit members utilizing paid leave. We secured three weeks of paid leave and the ability to borrow up to 512 hours of sick leave in our collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, many faculty members already have significant accrued sick leave. If a faculty member would prefer to maintain some sick leave, they would have the option of accepting the lower salary pay-out (a percentage of regular salary) as determined by the PLO program.
- The employer will seek reimbursement directly from The Standard Insurance Company for the portion of salary covered through the PLO program. OSU has contracted with The Standard to administer the program for them and should be responsible for dealing with this outside entity. This will make the process as seamless as possible for faculty and maintain PERS contributions while on paid leave.
- Bargaining unit members utilizing paid leave will accrue all benefits for which they are normally eligible as if they were actively performing their job duties.
We met again with the administration team on March 22 from 2-3 pm. Frustratingly, they did not have a counter-proposal nor did they have answers to the questions we have been posing about how they envision the paid leave program operating at OSU.
We think our previously offered proposal benefits both our members and ensures the PLO system will work as intended. Unfortunately, it is unclear what disagreements we even have with the administration at this point, if any.
Despite our frustration with the administration after this session, we remain hopeful that they will meaningfully engage in this discussion when we resume bargaining in Spring term.
Once our next sessions are finalized we will post that information on our website. Faculty are invited to observe. We very much appreciate the support of those who have been in attendance and hope to see more of you in future sessions. Our power in bargaining is related to the strength of our membership. If you haven’t had a chance, you can join your union at uaosu.org/join.
Lastly, as a reminder, the nomination period for all UAOSU officer and representative positions will close on Saturday April 1, 2023. If you have specific questions about the nomination process, or about the roles of union officers, please check out our election webpage, uaosu.org/elections, read our constitution and bylaws, or contact the UAOSU election committee directly at elections@uaosu.org.
In solidarity,
Your bargaining team: Kathleen Stanley (UAOSU President and Lead Negotiator), Louisa Hooven (UAOSU Grievance Chair), Marisa Chappell (UAOSU Executive Vice President), Lori Cramer (UAOSU Representative), H Rakes (UAOSU Representative), Megan Dickison and Dan Andersen (UAOSU Executive Directors)