Greetings, and welcome to the Winter ’26 edition of “And Another Dam Thing,” the UAOSU Newsletter.
In this edition of our newsletter, you will find:
A message from Joseph Orosco, our union’s president
Info about next week’s General Membership Meeting
- Updates on current projects from our committees
Upcoming UAOSU events
A legislative update
From Your President
Every summer, the elected leaders of our union get together to articulate the strategic goals for the year. The priorities for this year include 1) securing the gains from our new contract; 2) increasing our union’s membership; 3) developing new leaders; 4) building union community; and 5) fighting back against attacks on public higher education from the federal and state government.
I’m proud to say that we have been meeting all our action priorities. Since the academic year began, we’ve had many productive meetings with the administration and Faculty Senate to define an agenda that protects workplace rights. Our members have been busy visiting faculty in their offices, calling them around the state and country (our faculty live all around the world!), and getting them to understand how union membership improves the university. We have new leaders taking on responsibilities in our Executive Council, Representative Assembly, and various standing committees. Along with all this work, we still manage time to host social hours on odd weeks during the term, sharing food, drinks, and good spirits with one another at Common Fields.
This newsletter is a clear indicator of all the effort that is going on to increase our ability to stand up for the well-being of faculty and the education of our students. We have so many opportunities for you to come and tap into this growing community of faculty. Find out, at some of the lectures we are hosting, how we are working at state and national levels to preserve quality higher education. Come add your voice to deliberations about fair workload policies. Join in our networks dedicated to protecting the Constitutional rights of faculty and students.
If you have been feeling dejected in these tumultuous times, there is no better way to cultivate hope than to take action with the exciting and like-minded people that are showing up for our union.
In solidarity,
Joseph Orosco, UAOSU President
Winter General Membership Meeting
We will be hosting our Winter Term GMM on Wednesday, February 25 in the MU Journey Room (with a Zoom option), where we will continue discussing updates to teaching workload policies, two new actions led by our Social Justice Committee, as well other pressing concerns. Food and drinks will be served at 5:30, and the meeting will be from 6-7 pm. Please RSVP at uaosu.org/wintergmm.
Teaching Workload Town Hall
On January 28, UAOSU held a Town Hall focused on how to improve teaching workload guidelines in Colleges and Academic Units. Along with 90 faculty members from all over the University, we discussed elements of good teaching workload guidelines, how those guidelines are enforced through our Collective Bargaining Agreement, and how to get involved in the process for updating and improving existing guidelines. If you’re interested in these topics, but missed that Town Hall, reach out to us at info@uaosu.org! We’re happy to get you up to speed and connect you with your colleagues.
Employment Inventory
Wondering if your position description is up to date? Want information about salary increases, annual reviews, or promotion pathways? Learn about these topics and more on our new Employment Inventory webpage – uaosu.org/inventory. This tool was put together by members of our Communication Committee to walk you through how to find your base salary and position description on the OSU website and includes questions to ask yourself to make sure our contract is being followed correctly. Feel free to reach out to us at info@uaosu.org with questions.
Whistle Campaign
After creating the community support resources guide in Fall term, addressing food insecurity and immigration issues, the Social Justice Committee (SJC) has moved to hands-on activities targeting potential ICE activities on campus. We are 3d-printing 500 whistles and will be distributing whistle kits within our community. Watch for news about the Whistle Campaign launch party in March, which will include training on how to use the proper whistle code, how you can report ICE abductions, and how to stay safe. Contact SJC Chair Sebastian Heiduschke if you want to help assemble the whistle kits consisting of a whistle, a lanyard, and a bilingual zine about how to use the whistle. A little time goes a long way – help us make our campus a safe place. Also contact us if you’d like to get copies of our resource list to distribute.
Upcoming Events
Wed 2/18, 12-1pm, Milam 319 & Zoom
For the past year, the Trump administration has attacked higher education in an attempt to dismantle diversity and equity programs in colleges and universities, in addition to chipping away at the rights to research and teach, stifling academic freedom and individual expression. Ron Mize, UAOSU VP for External Relations and the AAUP-OR VP for Academic Freedom and Governance, will talk about how faculty all across the country have been fighting back, as well as an emerging alternative plan He will also discuss an alternative plan to protect the public good of higher education in Oregon. RSVP here.
- Fri 2/20 4-6pm – Odd Friday at Common Fields: Join us on Fridays during odd weeks of the term (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) for a casual, family friendly, gathering with ample food and beverage options. Stop by and connect with other faculty!
- Wed 2/26 5:30-7pm – Winter General Membership Meeting
- Mon 3/2 5-6pm – Organizing for a General Strike – The Labor Education Caucus is excited to welcome Dr Stephanie Luce, Professor of Labor Studies, from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies for a discussion of general strike organizing in the United States and the history of general strikes. This is open to all members and will take place at our UAOSU office, with a zoom option for folks who cannot attend in person. Drinks and snack will be provided. Please RSVP at uaosu.org/labor-ed.
- Fri 3/6 4-6pm – Odd Friday at Common Fields
Legislative Update
By Louisa Hooven, UAOSU Grievance Chair & AAUP-OR VP for Political Action
The 2026 legislative short session is particularly consequential for higher ed. Our state affiliates, AAUP OR and AFT OR, have banded together with Oregon organizations in a campaign called Fight for our Future to support Senate Bill 1507 (full text). Oregon’s tax system is closely tied to the federal tax system, including recent tax cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill. To prevent around $1 billion in cuts to Oregon programs, including higher ed, SB 1507 disconnects Oregon’s tax code from some of those provisions. If you would like to weigh in on SB 1507, you can provide written testimony using this SB 1507 Testimony Submission Form, RSVP here to provide in-person or online testimony this Wednesday February 18th from 3 to 5 pm, or use this new coalition link or this toolkit to craft emails for your legislators. This campaign is making progress, and with our support, hopefully cuts to the state funds that go to Oregon State University will be minimized.
A recent report by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Council (HECC) on spending and efficiency in Oregon Universities proposed some ideas that alarmed both labor unions and university administrations, including HECC proposing mergers and exerting greater control of colleges and universities. Many of these ideas have been written up into House Bill 4124, which proposes to study Oregon’s higher education system and make recommendations for greater efficiencies. AAUP OR and AFT OR have provided testimony reiterating the need for shared governance in determining any changes to university programs.
Get Involved with Your Union
Our union relies on our members to help build our momentum and work towards our goals. If you’d like to get involved in our committees, visit our committee page to get information on what each committee does and how to contact the chair about joining. Our Representative Assembly is another way to get involved. As a Representative, you help steer our union, connect with your colleagues in your unit, and keep us informed on potential issues around workload, contracts, and other items related to enforcing our contract. For more information, contact info@uaosu.org.
One Last Thing
You made it to the end of our newsletter! Thank you for taking the time to learn more about your fellow members and the issues that affect our professional lives.
Our membership empowers our work, so if you haven’t joined yet, you can do so at uaosu.org/join. It is through solidarity and community building that UAOSU is able to create change. Together, we can improve this institution not just for ourselves, but for students, staff and the communities within which we live and work.