On March 18 & 19, our elected Higher Ed Bargaining team continued the exchange of non-economic proposals during our second joint bargaining session with management. In keeping with our theme of expanding worker protections and increasing workplace flexibility for classified staff, our team presented a proposal that would require universities to provide notice and meet with the union prior to implementing new policy changes. We also proposed a number of improvements to our leave language, including the option for classified employees to take sabbaticals with partial compensation. We rejected management’s proposal to greatly expand their ability to make direct appointments.
Management again presented proposals aimed at eroding worker protections. Specifically, they proposed to allow material reflecting caution, consultation, and warning be added to a permanent personnel file without your knowledge and without an automatic removal date for these items as well as all disciplines. Management also proposed rolling back some of our trial service language.
The bargaining team wants to send a special thank you to the classified workers from Western Oregon University who purpled up and joined us for lunch to show support and share their hopes for our contract. It is clear that winning ground around worker protections and flexible jobs will not be easy. We need the support of our membership in order to show management that these issues are important to classified workers. Continue to PURPLE UP on Wednesdays and reach out to your campus organizer or bargaining delegate to find out how you can get involved in our contract campaign.
Below is a schedule of our next three bargaining sessions and their locations:
- April 18 & 19 at University of Oregon
- May 2 & 3 at Oregon State University
- May 30 & 31 at University of Oregon
We do not expect to begin talking about economics at the bargaining table until May, however, we know that we will need to continue to push for revenue and funding in the legislature in order to settle a contract that improves the overall compensation for classified university workers. REGISTER NOW to join thousands of SEIU members in Salem on May 20 for a rally at the state Capitol to demand that lawmakers pass a revenue bill and make a game-changing investment in student success.