Higher Ed Workers Swarm U of O to Demand a Fair Contract

On Friday, May 15th, classified staff from Oregon’s public universities descended on the University of Oregon (UO) campus to protest management’s measly 0% economic offer at the bargaining table – meaning no raises, no COLAs and no step increases over the next four years.
University workers gathered at UO’s EMU Amphitheater to let management know exactly what they thought about that!

The amphitheater echoed with chants of “What do we want? A Fair Contract! If we don’t get it, shut it down!” and hundreds of workers listened to speeches from union leaders preparing them for the fight ahead. Bargaining team member Rieley Umphress told the crowd that “It’s our jobs that make this campus run and they can’t do it without us. So, [management], do your job and provide us the income we need, and that we deserve, and that we work hard for every day.”

Being in union means we don’t have to accept whatever crumbs management throws at us. Public universities have some of the highest paid administrative staff – meanwhile, many classified workers struggle to afford necessities like gas, food, and rent. Higher Ed workers are ready to do what it takes to even the playing field!

Watch this video on our Instagram to see the action for yourself.