Higher ed members face a unique, two-step challenge this year: we must first secure revenue for our state and then ensure that there is revenue dedicated to funding higher education. On Wednesday, January 30, classified staff working throughout Portland State University joined together to kick-off their 2019 contract campaign. Leaders of SEIU 503 Local 089 at PSU are preparing for a long campaign and wanted to get members active and engaged as students began trickling back in from the winter break.

Over the course of three hours, Local 089 members found time to shoot pool, bowl a few rounds, and share stories with co-workers and fellow union members. But it wasn’t all about good times: just down the hall from 089’s event, students were lining up at PSU’s food pantry because the cost of higher education in our state has gotten to a point where students can no longer afford basic meal plans.

“We have an opportunity this year to get the legislature to invest in education,” Higher Ed bargaining team chair Rob Fullmer told his PSU coworkers. “We know that higher education is a mechanism for students to rise out of poverty. But we all have to take an active role in fighting for a good contract. Not just for us, but for our students.”