University of Oregon faculty rally for a new contract, negotiations stall

Unionized faculty at the University of Oregon held a rally on campus Thursday, as they continue to seek a new contract with higher wages.

United Academics of UO represents more than 1,700 university employees, including professors, researchers and librarians. They’ve been working under an expired collective bargaining agreement since July.

Union Executive Vice President Kate Mills said faculty want raises that keep pace with inflation. But she said the administration’s offers for a contract don’t reflect the rising cost-of-living in Eugene.

“What we’re also trying to do here is make sure that our faculty are able to be whole individuals outside of their jobs,” said Mills, “to be able to provide for their families and for themselves, and to live in Eugene.”

Meanwhile, union Secretary Christopher Sinclair said the university’s wages are creating retention issues. He said positions there pay less than many comparable public universities, and that’s led some faculty to leave.

“There’s always competition for the best scholars out there, right?” said Sinclair. “And so if we can’t pay them wages that the other places are offering, how are we going to attract them to Eugene and to the University of Oregon?”

The union is requesting yearly across-the-board raises, including an initial 8.5% increase next year.

Related: Students, faculty say ongoing Oregon State University graduate worker strike is taking a toll on learning

The university’s offer includes a 4% initial raise for career, tenure-track and tenured faculty — but in the second and third year of the contract, those employees’ raises would be merit-based.

Mills argues the university’s merit-based approach would place pressure on faculty, and lower morale. She said with future inflation taken into account, the university would effectively cut the pay of employees that it didn’t select for raises.

Mediation

Shortly after Thursday’s rally, the union had their final bargaining session with the university, which ended without an agreement.

In a written statement to the UO community Thursday, university Senior Director of Employee and Labor Relations Chris Meade said the school’s offer provided multiple routes for pay increases. But he said the university is limited by its budgetary constraints.

“The university remains committed to a competitive total compensation structure for retaining and recruiting faculty in service of our shared mission, within our financial means,” said Meade. “We recognize the central contributions faculty members make to teaching, research, and service. We continue to support faculty while also responsibly stewarding the institution’s financial resources.”

Meade said the university will now request that the state’s Employment Relations Board leads contract mediation between the parties. He said that process will likely start early next year.

Sinclair said if UO doesn’t budge on the union’s requests for higher wages, the faculty may vote to authorize a strike. He said the union has already begun preparing for the possibility.

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

This republished story is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.