OPEU contract talks halt
oy Banay Johnstone
01 th* Emerald
Negotiations have come to a standstill in con
tract bargaining for the Oregon Public Employees
Union, which includes classified staff at the
University.
The main issues are fairness and job security,
says Donna Glathar, a representative of higher
education on the bargaining team.
“The reason is not money,” says Glathar, who
works in the art and architecture library at the
University.
The issues include the following items:
• Temporary interruption of employment, which is
used a lot in higher education to save money, should
be restructured, says Glathar. The state proposal
would allow interruptions of employment for a max
imum of 10 days as often as the employer deems
necessary.
The union proposes that only five days of a tem
porary layoff should be allowed each year, and if
more is needed then the layoff clause of the contract
should be enacted. The union also suggests the
employee and employer decide together which days
should be taken off.
• Health insurance benefits should be fully paid,
says Glather. The state’s final offer pays all of the
first year of the contract, but only pays one-half of
the increased cost for the second year of the
contract.
• No salary increase has been offered by the state
unless revenue collected in the second year of the
contract is in excess of what is budgeted. This
seems to overlook the sacrifices the union made
when they delayed the pay increase it was scheduled
to receive, says Glathar.
• Contracting work to non-union members is
another conflict because the state does not want to
give the union the benefits that would be available to
them under the law, says Glather. The OPEU's last
contract had a clause dealing with contracting out,
which the state wants to retain.
However, since then the Employment Relations
Board came out with a new ruling that says
employers who want to subcontract work must
negotiate the decision and the impact of the deci
sion with the union. Glather says the OPEU wants
the protection of that ruling.
• The state’s last offer would also limit the rights
of employees to bump other employees in case of
layoffs. Employees would only be able to bump into a
position they have already held. They would not be
able to bump within their own classification.
Under the last contract, employees could bump
the person with the least seniority in their classifica
tion if they have the skills eeded to erform the job
adequately or they could demote and take a lower
position if they qualified for that.
Meetings have been scheduled for the members
of the OPEU across the state. A Eugene meeting will
be held July 20 at 7 p.m. in Room 180 PLC.
The OPEU will vote on the final offer from the
state on July 21-22.
Springfield utility awaits WPPSS ruling
The Springfield Utility Board is playing a waiting
game, wondering if they will be released from obliga
tion to the Washington Public Power Supply System
“As of now, we’ve been released from any
obligation for the plants (nuclear plants 4 and 5) and
jght now we’re just waiting for the Oregon Supreme
Court to rule," said Mary Ann Rhodes of SUB.
The Court is expected to announce its decision
on the case involving SUB and 10 other Oregon
utilities within the next three weeks. The case was
appealed from Lane County Circuit Court, which rul
ed the utilities are not obligated to pay their share of
the $2.25 billion debt on plants 4 and 5.
A similar case recently decided by the
Washington Supreme Court released 29 Washington
utilities from their share of the debt, which adds up
to $7 billion including interest. That decision, along
with the similar cases pending in Oregon and Idaho,
has pushed WPPSS to the verge of default.
According to Peter Mercereau, a SUB lawyer,
default would have "no immediate effect" on SUB,
because of the ruling by Lane County Circuit Court.
However, if WPPSS defaults the situation may
change.
"If the supply system defaults there could be
spinoff effects,” said Mercereau. "No one knows for
sure what will happen."
Should the Oregon Supreme Court reverse the
lower court decision, Mercereau said that SUB wculd
be obligated to pay its share
Mall performers'
licensing slated
Performers who want to entertain
downtown can attend a street performers’
licensing session sponsored by the Lane
Regional Arts Council.
Sessions will be conducted at the
Arts Council's office, 795 Willamette St.,
every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Performers can get
a license valid through March 1984 for $5.
Singers, dancers, instrumentalists,
jugglers, mimes and other entertainers are
invited to be part of the Street Performers
Program.
The license, which must be displayed
by any entertainer accepting tips, is an
orange button with an identifying photo.
Emerald Photo
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