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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1999)
Editor in chief: Tim Pyle Newsroom: (541) 346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union P.0. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu On-line edition: www.dailyemerald.com 111311Fairness It’s time for the OUS to relinquish its hard-ball stance and agree to the OPEU’s contract wishes— before we all suffer If you haven’t heard by now, the classified workers who keep public universities around the state running smoothly have already reached an “impasse” and are on the verge of striking. Food service workers, ac counting technicians, custodi ans, office assistants, pMmbers, some librarians and some trade maintenance work ers — none of whom are re ceiving adequate pay now — probably won’t be showing up forworkonSept.il. That is, not unless the Oregon Univer sity System hedges on its re fusal to move on key bargain ing issues. Among them is the OUS demand that the Oregon Public Employees Union workers sign a four-year contract without economic guarantees for two of those years. That request is not only unaccept able — universities have no way to de termine funding figures beyond two years — but it’s un precedented. The OUS has no basis for making such a proposal. Another sticky point within the OUS proposal is a salary demand that would result in a pay cut for many public classified workers. The OUS has cou pled a small pay increase for higher-education positions with the elimination of the cash “Flex” incentive, mean ing: a food service worker who currently earns $1,400 a month will be earning $76 less per month. That’s nearly $1,000 per year, which is a significant chunk for someone earning less than $17,000 annually. Currently, the salaries brought home by front-line workers are nine percent below the market. So it’s only logical that the OPEU propose a six-percent salary increase during the next two years for cost of living and to help bring compensation nearer to marker rates. The OPEU’s other demands also make sense. Front-line workers want con tinuation of full-paid family health insurance and the re moval of take-backs from the bargaining table. If the OUS doesn’t budge on these key issues, it’s not like ly that OPEU will either. Ninety-five percent of all the University classified work ers voted to strike if Sept. 11 comes and no agreement has been reached. With a pending strike by the University’s graduate teaching fellows — irked by dramatically increasing insurance premiums — also on the horizon, the first few weeks of the school year could prove to be hectic. University stu dents who pay thou sands of dollars on tu ition will be getting slighted with inefficient ser vice as administrators will have to do the jobs that front line workers usually do, in ad dition to their own regular re sponsibilities. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Re sponses may be sent to ode@ore gon.uoregon.edu R. D. Miller/for the Emerald Letters to the Editor Cox in hot water with ‘colleagues’ Recently, Oregon University System Chancellor Joseph Cox sent a “dear col league” letter to University classified em ployees. Interesting that he considers his workers “colleagues.” I doubt that many of us consider him our colleague — con sidering the manner in which we are be ing treated by Mr. Cox and his insensi tive bargaining team during a painful negotiating process that began last De cember. In my opinion, the chancellor’s positions have been elitist, hostile and disrespectful, displaying blatant union busting behavior that many of us deeply resent. Hostile indeed was the refusal to ex tend our prior contract during the negoti ating process. Such extensions have tra ditionally and courteously been granted — most recently in the matter of bargain ing between DAS (the state bureaucracy) and OPEU (Oregon Public Employees Union) representatives of non-academic state employees. Absurd and utterly insulting to classi fied workers is the OUS proposal for a six-year contract in which we are expect ed, in the third to sixth years, to give up our legal right to collectively bargain. In my view, expecting a legislative commit tee to handle future negotiations is irre sponsible buck-passing by Cox. I would think the chancellor and his staff are be ing paid quite well enough to accept the job of handling bargaining beyond the two-year OUS budget cycle. How can Cox, with a straight face, expect us to re linquish our statutory bargaining rights? Cox and crew are tragically out of touch with reality to proffer such irrational no tions. It’s obvious from the letter Cox sent that he’s essentially unaware of what his “offer” really means to the daily struggles of classified workers and their families to make a modest living and obtain decent health care. I feel Cox made a disastrous strategic and political error in sending the letter. To me, it demonstrates a mastery of ob fuscation which some might consider mis leading at best and deceitful at worst. The letter has served to galvanize the emotions and organizing efforts of campus workers. And it may lead to his downfall. I guess we should thank him for being politically — and humanly — naive. The 3,400 classified workers of the university system are the glue of the cam puses. The system cannot function with out us. As we drift toward a strike which no one really desires, higher education will be shut down at that critical time when students are returning for classes. A strike can be avoided if Mr. Cox would simply end the insulting attitude toward his employees and begin treating us with the respect, dignity and fairness that we deserve. If we are forced into a strike by Cox’s immovable negotiating positions, he will bear direct responsibility for the disaster that a strike will cause across the state’s higher education system. I wonder what Gov. Kitzhaber, who appointed Cox, would think of the nationwide embar rassment that a strike would cause. Were I governor, Cox would be in serious jeop ardy of being forced out of his job — un less he acts in the next few weeks to bar gain fairly with his employees. One would hope Kitzhaber is closely monitor ing the process. I appeal to all members of the universi ty community, and to the citizens of this state: Please become involved to help avoid a strike in September! Send letters to Chancellor Cox, urging him to modify his positions and reach a fair settlement with classified workers in the next few weeks. James Jacobson University classified staff member The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emer ald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property The unlawful re moval or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (541) 346-5511 Editor in chief: Tim Pyle Associate Editors: Sara Lieberth, Mirjam Swanson Copy Editor Ellen Weisz Reporters: Sara Jarrett, Edward Yuen > Webmaster/Paginator Broc Nelson Photo Editor Catharine Kendall ADVERTISING — (541)346^11 Becky Merchant, director Melissa O’Connell, Van Nguyen, advertising assistants. Rachelle Bowden, Brian Diamond, Dan Hageman, Jesse Long, Adam Rice, advertising sales representatives CLASSIFIEDS — (S4l) 346-4343 Trina Shanaman, manager BUSINESS — (541) S46-SS12 Judy Riedl, general manager Kathy Carbone, business supervisor Melissa O’Connell, receptionist Roni Goldbeck, Michael Higgins, John Long, distribution PRODUCTION — (S4l) =^46-4^81 Michele Ross, manager. Tara Sloan, coordinator
