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No holiday for Holliday Page 11
Wednesday, August 20,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 17
OUS, SEIU
clash over
labor deal
impasse
The classified workers’ union rallied
Thursday, highlighting their conflict with
OUS; key points of contention
include perks and medical coverage
By Jared Paben
Freelance Reporter
The crowd's chant echoed through
campus Thursday afternoon as a river of
pickets and purple SEIU shirts crept
along the sidewalks from Oregon Hall
toward Johnson Hall.
"Impasse, my ass!" the crowd chanted,
along with "No more cuts, ifs, ands or
buts!" and a multitude of other slogans.
They were the University's classified em
ployees, members of the Service Employ
ees International Union 503 Local 085,
marching to protest the stalled negotia
tions between their group and the Oregon
University System after it declared an im
passe on Friday, August 8.
The union represents 1,250 University
classified workers — who include food
service workers, custodians, housekeepers,
groundskeepers, computer technicians, li
brarians, office specialists and others —
said Star Holmberg, the University bargain
ing table representative for the union. If an
agreement between OUS and the group is
not reached by September 16, union mem
bers may strike — a move that could para
lyze crucial University services less than two
weeks before fall term begins.
The problems are rooted in disagree
ments about the proposed two-year contract
involving everything from health insurance
to layoff procedures to employment perks.
Union organizer Rachel Kirtner said
OUS has failed to promise fully paid
health insurance to full- and part-time em
ployees, and OUS is trying to insert lan
guage in the contract allowing it to discon
tinue employee perks such as tuition
breaks, bus passes, discounted tickets to
sporting and cultural events and others.
Kirtner said OUS has also proposed
flexibility to change employee schedules
at will and seeks to freeze the wage steps,
meaning employees would not be able to
move into a higher wage bracket for two
years. Currently, OUS is required to pay
overtime for any work more than eight
hours in a day. Under the proposals, OUS
would pay overtime only if an employee
worked more than 40 hours in a week, al
lowing it to potentially schedule 12-hour
days for employees, Kirtner said.
Lastly, OUS wants to narrow the area in
which a laid-off worker could "bump" into
another position — take a job from another
classified employee with less seniority —
Turn to Labor, page 16A
LAW SCHOOL SPECIAL
Scott Meisner
finds that the
problem
solving skills
he learned
at the
University’s
School of Law
are highly
applicable
to his civil
service work
as Eugene's
Ward 7 city
councilor.
Jessica Waters
Emerald
L
egai eagle
Eugene Ward 7 City Councilor Scott Meisner
earned a law degree from the University; he
calls law "a great system of thinking” that he
finds highly useful him in his daily work
By Ayisha Yahya
Reporter
A law degree means different things to differ
ent people. For Scott Meisner, it gave him the
analytical tools demanded by his position of
Ward 7 city councilor.
Meisner, who graduated ffom the University's
School of Law in 1984, is serving his second
term on the Eugene City Council. He said the
council is a favorable environment for working
on many issues that concern him, such as land
use. Before his tenure as a city councilor, Meisner
served on the Eugene Planning Commission.
The City Council is "an opportunity in a very
tangible way to make a difference," Meisner said.
Meisner, 54, said going to law school opened
his eyes to all the things one can do with a le
gal education and a legal mind.
"Much of law school is about how to ap
proach problems and how to think about them
and analyze them, and that certainly still serves
me," Meisner said. "City councils are, on a daily
basis, presented with problems, and (law) is a
great system of thinking, it's a great way to pre
pare for that." He added that law students
should approach law imaginatively.
Now, 19 years later, law school faculty still re
member Meisner.
"He was a good law student and has done
admirably as a politician of the city," Professor
Dominick Vetri said.
Meisner, who already had a master's degree
from the University's now-defunct School of U
brarianship, said he didn't work as a trial lawyer
after graduation, but instead focused on being a
Turn to Lawyer, page 7A
Legislature
aims to cut
higher ed
financing
The proposed $680 million for higher
education is 15 percent smaller than
the last biennium’s budget; officials say
students could feel the effects by winter
By A. Sho Ikeda
Reporter
The Oregon I louse of Representatives
passed a $680 million higher education
budget last week which, if approved by
the Oregon Senate, may result in in
creased tuition and fewer classes for Uni
versity students.
And at a time of record enrollment and
increased competition for acceptance into
a state university, the budget is bad news
for students from low-income families.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Lor
raine Davis said that if the I louse budget is
approved, students could feel the effects as
early as winter term, adding that changes may
include increased tuition and fewer classes.
She also warned that the University may be
forced to accept fewer students in the future.
'There will definitely be some impact,"
Davis said. This budget is certainly not
adequate for us."
Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Central Lane and
Linn counties, said he was not pleased
with the 1 louse's efforts, calling it "an atro
ciously bad budget."
Barnhart said he was concerned for stu
dents who may not be able to afford the
potential increases in tuition and fees.
"Education is the great opportunity
maker in the United States," Barnhart
said. "With this kind of funding for edu
cation, many students will not be able to
go to college."
The budget is considerably smaller than
the nearly $800 million allocated to high
er education in 2001.
Students may now face paying 64 per
cent of the cost for attending die Universi
ty in the next two years, while the state
would pay for the remaining 36 percent.
Four years ago, the state instaictional sub
sidy was 51 percent, and students paid for
less than half the cost of instruction. The
state will only pay about $3,700 per stu
dent this year, compared with $5,000 two
years ago, Barnhart said.
Rep. Pat Farr, R-Eugene, said moderate
Republicans in the Oregon Legislature
have been working hard with Democrats
to create a budget to help Oregon univer
sities. Me said the Senate's higher educa
tion budget would give $691 million to
higher education, $11 million more than
the 1 louse budget.
Farr added that a larger higher educa
tion budget would result in tax increases
for Oregonians.
Turn to Budget, page 14A
WEATHER
LOW % HIGH
53 90
INSIDE
Campus buzz.6
Classifieds.14-15
Commentary..2-3
Nation & World.4-5
Pulse.9
Sports.11
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