University of Oregon faculty OK first-ever contract
EUGENE — Following more than
10 months of negotiations, faculty
members at the University of Oregon
ratified a first-ever collective bargain-
ing agreement on Oct. 9.
The two-year deal, effective
through June 30, 2015, covers some
1,800 faculty members represented by
the University of Oregon and United
Academics.
United Academics was voluntarily
recognized by the university and certi-
fied as the exclusive representative of
the faculty bargaining unit in April
2012. The union represents tenured,
tenure-track, non-tenure-track and ad-
junct faculty members, in addition to
research assistants, librarians, and
other academic employees. The bar-
gaining unit does not include law
school faculty, faculty who are admin-
istrators, or faculty who are supervi-
sors.
United Academics is a joint affiliate
of the American Association of Uni-
versity Professors and the American
Federation of Teachers.
The contract is complex, containing
45 articles over more than 90 pages.
Highlights include:
• Faculty investment. Tenured and
tenure-track faculty members will re-
ceive an average pay increase totaling
11.9 percent, and non-tenure-track fac-
ulty members will receive an average
pay raise totaling 12.4 percent through
fiscal year 2015. Money is set aside to
raise minimum salaries for faculty.
KBOO radio employees
ratify first union contract
Employees of KBOO-FM ratified
their first-ever union contract Oct. 8,
locking in compensation and work-
place rules for one year. The agreement
was reached four months after workers
voted 8-0 to join Communications
Workers of America (CWA) Local
7901 — and several days before the
non-profit station’s Fall Fundraising
Drive. KBOO is a non-profit commu-
nity radio station and is governed by a
board elected by members who donate
or volunteer.
Employees unionized in May after
then- station manager Lynn Fitch
changed personnel policies without
their say-so — designating them as
“at-will,” and cutting paid maternity
leave to three weeks and paid sick
leave to 40 hours a year. Fitch resigned
in September, and a newly-elected
board hired Victoria Stopiello as sta-
tion manager.
The newly-ratified collective bar-
gaining agreement mostly codifies ex-
isting employment policies into a
legally binding contract, so that future
managers can’t change policies unilat-
erally. KBOO will continue to offer
employee-only health insurance, 11
paid holidays a year, and up to four
weeks paid vacation, depending on
seniority. If a fundraising target is met
by April, the station will contribute 3
percent of payroll into a 401(k)-style
retirement plan. Employees gave up
one personal holiday in bargaining,
and agreed to limit the accrual of comp
time and vacation time. A 1.3 percent
pay raise equals the amount they’ll pay
in union dues. They’ll also have a for-
mal grievance procedure, and the pro-
tection of a union contract clause
which says they can’t be terminated
except for “just cause.” That means
they’re no longer “at will” employees
who can be fired for no reason.
Elder said having a union contract
brings KBOO into accord with its
stated values. In its charter, KBOO lists
values of “peace, justice, democracy,
human rights, multiculturalism, envi-
ronmentalism, freedom of expression,
and social change.” KBOO’s mission
is to provide programming to unserved
or underserved groups, and a forum for
unpopular, controversial, or neglected
perspectives. The station also airs La-
bor Radio, Portland’s only union-
themed radio program, Mondays from
6 to 6:30 p.m. KBOO can be found on-
line at kboo.fm and on the radio at 90.7
FM in Portland, 91.9 FM in Hood
River, and 104.3 FM in Corvallis.
• Excellence rewarded. While all
faculty members will receive across-
the-board increases, the contract also
includes additional merit increases for
faculty upon promotion and to recog-
nize outstanding achievement.
• Academic freedom and shared
governance. University protections for
academic freedom will now specifi-
cally include research as well as class-
room instruction and will reaffirm the
principle that faculty must be able to
pursue controversial subjects without
fear of retaliation. The contract also re-
creases, and extends professional job
protections and benefits to non-tenure-
track educators. This is good for the
university, for students and for Ore-
gon.”
UO President Michael Gottfredson
said the union agreement “advances
academic excellence, strengthens our
position as one of the nation’s premier
public research universities, and recog-
nizes the central role of faculty as we
move forward together to fulfill the
promise of our public mission.”
inforces all faculty members’ role in
shared governance, including at the de-
partment and unit level.
• Job security for non-tenure-
track faculty. The agreement provides
for longer contracts, up to three years,
for career non-tenure-track faculty
members.
“This contract represents a major
step for all UO faculty,” said Scott
Pratt, professor of philosophy and a
member of the United Academics bar-
gaining team. “It recognizes the value
of faculty by providing salary in-
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OCTOBER 18, 2013