Graduate teachers at UO on the verge of a strike
EUGENE — Graduate Teaching
Fellows Federation (GTFF) Local 3544
has reached impasse in bargaining with
the University of Oregon. Union mem-
bers voted the week of Oct. 20-24 to
authorize a strike. Seven hundred and
twenty-one members cast ballots, with
86 percent supporting a walkout.
It was the second strike authoriza-
tion vote taken by the bargaining unit,
an affiliate of the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT).
In May, more than 60 percent of the
membership turned out for an emer-
gency meeting called after UO’s $295-
an-hour contract lawyer broke off talks.
Bargaining for a new two-year agree-
ment began in November 2013, and
GTFs were working under terms of the
previous contract, which expired in
March 2014. At the meeting, members
conducted a secret ballot vote on
whether or not to authorize a strike. It
passed by a 98 percent margin. A week
later GTFs held a “work in” on campus
to demonstrate to the university the dis-
ruption a strike would cause.
Local 3544 represents about 1,500
graduate student teachers and re-
searchers who teach a third of the
classes, work in labs, and do other aca-
demic work at the University of Ore-
gon. Approximately 400 GTFs are non-
members who pay a “fair share” fee.
But that number is getting smaller as
more and more join the union, said Lo-
cal 3544 President Joe Henry, an an-
thropology doctoral student at the uni-
versity.
After talks broke down in May, a
state mediator brought the sides to-
Graduate student workers at the University of Oregon held a “work-in” last
May near the doors of the office of the president to demonstrate what a strike
would look like. A week prior, the members of GTFF Local 3544 had voted
overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. On Nov. 3, the union declared impasse
in bargaining, starting the clock on a 30-day cooling off period, after which
they can strike. (File photo by Stefan Ostrach)
gether for two bargaining sessions over
the summer. During that time the uni-
versity moved on several issues —
agreeing to include dental coverage in
their health and welfare package, keep-
ing a cap on student fees, and closing
the gap on wage hikes.
GTFs are prohibited from working
beyond part-time status. They log any-
where from 8 to 20 hours per week.
Pay ranges from $900 to $1,200 a
month, depending on what tier they’re
in (Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3).
Nearly 56 percent of graduate stu-
dents are paid at the minimum wage
rate, which falls more than $200 below
what the University of Oregon’s own
Financial Aid Office estimates is nec-
essary to live in Eugene ($1,400 a
month), Henry said.
“These costs are tied directly to rent,
utilities, groceries and academic sup-
plies,” Henry noted.
The union is seeking a 5.5 percent
raise to the minimum graduate em-
ployee salaries for each of the next two
years in order to begin to close the gap
between wages and the cost of living.
Following mediation, the university re-
portedly upped its offer to 5 percent the
first year and 4 percent in year two.
But one key issue remains unre-
solved — paid sick/parental leave.
“Minimal paid leave is not a radical
proposal,” Henry said. “Most industrial
nations have secured paid leave, both
medical and parental.”
The union wants up to two weeks of
paid medical/ parental leave per year.
GTFs lack any paid medical or parental
leave even though other part-time em-
ployee groups at the university are cov-
ered.
Henry said the union calculated the
cost to cover minimal paid leave for all
1,500 GTFs to be $52,000 a year.
“This is affordable for an adminis-
tration carrying a $65 million surplus
in their budget. They have stated that
their opposition is a matter of ‘princi-
ple’ rather than cost,” Henry said.
Henry said graduate teachers do not
stand alone in their fight. The Execu-
tive Committee of Chapter 085 of Serv-
ice Employees International Union Lo-
cal 503, the union representing
classified staff at the university, sub-
mitted a letter in support of Local
3544’s proposals. United Academics,
the faculty union, has submitted a letter
to Interim President Scott Coltrane
calling for a fair settlement. And last
week, the University Faculty Senate
passed a resolution encouraging the
UO administration to settle a contract
that appropriately addresses the needs
of graduate employees.
A 30-day “cooling off” period be-
gan Oct. 27. When that expires on
Thanksgiving Day, the union can
strike.
At the web site, UO Matters, blog-
ger Bill Harbaugh, a university profes-
sor, posted a confidential memo from
UO Senior Vice Provost Doug Blandy
that outlines the administration’s strike
plans. Those plans would allow faculty
to cut finals and would allow university
administrators to hire “community ex-
perts” to scab on grad students. (See the
full memo at www.uomatter. com.)
GTFF Local 3544 is planning a rally
Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 11:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. at Johnson Hall on the
UO campus.
Workers hurt on the job
have a right to pursue a
‘third party case’ in court
against a responsible
party other than their
employer, for damages
not available in workers’
compensation.
P ROUDLY S ERVING
P ORTLAND W ORKERS
F OR O VER 32 Y EARS
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 11