Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2014)
Graduate teaching fellows strike UO EUGENE — University of Ore- gon (UO) graduate teaching fellows (GTFs) put up strike picket lines Dec. 2, the week before final exams, and just before this issue of the Labor Press headed to the printer. Marathon bargaining with a state mediator was held Nov. 25-26, and again Dec. 1, without success. It’s the first-ever strike for the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federa- tion (GTFF) Local 3544, founded in 1976. The union’s 1,500 members are graduate students who teach classes and run discussion groups and lab sessions. One-third of UO courses are taught by GTFs. The union — an affiliate of Amer- ican Federation of Teachers — has been in contract negotiations since November 2013. Its previous con- tract expired in March. The dispute centers on wages and Donations needed for labor agency’s holiday party Labor’s Community Service Agency (LCSA) and the Northwest Oregon Labor Council are accepting donations of toys and cash for the 18th annual Presents from Partners Holiday Toy Party. The event — for families of unemployed union mem- bers and those facing temporary hardships — will be held in mid-De- cember at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 Hall in Northeast Portland. Entrance is by ticket only. Members must be referred by their union. Re- ferral forms must be returned to LCSA by Dec. 9. Toy donations also will be ac- cepted through Dec. 9. Donations can be dropped off at IBEW and United Workers Federal Credit Union, or the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (Suite 305), or LCSA (Suite 211). All of the offices are located in the same building at 9955 SE Washington St., Portland. UO’s refusal to add paid medical and parental leave to the union contract. GTFs work a maximum of half- time (219 hours per academic quar- ter) for a minimum pay of $4,090 per quarter ($4,619 with a masters, and $4,878 for doctoral candidates.) Lo- cal 3544 is proposing two annual raises of 5.5 percent; UO is propos- ing raises of 5 and 4 percent. The dif- ference would be $220,000 over the life of the contract, Local 3544 esti- mates — at a university that just gave outgoing president Michael Got- tfredson $940,000 in “severance.” The other issue is paid medical and parental leave. GTFs currently have 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child or serious medical condition. The union proposed to make two weeks of that paid, and es- timated it would cost UO $52,000 a year. UO proposed an alternative — a $150,000 hardship fund that any grad student could tap for $1,000 or $1,500 in the case of illness or the birth of a child. Local 3544 agreed, but UO refused to specify in the con- tract how the hardship fund would operate. Ironically, UO Interim Pres- ident Scott Coltrane is a sociologist who has appeared on NPR and in the Atlantic Monthly for academic re- search on paid paternity leave. The relationship between the two sides is frayed. Local 3544 Vice President Richard Wagner says the union’s volunteer-led bargainers have had to contend with sarcasm and disrespect from UO’s $300-an- hour private attorney. The attorney, Jeffery Matthews, is with the Har- rang Long Gary Rudnick firm, which employs former UO president Dave Frohnmayer. Strikes are volatile, and a lot may have happened by the time this issue reaches your mailbox. For further de- tails, look to our Dec. 19 issue, or follow us online at nwlaborpress .org, on Facebook at facebook.com/ nwlaborpress, or via Twitter at @nwlaborpress. (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 19 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 80 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS DECEMBER 5, 2014
