Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2015)
PAGE 2 | September 18, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Classified workers at Oregon public universities get contract NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. 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 mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $13.75 per year for union members, $20 a year for all others. Send a check for that amount, indicating mailing address and union affilia- tion, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213. For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of $9.60 a year per person are available to trade union organizations. Call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When or- dering 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 Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland 140 Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 By Stefan Ostrach Special Correspondent EUGENE — College students in Oregon will return to cam- puses free of labor conflict this fall. The union representing classified workers at Oregon’s seven state universities agreed to new contract terms following marathon bargaining Sept. 8-9. The contract between mem- bers of Service Employees In- ternational Union (SEIU) Local 503 and the seven universities, which bargained jointly, is a four-year deal with a reopener after two years on economics only. “We are delighted,” said Marc Nisenfeld, who led the SEIU bargaining team. He called the settlement “a pretty significant victory.” Approximately 4,000 SEIU members cook and serve food, operate power plants, maintain equipment, grounds and build- ings, do clerical work, run pro- grams, and provide other serv- ices at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Port- land State University, Eastern Oregon University, Oregon In- stitute of Technology, Southern Oregon University, and Western Oregon University. Leading up to the Sept. 8-9 negotiations, the universities had declared “impasse” and the union was preparing a strike vote. Issues included cost-of-liv- ing adjustments (the universities initially proposed a one-half per- cent increase every six months), health insurance expenses, and contract language concerning overtime and layoffs. Prior to the settlement, Eleanor Wakefield, vice presi- dent of Graduate Teaching Fel- lows Federation Local 3544 at the University of Oregon said “the universities would find out how important the classified staff are” if they went on strike. “I can’t imagine all the services not being done on the first week students are back.” [GTFF Local 3544 had to strike for eight days last Decem- ber before it could get an accept- able contract.] Apparently the university bosses couldn’t imagine a strike either, choosing to make a good offer even though two more meetings were scheduled before the start of school. Among the gains, according to Nisenfeld, are 2.25 percent cost-of living raises in each of the two years; maintaining em- ployer payment of 95 percent or 97 percent of health insurance premiums for full-time employ- ees; three-quarter-time employ- ees (.75 FTE) now qualify for “full coverage” health insur- ance; and shift-differential pay for part-time employees. “For the first time we gained on making up for past sacri- fices,” said Nisenfeld. Going into negotiations, some 1,200 of the 4,000 mem- bers of the SEIU bargaining unit statewide were making less than $15 an hour. Nisenfeld could not predict how many of them would make above $15 as a re- sult of the contract, but he said the union would continue to push to raise the minimum wage at the Legislature or through a ballot measure. He expressed re- gret that his team was not able to win a “wage floor,” but he did note that they negotiated “selec- tive salary adjustments” for seven job titles, including a two salary range jump for early childhood educators—pre- school teachers who were paid between $10.43 to $15.28 an hour. The union beat back all take- aways proposed by the univer- sities (contracting out, layoffs and overtime). SEIU members will vote on the tentative agreement by mid- October. Another union at the Univer- sity of Oregon—United Aca- demics (American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teach- ers)—reached a tentative agree- ment Aug. 17 on a three-year contract. Just two weeks prior, the faculty union had warned members on its website of “the very serious gap we face at the bargaining table.” Asked how the “serious gap” was bridged in less than two weeks, United Academics Presi- dent Michael Dreiling said 150 faculty showed up for bargaining. The administration saw that the union had strong support, “and we were prepared to take negotiations into the fall,” said Dreiling, an associate professor of sociology. “We didn’t want to do that, and the administration surely didn’t want to do that.” The new contract provides for 8 percent salary increases over three years. It also builds on groundbreaking language in the first contract to improve job security for non-tenure track faculty. “Including our first contract, we’ve now guaranteed raises for faculty five years in a row,” Dreiling said. “I’ve been at the UO for 18 years, and I’ve never seen anything like that before.” The contract is subject to rat- ification by the membership.
