The Duck & Cover

October 9, 2024

Bargaining Update (Salary!) for September 26, 2024

Bargaining Update for September 26, 2024 Your bargaining team met for the 15th session of negotiations with the administration on September 26th. Before we get into the details, we are deeply appreciative of the more than 200 people who attended either in person or over Zoom. We filled the room and had to use the overflow room as well. Your presence was felt by everyone at the table. A Tentative Agreement on Unit-Level Policies! The team is happy to report a tentative agreement on Article 4: Unit-Level Policies, where we strengthened the mandate that unit-level policies come from unit-level processes,…

October 1, 2024

Cheers to a New Academic Year: Updates & Resources Inside!

Greetings, my excellent colleagues,This new academic year at the University of Oregon brings a bit more change than usual, such as a new athletic league, a new Provost, new programs beginning in UO Portland, and a record number of new faculty.We’ve also seen changes to the Executive Council of United Academics:Kate Mills (Psychology) is our new Executive Vice President. Kate’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude will be key for her work on the Contract Action Team to coordinate and ratchet up all of our individual efforts during these final months of negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.Ed Wolf (Music) is…

September 27, 2024

My Experience at the 2024 Democratic National Convention

My Experience at the 2024 Democratic National Convention Last month, I had the privilege of attending the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a delegate for Oregon. I was pleased to see the strong union representation throughout the event, indicating that labor was welcomed and respected at the Convention. In addition to the excitement of the main events and speeches, I valued the chance to connect with fellow rank-and-file unionists-making new friends, sharing stories, and reaffirming our solidarity in the fight for working families. I also had the opportunity to meet with leaders in the labor movement, including AFT…

September 24, 2024

University of Oregon Course Resources

Every regular term of the academic year the University of Oregon publishes a course resource page, which includes some ready-made materials to launch courses. Part of this is a “starter syllabus” which has a general outline plus a lot of sample language folks can use when preparing a syllabus. Fall Term resource webpage Starter syllabus webpage The University Policy section of the starter syllabus, starting on page 13, has a few different examples of language for: Access and Accommodations Accommodations for Religious Observances Your (Students’) Wellbeing Basic Needs Respect for Diversity Academic Integrity Student Experience Surveys (Designated) Reporting Obligations Academic…

September 24, 2024

Frustrated with salaries falling behind? Come to bargaining!

Our Fight for Fair Salaries Your bargaining team meets with administration again this week on Thursday, September 26th, from 12:30 to 3:30pm. Please note that we will gather in Lillis 112 – right down the hall from the room we typically meet in. We will present several articles, including Article 26: Salary. We have pored over the data underpinning the administration’s most recent proposal and have developed our counterproposal based on, and in response to their data. We anticipate a robust conversation about compensation during the session. We will also present our counterproposals on review processes for tenure-related and Career…

September 4, 2024

Bargaining Update for August 26, 2024

Your bargaining team met with the administration once again on August 26th for our final session of the summer. Though we continue to make progress on several non-economic articles, we continue to engage them on several points of contention that your team feels are important to improve our current contract. One of those sticking points concerns the grievance process. United Academics hopes to codify a time frame in which faculty members can engage in what we have called an Independent Conflict Resolution Process. Oftentimes faculty members do not immediately seek out assistance from their union when problems arise, and they…

August 22, 2024

Letter to the Legislative Committees on Higher Education

Greetings, We are writing as representatives of the Executive Council of United Academics of the University of Oregon (UA). UA is the exclusive union representative of faculty at the University of Oregon. As faculty representatives, stewards, and leaders, we work every day to improve our university and the state of higher education in Oregon. We are writing today to update you on the status of our negotiations with the administration for our fourth full Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). While there has been quite a bit of progress on certain articles of the CBA with give and take from both faculty…

August 20, 2024

Bargaining Update for August 13, 2024

Bargaining Update for August 13 Your United Academics bargaining team met again with the administration’s team last Tuesday. While we continue to make progress on several non-economic issues, the administration’s intransigence on faculty salaries is becoming increasingly clear. The administration returned Article 26 – Salary to us. Once again, they have not moved from their initial offer of 3% raise pools for each of the next three years. Of course, given that inflation has hovered around 3.3% for the past year, their offer represents a pay cut in real terms, on top of the real losses faculty have experienced throughout the pandemic. Despite expressing an…

July 16, 2024

Bargaining update for July 2, 2024

Bargaining update for July 2, 2024 We hope that everyone is enjoying their summer, whatever that may entail for you and yours. Though there is a bit of a lull on campus, your bargaining team will continue to meet with the administration throughout the summer. Please remain engaged to help us secure a dignified contract. Attend sessions when able! Thank you for your presence in the room, showing the united support of our faculty, even in the summer months. Our next session is on Monday, July 15 from 12:30-3:30 pm in Lilis 440 [a different location than usual].We met with…

July 1, 2024

Title IX changes, bargaining tomorrow, and political survey

BargainingJoin us tomorrow, Tuesday, July 2, for our first bargaining session of the summer. We’ll meet in Chiles 125 from 1:30-4:30pm. If you can’t make it in person, Zoom in here. Please note the change in timing from our usual schedule.Will the administration team bring a counterproposal on Article 26: Salary? Only one way to find out! Your team will bring counters that touch on Career faculty job security, pro tem employment, unit policies, and leaves.Let’s keep up the momentum we built during the academic year! And make sure your calendar is marked for these upcoming sessions: Monday, July 15…

September 28, 2023

Holvey Recall

As many of you know, UFCW Local 555 has launched an effort to recall State Representative Paul Holvey. Holvey has represented District 8, which includes most of south Eugene, in the Oregon legislature for the past 18 years. We believe this recall effort is misguided. Representative Holvey’s record has been exemplary in support of workers, consumers, and small businesses. He is a former union carpenter with deep roots in the labor movement and has a solid track record of improving the lives of working Oregonians. He has consistently supported increased funding for education at all levels. This recall effort stems…

February 20, 2023

Solidarity with UA Student Workers

University of Oregon United Academics supports UO Student Workers’ unionization efforts and stands in solidarity with workers’ struggle to improve working conditions on campus. Additionally, UOUA condemns the ongoing anti-union and union busting behavior of the University of Oregon, including but not limited to: Threatening student workers’ jobs or rights to organize. Discouraging or banning discussion of UOSW’s unionization efforts during work time (when other non-work related discussions are permitted). Discouraging or banning students from card-signing in campus spaces and workplaces while off-the-clock. The removal of protected union posters and materials from work-neutral spaces. The discriminatory banning of union pins…

June 29, 2022

Balancing Work and Caregiving: A Best Practices Teach-In Summary

Throughout 2021-2022, United Academics and members from the CSWS Caregiver Campaign continued their collaborative efforts to push the University of Oregon administration to address issues of equity and inclusion for UO faculty struggling to balance the demands of caregiving while fulfilling their employment expectations. On April 27, we hosted a joint zoom teach-in with 43 attendees. The contents of this report lay out the scope of the issues but also provide hands-on practical strategies to address challenges that have existed long before the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a video recording of the Teach-In available on the CSWS website, as well…

September 13, 2021

COVID Planning: The Work Continues

Dear colleagues, Many of you have read the petition sent by CSWS recently to the Office of the Provost. UAUO fully agrees with the concerns Professors Escallón, McKinley, and Stephen articulated, and we are also in full support of their ask that “caregivers of unvaccinated children (children under 12) can continue to teach and attend meetings [remotely] at least until their family members receive the vaccine.” We’ve also heard from faculty whose health puts them at serious risk by being in-person, yet they cannot qualify for ADA accommodations. And for those of us who are able to come back to campus, we…

June 28, 2021

UAUO Protest Pollack-Pelzner Linfield University

Recently the President of Linfield University, Miles K. Davis, summarily fired Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, a Shakespeare scholar who had held an endowed chair in the Department of English and had represented the faculty as a member of the Board of Trustees. According to the university administration, Pollack-Pelzner was terminated for reasons unrelated to his achievements as a teacher, researcher, or publishing scholar. Rather, the administration states that he was sacked because he had “engaged in conduct that is harmful to the university,” specifically that he had “violated instructions to preserve the attorney-client privilege” and that he had “circulated false statements…

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