The Duck & Cover

May 6, 2026

Career Instructional Faculty: Equity Raises and an Increased Across-the-board Raise

Equity and Across-the-Board Raises for Career Instructional Faculty Your union finalized a Memorandum of Understanding with the university administration related to the Career instructional faculty equity disbursement that emerged from our last rounds of bargaining. In our most recent negotiation we agreed to create a pool of 2% to address concerns identified through the equity study mandated by our penultimate round of contract bargaining. Through the framework of this study, eleven faculty were identified for equity adjustments. The remaining funds that were not allocated carry over into across-the-board raises for September. We originally negotiated a 3% raise for 2027 for Career instructional faculty,…

March 30, 2026

UA wins in arbitration. Three layoffs rescinded

UA Wins in Arbitration! We received some very good news on Friday, March 20. Your union was successful in the arbitration case we brought against the University for laying off two librarians at the beginning of the academic year. The arbitrator ruled in United Academics’ favor, agreeing that university administrators did not properly consider the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s seniority considerations when the librarians were terminated, and thus mandating the immediate rescission of the layoffs. In plain English: UA fought back and won. The librarians have their jobs back. Our contract contains what is known as a “sufficient abilities” clause. This…

February 25, 2026

Executive Council Election Nominations Now Open

UA Elections! We have elections for six officer positions beginning the first quarter of 2026. All members in good standing are eligible to serve as officers and nominate other members in good standing. Self-nominations are also permitted. If you’re interested in running, our current board members are happy to talk to you and answer your questions. As always, you can contact UA staff with any questions at info@uauoregon.org. Open positions: This year’s Executive Council positions are now open. The Executive Council (EC) is the primary leadership body of United Academics with a focus on initiating, overseeing, or revising the program of the union. The…

February 5, 2026

Unit Policies, ICE Watch Training, Membership Meeting this Thursday

UO Campus PIRC Migra (ICE) Watch Training Wednesday, Feb 11th, 5:00-7:00pm On campus, location provided after registration Registration link coming soon, complete this interest form to receive the registration link once it’s available! Join us for an IN-PERSON Migra (ICE) Watch training on Wednesday, February 11th from 5-7pm! The training is two hours and attendees will have the opportunity to join the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) Rapid Response network at the end of the training (must complete full training). This training provides information on how to identify ICE and other law enforcement out in the community, guidance for how…

January 29, 2026

What you can do to help protect our community

As our country and community continue to be terrorized by ICE, many of our members are looking for ways we can protect ourselves and our neighbors. We face unprecedented times having to teach with the possibility that ICE may come to campus in pursuit of people to detain and possibly deport. Many of our students and faculty are scared, and there has been demand for information about what to do if we face ICE personnel while we are teaching or holding office hours. The UA International and Immigration Working Group has created several resources for members to use and share. Download signs…

January 27, 2026

Did UO’s Leaders Earn Your Trust in 2025?

Dear Colleagues, Our faculty union (United Academics) invites you to fill out a short survey asking about your current levels of trust in our UO administration. We seek to understand how instructional, research, and other faculty members are feeling about UO’s leadership practices over the past calendar year. Contact the UA staff if you did not receive a link in the email where you typically receive your union’s emails. The survey will remain open from January 26 until 5pm on February 20, 2026. Who can take the survey: Any faculty member currently represented within UA’s bargaining unit. You do not…

January 23, 2026

Join with your union siblings to HAVE FUN!

Join with your union siblings to HAVE FUN! Do what you love, find new things to love, and the people to love them with–right here in your very own union. You are your union! You can start your own group! The Tabletop Syndicate All work and no play is no way to go! Unwind, socialize, and strategize while playing tabletop games with UA folks-and any interested family members. No prior experience with games needed. We meet at the UA office from 5:00 to 7:30pm on the second Thursday of each month (e.g., Feb 12 and Mar 12). Enjoy snacks…

January 15, 2026

Winter Updates: Events, Survey Preview, Action

Welcome back to campus! We hope your break was jolly and rejuvenating. As we collectively refocus on the job of instruction, research, and service, Higher Ed in the United States is still under threat from many angles. There are many ways to join together, find community, and fight for the academic mission of the University of Oregon and higher education more broadly. Our collective voice is powerful and we hope you find something here that inspires you to contribute. Drop-in to Zoom office hours with UA President Kate Celis Mills This term, UA President Kate Celis Mills will hold weekly…

December 4, 2025

Fall Term Wrap-up!

Dearest Colleagues, It’s been a busy start to the 2025 academic year, and I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the many campaigns that UA members have been steadfastly working towards these past months. Despite all of the challenges that we have faced this year, our union is stronger than ever, and I’m delighted that so many initiatives are being championed by rank-and-file members in addition to union officers. For those who are interested in stepping into an officer role, please know that we will be holding elections for several positions in the first quarter of…

November 24, 2025

Help fight the War on Knowledge and Education. Check out our WOKE Toolkit and Oregon Compact on Higher Ed.

UA’s WOKE Toolkit In light of increased ideological and political pressures during the present national administration, United Academics has compiled suggestions for how university faculty of all ranks can protect themselves against future attacks and to fight back if and when they come. These can be found in UA’s WOKE Toolkit. As a first step, the toolkit works to identify your institutional support networks. The first section lists the main entities on campus that can help you in the event of an attack – United Academics, the UO administration, and the University Senate – and recommends how you can engage…

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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