Articles by newsletter

Bargaining update for April 4, 2024

Thank you to all who attended the last round of bargaining. We bargain again on Thursday, April 18, from 12:30-3:30 in Chiles 125. Your presence is important because it shows that faculty are engaged and paying attention to bargaining. We will present a counter to the administration’s salary proposal, so we encourage all members interested in their economic situation to attend. As a reminder you can come and go, do work on your laptop, each lunch, etc. Your bargaining team met with the administration team again last Thursday and we had some productive conversations.  We were pleased that we managed…


Bargaining this Thursday; Election results

Admin wants to take their failed financial planning out of your paycheck United Academics is back at the bargaining table this week, Thursday April 4, from 12:30-3:30 in Chiles 125. Come out and support your bargaining team! The administration has promised to walk us through their lackluster salary proposal which fails to keep up with inflation, puts us farther behind our comparators, and excludes raises for many of the faculty in your bargaining unit. Let’s pack the room again! Your presence in the Zoom also makes a difference, but in-person sends a stronger message! The inflationary environment is not news,…


Bargaining update for March 14, 2024

Thanks to everyone who came out on Thursday for the bargaining session. Save the dates and keep showing up! Spring term bargaining sessions will be held on odd weeks from 12:30-3:30 in Chiles 125. In our first session after the break (April 4, 12:30-3:30 in Chiles 125) we will speak more specifically to the administration’s salary proposal. We need you to be there to show the administration that faculty will not accept raises that signify an actual cut in pay for most, and that excludes large groups from the entire process. The administration seems less concerned about solving actual problems our…


Come support your bargaining team this Thursday in Chiles 125!

Bargaining This Thursday! We packed the room during our last bargaining session–thank you, those of you who came in person or watched via Zoom. Let’s do it again this Thursday, March 14 (Chiles 125, 12:30 to 3:30)! It is possible that administration will present their counter to Article 26: Salary, so stop by (or come and go) as you have time. We will respond with a counterproposal to Article 41: No Strike, No Lockout in which the administration wants the ability to replace striking employees with your labor. If you think being forced to cover the labor of striking student…


Unit Policy Revisions

Greetings, dear colleagues, Although the negotiations for our new contract have begun, important items from our current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) remain in process or yet to be implemented. In the CBA the membership of United Academics ratified in July 2022, we agreed with the administration that units need to update their policies to reflect significant changes in the CBA and to address several concerns, including course loads and equity in service assignments. The deadline for these changes is coming up. This email thus reiterates, updates, and adds to a communication I sent in January 2023 on the subject of…


UA presents our wage proposal in bargaining this Thursday!

Thursday is the day! We need a strong turnout this Thursday, 12:30-3:30 in Chiles 125, as the UA Bargaining Team presents our economic package to the administration. Our Article 26: Salary represents a significant increase to faculty pay through across-the-board, merit, and equity raises, as well as promotion increases. The UA Economics Team will present information showing where faculty salaries at the University of Oregon stand in regard to our comparator institutions and our plan to bring faculty salaries up to competitive levels.  We will present a few other articles (Article 21: Review Decision Appeals, Article 34: Caregiving), pose questions regarding…


United Academics Officer Nominations Now Open

United Academics is holding elections for six officer positions this year, with nominations due by March 22, 2024. All members in good standing* are eligible to serve as officers and to nominate other members in good standing. Self-nominations are also permitted. If you’re interested in running, current council members will happily talk with you and answer your questions. As always, you can contact UA staff with any questions at [email protected]. Open positions: The Executive Council (EC) is the primary leadership body of United Academics with a focus on initiating, overseeing, or revising the program of your union. The positions that are…


Bargaining update for February 15, 2024

Dear Colleague: At our next bargaining session, we will be presenting our economic proposals—including our proposed raise package to battle inflation, internal and external inequities, and put us back on par with our AAU competitors. We need your support! The more people we have in the room cheering on the bargaining team the more pressure we put on the administration, and as we saw with GTFF bargaining, this can have a real impact on what the administration offers and what we ultimately accept. Come by Chiles 125 on Thursday, February 29, anytime between 12:30 and 3:30 to support the bargaining…


Bargaining update for February 1, 2024

Your bargaining team met with the administration for our first bargaining session last Thursday. It was an amicable encounter and began with the typical niceties that characterize initial sessions. Your bargaining team brought eight articles and the administration brought one. We look to strengthen shared governance through proposals in Articles 3: Shared Governance and 4: Unit Level Policies. With our addition to Article 6: Policies and Practices, we want to ensure that faculty are made aware of policies implemented across the administrative hierarchy that ultimately affect their working conditions. Our proposal in Article 8: Personnel Files aims to ensure the…


Bargaining begins. We need your support!

Bargaining will begin this Thursday, February 1! We hope that many of you can make the time to attend. Hopefully, you can do so in person, but a remote option is also available. The support and presence of our faculty at bargaining sessions sends a powerful signal that faculty are engaged and paying attention. In this round of bargaining, we will propose significant salary increases, expanded support services and changes that aim to increase transparency in processes related to review, hiring, and reclassification.  As always, we wish to strengthen shared governance that emphasizes the autonomy of departments and units. As…