Fighting misinformation from admin. Actions to take now for a fair faculty contract. UA Elections!

Contributed By: newsletter February 27, 2025

Last, Best Offers Filed on Tuesday

The administration submitted their last, best, and final offer on Tuesday evening. Though the lack of movement was unsurprising, it was still very disappointing. The Scholz/Moffitt administration is maintaining their offer of raises of 4% the first year (across-the-board) and 3% merit raises for the last two years of raises. While they did increase the salary floors slightly, they rejected all remaining union proposals (professional development time for Career faculty, expansion of tuition benefit for faculty dependents, and increased notice period for funding-contingent faculty). They rejected all provisions of our Researcher Support Article and continue to insist on an eligibility date of July 1 for salary increases in the second and third year of raises, thereby disqualifying new faculty. Finally, in yet another unprecedented move by the Scholz/Moffitt administration, they are proposing a one-time payment instead of making faculty whole for raises in 2025 with retroactive pay.

Your bargaining team did make some important movements in a good faith attempt to move toward agreement.  In our final offer, we are maintaining our proposal of 8.5% across-the-board for all faculty in the first year, but we dropped a half percent in the following two years.  We also revised some of our economic aspects (sabbatical increases, increases in promotion raises, some provisions related to tuition benefits, and bereavement leave) to lower the overall impact of our provisions.

We continue to push for professional development time for Career Faculty and increased notification of layoff for funding-contingent faculty, as well as a few provisions for our Researcher Support Article.  Both the administration's final offer and ours can be found here.

Provost Long, Share Your Data!

The administration’s recent “fair and responsible” email is nothing more than an attempt to deflect from the administration’s financial choices. The email repeats the same tired excuse admin uses every time—“times are tough”—while they somehow always find money for administrative raises and expansion. Over the past year, United Academics has engaged in an effort to develop a shared quantitative basis for understanding the issues facing faculty and the university. Most of the time, the administration simply refuses to show its work. It's hard for us to even evaluate their claims without the information needed to replicate them. And at this point, the administration's bargaining team has been explicit that their proposals aren't being driven by the data they are bringing to the table or to the public.

If our leaders' thinking is truly informed by the data they present, they should be open to critique and open to changing their view based on new data. Responsibility starts at home.  So, while we could engage in a public back-and-forth about percentages and dollar amounts and so on, we are unfortunately past the point where those conversations can be productive.

The proposals that UO admin are trying to sell you forces faculty to take real wage cuts while UO brings in more revenue per student than ever before. No matter how they spin the numbers, one thing remains clear: UO’s future depends on investing in its faculty. That’s what’s fair. That’s what’s responsible. Faculty create the learning environment, produce groundbreaking research, and provide the mentorship that makes this university great. If the Scholz-Moffit administration continues prioritizing administrative growth over faculty, then students and faculty will pay the price through larger classes, overburdened faculty workloads, and declining academic quality.

The big picture is this: The university has done well in recent years. It compensates its top administrators accordingly, both those who are new to their roles and those who have been here for a long time.

It does not treat faculty the same way. Faculty are falling behind, and that means student education is falling behind too.

This is a university where the administration diverts funds from core educational programs to the whims of donors. This is a university where the administration spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on climate surveys only to ignore the results. This is a university where the administration freely creates managerial roles based on preferences instead of needs, and then refuses to give job security to long-term instructors. As faculty, it is frustrating beyond belief to be asked, over and over again, to take responsibility for the administration's financial decisions when they don't seem to take any responsibility themselves.

A Message for Students Regarding Impasse

It is important that students understand the impact of a strike on their education. Please edit the following letter for your students and share it on Canvas or via email. You may talk about how a strike will impact students during class, and you may talk about the issues that may lead you or your colleagues to strike before or after class or at any other time you ordinarily see students.

We encourage you to customize this template for your students!

Subject: Important Information about a Possible Faculty Strike

I want to take a moment to talk with you about something important that could impact your education in the coming months. Faculty at UO, including me, have been in contract negotiations with the university since last February. We entered state mediation near the start of winter term, but no agreement was reached. Now, an impasse has been declared—the next legal step toward a potential faculty strike. If no real progress is made, a strike could happen as soon as Week 1 of spring term. If that happens, all faculty work—including emails, grading, class meetings, and office hours—will stop.

I don’t want to strike. I love teaching and working with students like you, and I’m doing everything I can to help UO avoid a strike and reach a fair contract. But if it comes to that, I need you to understand that this is about more than just faculty—it’s about protecting the quality of your education.

Since 2014, in-state tuition has increased by 37%, and out-of-state tuition is up 10%. Yet UO continues to deprioritize faculty. Adjusted for inflation, admin salaries are up 5.5%, but faculty salaries are down 5%. Other universities invest more in faculty, and some of our best instructors have already left or are planning to leave. When faculty are paid less, we face larger classes, heavier workloads, and less time to mentor and support students. We aren’t asking for some over-the-top raise, we are asking UO to cover inflation and at least give faculty what they’ve given administrators. Your UO faculty are the lowest paid in the Big Ten. About 28% of UO faculty make less than $50,000. Your tuition should be going toward keeping and hiring great people to teach you—not just administrative growth.

Here’s how you can stay informed and help faculty avoid a strike:

I know this might feel frustrating or uncertain, and I’m happy to talk if you have concerns. I encourage you to stay informed and engaged—because faculty working conditions are your learning conditions.

In solidarity,
[Your Name]