First Bargaining Session of Winter Term this Friday!

Your bargaining team will return to the virtual table this Friday, January 28, from 11:30am to 1:30pm.

Please Zoom in to lend your support! You won’t appear on screen in this webinar-style session, but we can see that you are logged in in solidarity (even if you’re using the time to catch up on other work) and your presence sends a strong message to the administration that you are invested in the process and paying attention to the deliberations.

This session, we’ll present proposals on Articles 12 (Facilities and Services), 20 (Tenure Review and Promotion), 21 (Appeals from the Denial of Tenure or Promotion), and 28 (Fringe Benefits).  We discussed significant revisions to tenure-track reviews processes during our joint labor-management workgroups this Fall, and we look forward to bringing the principles we agreed on there to the table this week. We’ll also rearticulate the need for faculty to be provided with computers or other appropriate electronic devices to do their work, and for workspaces (including classrooms, labs, and offices) to be maintained at reasonable temperatures.

Next on the agenda will be tackling the issues raised in our Career Equity and Caregivers workgroups.

To address the needs of Career and other non-tenure-track faculty, our proposals include enhancements to the current expectation-of-continued-employment model, a cap of eight 3-5-unit courses per year, dedicated professional development FTE, increases to salary floors, a study of internal pay equity issues among non-tenure-track faculty, post-promotion reviews and raises for those in the highest Career ranks, and a new Teaching Professor category with greater job security.

We are also currently working on our childcare proposals based on the work of the Caregivers workgroup, about which we will share more information in an upcoming bargaining update.

A note from your Chair of the Grievance and Contract Administration Committee

Although Covid concerns have required a great deal of time and energy, we want you to know that your Union continues to work on the same issues that occupied the bulk of our time prior to the pandemic. We have assisted members with payroll issues, difficulties in obtaining stipends, attended disciplinary meetings, worked with people through the promotion and review process, helped faculty navigate the Oregon Equal Pay Act process through the UO’s internal system as well as the Bureau of Labor and Industries, aided members in issues related to leaves, sabbaticals, and conversion to career appointments for pro-tem faculty. We know that the pandemic and its repercussions are foremost on your mind, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us, no matter how big or small the issue. This is your Union, and we are here for you.

Bargaining for the Common Good

How can workers use our power on the job and at the bargaining table to go beyond wages, benefits, and working conditions, and push for concrete improvements for our communities and the general public? On Saturday, January 29th at 10am-12pm, join with other union members in The Lane County Education Workers in a strategy session about the power of this concept. This session will be led and facilitated by Mark Brenner of LERC.

To Register CLICK HERE (Registrants Will Be Sent Zoom Link)

What is the Lane County Education Workers?

Lane County Education Workers is a new alliance of unions representing faculty and staff who work at educational institutions including pre-kindergarten, K-12, community colleges, and universities. Alliance members include the following unions: Eugene Education Association; Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation; Lane Community College Education Association; Lane Community College Employees Federation; Oregon School Employees Association Eugene Chapter 1; Service Employees International Union Local 503; Springfield Education Association and United Academics of the University of Oregon. Although the founding members of our alliance are largely based in Eugene and Springfield, we welcome the participation of educators and education supporters throughout Lane County.