Mediation, Syllabus Statement, and FUD

TL;DR Syllabus statement regarding a potential strike. Admin using fear, uncertainty, and doubt to influence faculty; let us know when you see it. Soft launch of strengthenUO.org, our resource for the general public regarding our contract campaign.

We hope everyone had a restful winter break.

For those teaching this quarter, we have a syllabus statement at this link that you can use or modify  to inform your students of potential disruptions to class due to a strike.

We begin mediation with the administration starting in late January, and we hope that we can avoid a strike with the help of the mediator. However, when it comes to salary, logic has not yet prevailed at the bargaining table. We have heard loud and clear from members that sub-inflation raises are out of the question and that the current disinvestment from the educational mission of our university must be countered in order to maintain the academic excellence of the institution and the economic health of the faculty. We have also heard loud and clear from the administration: they want to solve their poor budget planning by reducing our pay. Fortunately, their budget crisis isn’t real: tuition has risen faster than inflation, state appropriations have risen faster than inflation, and the Educational and General budget—the budget bucket they like to pay us out of—is up. Their claim that expenses have grown faster than inflation may be true—executive administrators  certainly are increasing their own pay faster than inflation—but this just highlights their choice: they are willing to pay market rates for some things, just not their faculty.

Your bargaining team will carefully assess all proposals during mediation, and we will communicate with members regularly with updates from the mediation table. We will keep you informed so that, if a strike vote is called, you will have the information necessary to make an informed decision. Assuming the administration continues down the road they are on, we will have the opportunity to tell them they are not meeting expectations and veto their plan to divert money from the educational and research mission of the university.

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)

What should you expect during mediation? Mediation occurs behind closed doors, but the Scholz administration will be promulgating fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in order to attempt to subvert a fair contract and potential strike.

As pointed out by the administration’s bargaining team, the administration is prohibited from using public funds to deter union organizing. In particular, Oregon law states “A public employer may not use public funds to support actions to assist, promote or deter union organizing.” The administration is already skirting this law by using UO resources to spin up propaganda websites regarding bargaining and threatening UA via stretched legal arguments regarding our ability to communicate to faculty, students, and the public. We will continue to pay close attention to their actions, highlighting any transgressions and pursuing legal remedies as necessary.

If you feel you are being pressured or threatened by anyone at UO regarding your support of your bargaining team or support for a potential strike, please reach out to [email protected]. It is illegal to retaliate against workers for protected union activity. If you see examples of public funds (or administrator time) used to deter union organizing, please reach out to [email protected].

StrengthenUO.org

We are soft-launching a website, StrengthenUO.org with information for the general public regarding our fight for a fair contract. This website contains information about the financial position of the university, the erosion of funds going to the educational mission, and why faculty may be compelled to strike. There are sections for students, parents, alumni, donors, and legislators. This resource, while not directly aimed at faculty, nonetheless contains information members may find interesting or valuable.

We will be updating this website with more data and information, including any aspects of mediation of interest to the public. Please share this resource with those who may have questions.

Additional information:

• Bargaining & Strike Frequently Asked Questions
• Previous bargaining updates
• Schedule someone from the Bargaining Team or Executive Council to come and speak to your unit by emailing [email protected]. We have met with many departments across campus to answer questions, hear concerns, and let our colleagues know the status of bargaining and/or potential strike timelines
• We will be scheduling Town Halls to relay information to members and answer questions throughout the term

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