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 to record and document interactions with ICE on rapid response calls, context for how the PIRC system works, scenario roleplays, and more! This information is valuable to ALL community members regardless of whether you plan to engage in rapid response, so please attend if you are eager to learn even if you are not sure a rapid response role is for you.
Unit Policy Revision Office Hours
Maram Epstein (UA Executive Vice President) will hold office hours to support members who are working on current unit policy revisions. If you have questions, would like to talk through potential language, or could use any other help with this process, please drop in! Note that the first two sessions are in person at the UA office and the third is on Zoom.
- Thursday, February 5, 1-3pm – UA office
- Friday, February 6, 9-10:45am – UA office
- Monday, February 9, 1-3pm – Zoom
Unit Policy Fiasco
While units have been diligently updating their review and promotion policies due to changes in the CBA, it has come to our attention that the administration unilaterally changed merit policies for departments at the beginning of November, in a manner inconsistent with the agreement we arrived at during bargaining. They did this, under the guise of CBA compliance, without notifying faculty or United Academics.
During bargaining, at the insistence of the administration, we agreed to eliminate the category of "exceeds expectations" from review processes. The administration was particularly interested in eliminating this distinction for reviews that had no financial repercussions, such as performance reviews for Career faculty and Post-Tenure review for tenured faculty. We had concerns at the time, particularly for Research faculty, given that performance reviews served as merit evaluations in years in which merit raises would be allocated. However, in order to move bargaining along, we ultimately agreed upon their two categories ("meets" and "does not meet" expectations) for all review processes, knowing that there would still be gradations in the final determinations of merit percentages.
During the last few weeks, faculty from multiple units reached out to UA to talk about a new category that appeared in the Provost’s templates for units’ review and promotion policies - performing "substantially beyond meets expectations." The unilateral appearance of this category is clearly not acceptable in light of the agreements made after fourteen months of negotiations.
While it may be reasonable to have more than two outcomes for reviews–indeed for a number of years we had “does not meet,” “meets,” and “exceeds” expectations–these are determined at the bargaining table or otherwise via Article 4 negotiations with United Academics and cannot be unilaterally imposed by the administration.
The CBA is a contract, and the fact that the administration did not think through the implications of their proposals does not give them liberty to unilaterally adjust it after ratification. Article 4 provides the opportunity for either party to suggest changes to unit policies, but it requires conversation, trust, and ultimately agreement between the parties.
This issue may seem minor, but after the events of last summer and the failure of the administration to engage in the CBA-mandated processes outlined in Articles 16 and 25 when eliminating positions, it becomes increasingly important to defend the CBA against the administration's dubious interpretations.
Since discovering this change we have had several conversations with the Office of the Provost and Employee Labor Relations. They initially claimed that they had made the change to reflect agreements between UA and administration. We reminded them of the importance of confirming a mutual understanding of agreed-upon contract language and that such a unilateral imposition that skirts mandatory faculty input was a textbook example of an Unfair Labor Practice. Since that meeting they have conceded that they did not follow policy outlined in Article 4. Given that units are currently knee-deep in review and promotion policy revision, we have come to an agreement that will be memorialized in an Memorandum of Understanding.
Units may revert to their original merit policies (those existing prior to the unilateral change in November) or they can articulate a policy with the two categories that are currently possible in the Collective Bargaining Agreement - “meets” or “does not meet expectations.”Importantly, the MOU ensures that faculty have a voice in the process, whether to maintain their previous policies or articulate new versions. Though representatives of the Provost’s office expressed concern about examining merit policies when they will already have promotion and tenure policies to process, that is the only path we can allow in order to protect faculty voice. Actions have consequences.
Administration will be communicating about this in the near future, but we want to make sure that faculty know what has transpired as more and more members reach out to us about the matter.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to info@uauoregon.org if you have any questions or concerns as you continue to navigate unit policy development. We are always happy to discuss.
Take the UO Leader Trust Survey
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 UA staff at info@uauoregon.org if you no longer have a link to the survey. 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 need to be a current union member to fill out this survey – not only do we welcome your participation, but we also welcome you to join our union!
-
Privacy disclosure: You will be asked to provide an email to ensure we do not get multiple submissions from the same person; this info will not be shared or used to identify your responses in any way.