Is OUS Just Stringing Us Along?

Chancellor Ties Unacceptable Conditions to New Proposal

OUS negotiators abandoned Chancellor George Pernsteiner’s quest for limitless furlough days in the latest mediation sessions, but tied that to an all-or-nothing package including up to 21 furlough days, a 2-year step freeze, and no recognition of the Portland State Recyclers.
 
These strings made the offer patently unacceptable to the union, but SEIU 503’s Bargaining Team noted in a message to 4,000 classified university workers: “This step forward demonstrates members’ effectiveness when we stand up and speak out on behalf of our rights.” 

More than 150 supporters buoyed the team at PSU with a high-spirited rally and march down the Park Blocks through Neuberger Hall to the Urban Center during the first of two more days of mediation, August 20, to let Pernsteiner know what we think of his unreasonable and disrespectful approach to bargaining. Among the speakers at the rally was Executive Director Leslie Frane, who declared that SEIU 503 members would not be treated like “second-class state workers.”
 
“We remain firm on our core goals for settling this contract,” the Team said. “We will not accept more furlough days or a longer step freeze than DAS workers are required to take. We expect all OUS employees to share equally in the sacrifice. We insist that OUS include 14 student recyclers at PSU, our newest members in our bargaining.
 
“Based on management’s behavior in mediation, it’s clear that OUS’s bottom line still falls far short of these goals. That’s why it’s time to prove our seriousness by preparing for a strike. Under Oregon law, the first step in preparing for a strike is to declare impasse. That step that may be necessary very soon.”
 
OUS did agreed to a contract extension that will carry us through the conclusion of bargaining. This was part of a settlement of an earlier unfair labor practice complaint filed by SEIU 503 over management efforts to cut workers’ pay in violation of the ground rules.
 
But while that complaint was settled, a second ULP filed over management’s refusal to recognize the 14 Student Recyclers who voted unanimously to join our Union is still very much active. The full Employment Relations Board (ERB) heard the complaint August 19 and we await their ruling.
 
The too-many-strings OUS proposal came in response to a comprehensive package aimed at resolving all outstanding issues that the union presented back on August 7. But even after two weeks, management seemed unprepared, waiting until nearly the end of the August 20 mediation session before countering through the mediator.
 
“I have a job to do that isn’t getting done,” SEIU 503 team member Bob Sexton, an operating systems and computer networking analyst at Southern Oregon, complained, “while they waste our time—and limited OUS resources.”