OUS Bargaining Update 4/17/09

Your bargaining team returned to the table last Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17 at PSU. This session was significant in that Friday was the last day to present new proposals.

In support of the Team, PSU members turned out in significant numbers at a noontime rally and march to the President’s office. More details and a great slideshow of the event here. After the rally, the Team presented OUS with a comprehensive package including counter-proposals to management’s last proposal. We held firm and rejected the many proposals that imposed unfair hardships on our membership and/or attacked our contractual rights. Since these proposals (such as limiting access to worksites and grounds for organizers, and depriving a member of steward representation because an organizer is present in a grievance meeting, or eliminating the right to cash out vacation pay – an accrued benefit, and taking away on-call pay or standby pay for I.S. workers) seek to take advantage of the difficult economic times to exact concessions, they go beyond the usual back-and-forth of bargaining to the point of being anti-union, and definitely beyond the pale.

On Friday, OUS presented their comprehensive package. Although there was some positive movement on the part of management, there was a major negative move as well. First the positive: Because of the intense pressure applied by our membership, management has withdrawn their proposal to make our holidays unpaid for the next biennium. Unfortunately, they replaced it with a proposal to invoke a pay cut up to 4.6%. Your team had to remind management that our Ground Rules for Negotiations clearly state that all such agreements have to be negotiated at the joint OUS/DAS table and that this proposal is moot and not allowed.

We did sign two Tentative Agreements (TAs). One sets the timeline for commencement of our next contract negotiations and the other strengthens our grievance rights under the Discrimination article--the latter being caused by a change in the law. Although these TAs are small, they do indicate progress.

We return to the table April 30 and May 1 at Western Oregon University.

In the meantime, keep up the pressure on your President to tell the OUS team to do the right thing. We are willing to accept shared sacrifice, NOT excessive sacrifice. Email Jay Kenton at Jay_kenton@ous.edu with the same message.

The Ways and Means Committee of the Legislature will be conducting hearings on the State’s Budget (including OUS) during statewide field hearings, this week and next. Please contact your organizer if you would like to help reduce the cuts for OUS’s budget.

Our Health Insurance: We negotiate over what the State pays for our health insurance, but specifics like benefit levels and carrier choice are not part of the bargaining process. They are set by PEBB, the Public Employees' Benefit Board. SEIU has two (out of eight) representatives on the Board, which is currently moving toward self-insurance in an effort to reduce the rate at which health care costs increase. If PEBB self-insures, it will not have to pay insurers extra to assume the risk that claims might exceed expectations. PEBB is also evaluating renewal offers from three different insurance carriers in an effort to manage costs. Our SEIU representatives are working to protect our benefit levels and to control costs in order to protect healthcare now and in the future. They recognize that cost containment and continuity of providers are both important. At the next PEBB meeting on April 21, insurance company renewal bids will be reviewed.

Meanwhile, April 27 is a statewide day of action. We will be sending a message to Jay Kenton that OUS classified workers are vital in providing a high quality University System in Oregon; that students, faculty, administration, and surrounding communities rely deeply on the services we provide. We do not find management’s approach to us at the bargaining table in keeping with the role we play in the system. “Shared sacrifice” NOT “excessive sacrifice!”