Beyond PSU: Working with AAUP Oregon and AAUP National

A union is much more than any one person or committee. This week, we want to highlight our partners in the AAUP Oregon and AAUP National organizations. PSU-AAUP was instrumental in the founding of AAUP Oregon, and maintains a strong relationship with this group. President Jennifer Kerns and VP for Collective Bargaining Mark Leymon participate in a twice-monthly call with all of the AAUP Oregon locals, and we often have PSU-AAUP members serving in the state association. In this newsletter, we want to introduce you to three AAUP Oregon and AAUP National staff members who we will be working with in the coming months:  

Matt Burris, AAUP Oregon Statewide Organizer. Matt has been with AAUP Oregon for over 4 years, and has hosted numerous work sessions and trainings with the PSU-AAUP organizing committee since 2017. Prior to his work with AAUP Oregon, he was an organizer with the American Federation of Teachers and worked with faculty at the University of New Mexico, Northern Illinois University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he helped organize 500 faculty on strike for their first contract. He also has experience organizing outside of the academy with the Minnesota Nurses Association. 

Malori Musselman, Organizer, AAUP. Malori is one of Matt’s counterparts at AAUP National (which employs several organizers) and holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oregon. They have over a decade of political and union organizing experience, including work as an organizer with the American Federation of Teachers. 

Sarah Lanius, Field Service Representative, AAUP. Sarah is a contracts and bargaining specialist who works with AAUP chapters across the country, but is based here in Oregon. She is already assisting the bargaining team with a current demand to bargain issue, and we are lucky to have such an expert locally available. She has over a decade of union experience, including positions with both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).