Collective Bargaining News
Thank you for attending Winter Term Caucuses
We have met with Academic Professionals, Non-Tenure Track Faculty, and Tenure Track faculty in caucuses over the last three weeks. The meetings were very productive, and we have gathered important feedback and ideas for our next steps to prepare for bargaining. There was positive feedback about how the caucuses were organized with a small work group format. Please thank Michelle Zellers, our Internal Organizer, for planning and carrying out such great meetings!
Department Listening Sessions
What do you want to see in our next contract?
We begin bargaining for our next contract in May. We want to know what improvements you'd like to see. The Collective Bargaining Team is scheduling 10-15 minute listening sessions during monthly departmental meetings to find out what you'd like to see in our next contract. Please contact your unit rep or email the Bargaining Team directly (Contact Leanne at leaserbulo@gmail.com or leanne@psuaaup.net) to schedule a Listening Session. Simply reserve us a time on your department's next faculty meeting agenda, and we'll be there to hear your concerns.
Article 18 (Non-Tenure Track Faculty) Labor/Management Task Force Proposal
The Article 18 Task Force was established in our 2013-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This labor/management committee was charged with designing and proposing a new employment system for Non-Tenure Track faculty members. We met and worked diligently throughout the Fall and into Winter term and just released our report and recommendations to AAUP and the Provost. Highlights of the Task Force Proposal:
- After 4 years of contract employment at PSU, Non-Tenure Track faculty would become permanent employees with full job security protections
- Both research and instructional faculty members would be eligible for these continuous appointments
- Research positions funded by soft money could also be eligible for a continuous appointment if their research unit demonstrates a sustained pattern of bringing in enough grant funding to cover the cost of the position, even if the sources of those funds vary
- Fixed-term appointments would still exist, but they would be limited to specific circumstances (such as temporary replacements for faculty on sabbatical or time-delineated research projects)
- A continuous appointment would be awarded after a successful fourth year annual evaluation
Read the full report here
While this proposal is very exciting, it has not yet become policy. The task force recommended that AAUP and the PSU proceed to interim bargaining, so we can write mutually acceptable contract language and move to this approach by the start of the next academic year. The AAUP Executive Council will take-up the matter at our next meeting on February 19th from 12-1:30 in Smith 323. We hope to hear the Provost's response soon.
A special thanks to Meg Merrick, David Hansen, Alan MacCormack and Michael Lupro who served as AAUP task force representatives.
Leanne Serbulo
VP Collective Bargaining Grievance Update
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2013 SHAC Winter Closure Grievance settled
In November 2013 SHAC leadership decided they would close SHAC to students for several days during winter break. Approximately 6 SHAC employees had already been planning to take the days off as vacation days. 9 SHAC employees, however, were planning on working and were forced to use their vacation.
PSU-AAUP filed a grievance in December 2014- we could not allow units to establish their own work years and their own vacation usage requirements. Negotiations on the matter bogged down considerably during contract negotiations, and during mediation on the multiple Unfair Practice Charges we filed last spring. We are pleased to share that the matter is finally resolved. All the vacation days that the 9 SHAC employees were forced to use have been returned, and PSU-AAUP and PSU have reached agreement for the future- should SHAC decide to close to students at any time other than a University wide closure, SHAC employees will still be able to work and will not be required to use vacation. Legislative Update
Synchronicity with University of Oregon Faculty
We are excited to share that we are finally starting to work in synchronicity with the faculty at University of Oregon on legislative matters. The Executive Committee of AAUP-Oregon recently adopted a legislative policy that enables it to speak for PSU-AAUP and United Academics at the University of Oregon when both executive councils adopt the same position on legislative matters.
At the recommendation and request of the Legislative Committee, the Executive Council has taken positions on the following. We have also indicated if there is a common position with UAUO that enables AAUP-OR to speak
HB 2005 (paid sick time)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT. UAUO SUPPORT. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
Requires all employers in the state of Oregon to implement paid sick time for employees, with some exceptions.
HB 2007 (protect disclosure of wage information)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT. UAUO SUPPORT. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
Makes imposition of disciplinary action against employee that inquires about or discloses wage information an unlawful employment practice.
HB 2513 (textbook consortium)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT
Requires the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to establish a book buying consortium for textbooks. Will enable students of Oregon's universities and community colleges to save money on books and materials.
HB 2524 (% Oregon residents in student body)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT
Requires every undergraduate class at each public university to have a minimum percentage of students (to be determined by the governing board) that are Oregon residents.
HB 2525 (transferability of test scores)
PSU-AAUP OPPOSE
While the idea of having common course numbering between community colleges and universities could help transfer students, we have great concern that the requirement that national tests count as courses established by someone other than the faculty at the institution puts control of the curriculum and pedogogy of our Universities offerings in the hands of others. It also has potential negative implications on academic freedom.
HB 2611 (continue shared services)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT. UAUO SUPPORT. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
Extends by six years the period that universities with governing boards must participate in mandated shared services. Preserves statewide bargaining for classified employees, and preserves continued participation in PEBB, PERS, and risk management. Continued shared services will enable the State to continue to save money on centralized services where they still exists, and keeps a structure in place for more collaboration between the universities in the future.
HB 2662 (Pay It Forward)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT
Establishes a pilot Pay It Forward program if parallel legislation creating a Pay It Forward fund through state bonding is established. While it is not the education for the public good we want to return to, it will still have some benefit to participates that might otherwise have to incur private student debt to matriculate in college.
HB 2768 (tax credit for student loans)
PSU-AAUP OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
Students deserve more economic support but this bill discriminates against those not pursuing science, technology engineering or math. We would be open to supporting the bill if the limitation to supporting STEM graduates is removed.
SB 81 (“Debt free” community college)
PSU-AAUP and UAUO OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
This bill provides community college for free to virtually all Oregon High School graduates. It will, however, have a negative impact on Oregon's regional universities and PSU's enrollment as more Oregon residents choose community college over the universities. The measure, further, is unfunded. We thinkthe measure would be supportable only If the measure was fully funded, and if the program was expanded to provide funding for community colleges and the first two years in any Oregon Public university.
SB 82 (student loan insurance)
PSU-AAUP OPPOSE. UAUO OPPOSE. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
Establishes student loan insurance asa class of insurance in Oregon, but contains no underwriting standards (that could protect the student), and no provisions that would enable a student to opt out of loan insurance. This could lead to loan insurance becoming mandated by lenders and colleges. This would increase the cost of borrowing, and increase student debt.
SB 113 (higher education staff ratios)
PSU-AAUP SUPPORT. UAUO SUPPORT. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
This bill requires all Universities to use common definitions for all employee types, and to disclose the numbers and wages of these employees, and their ratio to students, on an annual basis. We believe the public is entitled to see how much of their tax dollars, and the students how much of their tuition, is spent to fund the increasing numbers of management employees with large salaries that has put upward pressure on higher education costs for the last decade. This administrative bloat has a real cost in reduced funding and support for the classroom, which is a phenomenon with erodes quality and promises only to render meaningless the degrees the legislature now believes is the only supportable measure of higher education.
AAUP Oregon President Jose Padin will deliver the first ever AAUP-Oregon testimony on a bill in favor Senate Bill 113 on behalf of the faculty of PSU and UO on Tuesday February 17 at 1:15 PM in the Senate Committee on Education.
SB 493 (autonomy for university governing boards)
PSU-AAUP OPPOSE. UAUO OPPOSE. AAUP-OREGON SPEAKS
This bill removes the ability of the Governor to bisband university governing boards or force the university to take action if the university fails to comply with the conditions under which the board was established by the State Board of Higher Education. Allows university boards to be accountable only to themselves.