May Bargaining Update
At the negotiating table
At the negotiating table, your PSU-AAUP bargaining team has engaged in cordial discussions with representatives of the University, and we have made good progress in crafting the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
In May, drafts of several articles have passed across the table, including revisions to Article 14: Promotion and Tenure; Article 17: Academic Professional Faculty; Article 24: Working Conditions; Article 28: Resolution of Disputes; and LOA#2: APs ? Flexible Work Schedules, And Wage and Hour Law Education. We also discussed issues related to workload, catastrophic illness, Article 25: Parking, and Article 30: Salary and Retirement.
Salary, Retirement, and Insurance
In every budget document that the administration has shared with PSU-AAUP and the campus community, they have made clear their intention to cut faculty salaries, even though no salary proposals have crossed the table during bargaining. Given the current fiscal situation, the administration seems to feel the need to make adjustments to salaries as soon as possible.
The PSU-AAUP bargaining team wants to see both the costs and the revenues before making decisions regarding salary, retirement, and insurance. The bargaining team?s main concern in negotiations is how to approach decision-making when many key numbers are in flux, including the state budget, the OUS allocation to PSU, the approval of tuition increases, and the fall enrollment figures.
Contract Expires August 31
We are mindful that the contract expires on August 31st. In past years, the university has been willing to extend our contract to facilitate ongoing negotiations. This year, initial discussions indicate that they may be less willing to extend. Absent an extension of the current contract, at the end of the required 150 days of negotiations, the University would presumably call in a mediator, mediate for the shortest required time, submit their last best offer, and, after a 30-day cooling off period, impose their offer upon us. The bargaining team asks faculty members to engage with us and with other union leaders to tell us what members are willing to do about this situation.
The bargaining team does not want to prolong negotiations to the point that we risk having the administration move beyond negotiation and mediation to imposing a contract upon us. But the bargaining team also does not want prematurely to approve an agreement that accepts unnecessary concessions. The ideal would be to craft contract language that takes into account all contingencies, so that financial scenarios unfold differently depending on the values of several key variables.
Membership meeting 12:00 Friday June 5th
Be part of the process: let the collective bargaining team know your priorities! To update members on current bargaining issues and to solicit your input on important decisions (particularly those related to salary, insurance, and benefits), the collective bargaining team is holding a membership meeting. Please join us for lunch (12:00 - 2:00 pm) on Friday June 5th (location TBD; details will follow by email).
Your input welcomed
If you cannot join us at the membership meeting, and/or if you have additional comments, suggestions, or questions, please email them to me at gamburdm@pdx.edu.
Over the summer
The bargaining team will continue negotiations over the summer, meeting three times in June, once in July, and once in August. By the end of the summer, we should have a clearer picture of the state budget, the university budget, and the salary situation.
New Executive Director
Please welcome to campus Mr. Philip Lesch, our new Executive Director, who joined us on May 18th. Phil comes to us with a decade of union experience with the California School Employees Association and additional years of labor organizing with the Regional Airline Pilot Association. Phil has already made significant contributions to our bargaining conversations and to the oversight of our finances.
Keep informed
Interested to know what?s going on in the PSU labor community? Keep informed and share your views on the PSU-AAUP Labor Blog at http://www.psuaaup.net/blog/blog.html.
In solidarity,
Michele Gamburd
At the negotiating table, your PSU-AAUP bargaining team has engaged in cordial discussions with representatives of the University, and we have made good progress in crafting the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
In May, drafts of several articles have passed across the table, including revisions to Article 14: Promotion and Tenure; Article 17: Academic Professional Faculty; Article 24: Working Conditions; Article 28: Resolution of Disputes; and LOA#2: APs ? Flexible Work Schedules, And Wage and Hour Law Education. We also discussed issues related to workload, catastrophic illness, Article 25: Parking, and Article 30: Salary and Retirement.
Salary, Retirement, and Insurance
In every budget document that the administration has shared with PSU-AAUP and the campus community, they have made clear their intention to cut faculty salaries, even though no salary proposals have crossed the table during bargaining. Given the current fiscal situation, the administration seems to feel the need to make adjustments to salaries as soon as possible.
The PSU-AAUP bargaining team wants to see both the costs and the revenues before making decisions regarding salary, retirement, and insurance. The bargaining team?s main concern in negotiations is how to approach decision-making when many key numbers are in flux, including the state budget, the OUS allocation to PSU, the approval of tuition increases, and the fall enrollment figures.
Contract Expires August 31
We are mindful that the contract expires on August 31st. In past years, the university has been willing to extend our contract to facilitate ongoing negotiations. This year, initial discussions indicate that they may be less willing to extend. Absent an extension of the current contract, at the end of the required 150 days of negotiations, the University would presumably call in a mediator, mediate for the shortest required time, submit their last best offer, and, after a 30-day cooling off period, impose their offer upon us. The bargaining team asks faculty members to engage with us and with other union leaders to tell us what members are willing to do about this situation.
The bargaining team does not want to prolong negotiations to the point that we risk having the administration move beyond negotiation and mediation to imposing a contract upon us. But the bargaining team also does not want prematurely to approve an agreement that accepts unnecessary concessions. The ideal would be to craft contract language that takes into account all contingencies, so that financial scenarios unfold differently depending on the values of several key variables.
Membership meeting 12:00 Friday June 5th
Be part of the process: let the collective bargaining team know your priorities! To update members on current bargaining issues and to solicit your input on important decisions (particularly those related to salary, insurance, and benefits), the collective bargaining team is holding a membership meeting. Please join us for lunch (12:00 - 2:00 pm) on Friday June 5th (location TBD; details will follow by email).
Your input welcomed
If you cannot join us at the membership meeting, and/or if you have additional comments, suggestions, or questions, please email them to me at gamburdm@pdx.edu.
Over the summer
The bargaining team will continue negotiations over the summer, meeting three times in June, once in July, and once in August. By the end of the summer, we should have a clearer picture of the state budget, the university budget, and the salary situation.
New Executive Director
Please welcome to campus Mr. Philip Lesch, our new Executive Director, who joined us on May 18th. Phil comes to us with a decade of union experience with the California School Employees Association and additional years of labor organizing with the Regional Airline Pilot Association. Phil has already made significant contributions to our bargaining conversations and to the oversight of our finances.
Keep informed
Interested to know what?s going on in the PSU labor community? Keep informed and share your views on the PSU-AAUP Labor Blog at http://www.psuaaup.net/blog/blog.html.
In solidarity,
Michele Gamburd
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