PSU-AAUP History

Toward Collective Bargaining

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was widespread discussion of collective bargaining in academic circles in the U.S. Portland State had just survived a period of exigency in which quite a few faculty members nearly lost their jobs. Collective bargaining became an increasingly important issue, first addressed by a small group of faculty members, then by the faculty senate, and eventually by a committee formed to determine the pros and cons of establishing a union. The committee understood that collective bargaining at a university could prove to be a more complicated and difficult process than in an industrial setting.

Two main questions arose. First, which organization would be chosen as the bargaining unit, and second, whether it would be a local or statewide unit. After a great deal of debate over whether or not to allow a statewide unit, the Public Employee Relations Board determined that PSU had strong unionization prosects while sentiment at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University were far weaker. They ruled that it would be best to go ahead and establish collective bargaining at PSU, which would be a strictly local unit. A number of candidates emerged from which the bargining unit would be selected, including the Independent Association of Professors, which had begun from scratch at PSU and emphasized economic issues, and the AAUP, which was also committed to improving the economic situation for faculty along with its longstanding committment to tenure and academic freedom. More and more faculty became sympathetic to the collective bargaiing idea as the budget crisis of the early 1970s failed to subside.

In 1977, a poll conducted by the AAUP found that a majority of its membership supported collective bargaining. The AAUP campaigned for its election as bargaining agent along with the Oregon State Employees Association (OSEA) and the Oregon Federation of Teachers (OFT). The AAUP was selected by a faculty vote in early 1978. Preparations for collective bargaining began immediately. The team appointed by the AAUP council consisted of David Newhall, Bernard Burke, Barry Anderson, John Erdman, Ansel Johnson, Donald Moor, and Ann Weikel. This was the first AAUP collective bargaining unit west of the Mississippi.

Research by Gregory Nipper

Gender Equity

In the 1950s, a few women entered the ranks of faculty at Portland State. Low salaries accounted for the departure of men from many fields, yet women still faced inequities that made their work environment tougher than their male counterparts. Unsure of their place in academia, the university encouraged new women faculty to join the faculty wives' club, an organization devoted more to social activities than academic matters. In addition, social pressures and stereotypes kept women subordinant.

"We were made fun of behind our backs. Not so much behind our backs that we didn't know about it. We were referred to as the 'Housewives' Brigade.' Like, you know, we were really not quite worthy, but there we were standing around and they needed to have someone stand in front of their classes."

--Mildred Bennett, PSU Math Faculty, 1955-1992

Committee W - PSU Chapter

Chemistry Professor Elaine spencer and Dr. Ann Weikel of the History Department shared the leadership role at PSU when the women faculty decided to form a Committee W on campus. This group worked closely with other university chapters in the state of Oregon.

"As women who think this action in our Oregon chapters is overdue, we are inviting all of you to participate with us in initiating a special affirmative action push on behalf of women in the State System of Higher Education... We could outline the work such a committee could to do better the lot of faculty women on all of the state campuses."

--Elaine Spencer and Ann Weikel to Fellow AAUP Members, September 20, 1979

Penk v. The State System of Higher Education &
Faculty Women for Equity (FEW)

In the 1980s, many of the AAUP's Committee W leadership gathered to form an organization to fight gender equity through the court system. They called their group "Faculty Women for Equity" (FEW). Don Willner, an attorney and PSU supporter in the state legislature took on the women's quest and filed a class action suit in the name of a WOSC professor named Anna Penk on behalf of Oregon's 2,200 female teaching faculty. The women brought disparate treatment charges claiming the institutions engaged ina pattern of discrimination against women faculty. After countless fund raising efforts, many hours of work collecting depositions, and information gathering, the women lost their suit. The total cost of litigating the Penk case cost the FEW $220,000. The State of oregon spent millions.

Research by Amanda Ellertson

 

Work-Family Balance for Full-Time Faculty
Then and Now

1975		2003
No childcare on campus		Childcare on campus
The "tenure clock" was not stopped		The "secure tenure" rule is in place
Assigned teaching times by chair		Teaching times requested by faculty
Undifferentiated parking		Specific parking for faculty
Job insecurity if pregnant		Parental Leave Act
Sex discrimination pay		Improved pay equity by sex