Alex Hernandez
Mike Urbancic, United Academics president, speaks to demonstrators at a rally at Johnson Hall in support of the University of Oregon United Academics on Nov. 13, 2024. After the rally, demonstrators marched to Chiles Hall, where UO and UA teams met for a bargaining session. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
On April 4, United Academics of the University of Oregon announced the official ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with UO administration.
According to a social media post by UA, 76% of union members voted, with 97% in favor of ratification.
In an emailed statement to The Daily Emerald, Associate Professor of Global Studies and Director of Graduate Studies Stephen Wooten said the union agreed to a “fairer” contract.
“We (as a union) agreed to a ‘fairer’ contract at this juncture with the expectation that the administration will take steps to ensure we get better, more appropriate compensation in the next round,” Wooten said.
UA and UO began bargaining for a new contract in February of 2024. Both parties reached a tentative agreement on March 30, 14 months after initial bargaining sessions began.
The tentative agreement was reached just 14 hours before the union was set to go on strike at 9 a.m. on March 31.
A major sticking point in bargaining surrounded article 26: salaries. According to UO’s website, all tenure-line faculty, career instructional and research faculty and limited term faculty will receive a 4.5% salary increase across the board for year one. Faculty will receive different salary raises in years two and three.
On April 2, union members received individualized ballots to vote for the ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The voting period ended on April 4. According to UA president Mike Urbancic, 812 members cast their votes out of 1,063 eligible voters.
According to an email from the Office of the Provost, the university is “very pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that invests in faculty and supports the long-term financial well-being of the university.”
In an email to the union after voting closed on April 4, Urbancic thanked the Bargaining and Contract Action Teams for their “efforts (to) move the needle week by week, month by month.”
In the email sent to union members, Urbancic said that the tentative agreement was a “relief,” but the fight wouldn’t end with the new contract.
“This new collective bargaining agreement is a fairer contract, but not yet a fair contract. There is a lot of work still to be done to improve pay and working conditions in the next contract and beyond,” Urbancic said.
Similarly, Wooten also thanked the bargaining team in his email and said the new contract is just the beginning and that faculty are looking toward the future.
“The faculty ratified the current agreement in good faith and with the expectation that more is to come in the future. Fair compensation for the faculty will help keep our academic community strong and effective,” Wooten said.