Out of around 1,500 classified workers at the University of Oregon, 511 make less than $15 an hour. Shawna Schultz is one of these workers.
Schultz works at the kitchen in Carson Hall. Every week she scrambles to get enough hours to support herself and her son. Her son has autism, so she isn’t able to work full time. After working there for four years, she still only makes a few dollars over minimum wage, which is $9.25 an hour in Oregon.
“If I don’t work a certain amount of hours, then it is a struggle,” Schultz said, “and I am going to have to apply for some food assistance.” Schultz is not the only classified worker on campus considering a public assistance program, representatives from her union say.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 Branch is negotiating with Oregon’s Public Universities (OPU) for a higher paying contract. SEIU represents all the universities’ service employees, including janitors, library staff, office workers and groundskeepers.
Since the SEIU’s contract expired on June 30, a new contract hasn’t been agreed upon. The union is still bargaining for one that encompasses broader benefits and a wage increase. OPU has given the union multiple 15-day contract extensions since June 30.
SEIU has been negotiating with OPU since January. OPU represents seven major public universities in Oregon that used to comprise the Oregon University System. UO representatives declined comment on this story without consulting the other schools within OPU.
The union has repeatedly declined the offers presented by the universities. The main issues they have with the proposal involve insurance benefits, the status of part-time workers and wage increases.
The universities, meanwhile, claim there isn’t enough funding for the salary increases being sought by the union. If wages were raised, tuition would have to rise as well, university negotiators say.
If the contract currently proposed by OPU goes through, Schultz would get a 1 percent raise in pay but would have to pay a larger portion of her health insurance. This, she says, would amount to a pay cut. She says she’d be forced to take home less pay or drop health insurance.
Currently, the universities pay 95 percent of insurance premiums for full-time classified workers, leaving employees to pick up the remaining 5 percent. According to SEIU, OPU has said it is dropping its coverage to 90 percent. OPU has declined to comment on the specifics of negotiations. Workers say the increased insurance cost will more than offset the OPU’s proposed 1 percent wage increase.
“It would be excruciating” if the university lowered its insurance coverage, Schultz said. She thought about dropping her insurance coverage in favor of a higher paycheck, but decided to keep it for the sake of her son. A premium increase may force her to sacrifice her coverage, which is already “on the cusp of [costing] too much,” Schultz said.
SEIU proposed a 3.5 percent wage increase this year, with a 2.5 percent increase two years later. The universities originally offered a .5 percent increase, but have now moved to 1 percent, according to SEIU.
In comparison, United Academics, the UO faculty union, is currently in negotiations for a 10 percent increase over the next three years.
“Fifteen dollars an hour would be a dream come true,” Schultz said. “When I hear people say $2,000 a month …” her voice trails off. “I couldn’t imagine making that much.”
The universities argue that there simply isn’t enough funding for salary increases. Any additional money would have to come from an increase in students’ tuition.
“We don’t get state money for salary increases,” said Di Saunders, an OPU spokesperson. That means money would have to come from student tuition. “We balance tuition increases against the needs of our staff,” Saunders said.
State funding for higher education has decreased over the years. Even though it saw an increase last year, the budget is still not at the level it was in 2007 — yet enrollment in Oregon public universities has increased by around 20,000 students. On average, students pay about 70 percent of what it costs to run an institution, and the state pays around 25 percent. In the 1990s, those numbers were reversed.
The universities negotiating as a whole comes with some challenges: different schools have different levels of resources. For example, UO has a high percentage of out-of-state students, who pay three times the tuition in-state students do. This increases funding dramatically. Smaller schools, like Oregon Institute of Technology, have fewer students from out of state.
Such a variation in resources means the universities are only able to offer what the least-funded school can afford.
A major question the universities have to consider, Saunders said, is, “How do we come to a settlement that’s fair to workers at all campuses?”
While the union continues to decline OPU’s modifications for a new contract, universities have denied most of SEIU’s requests and refused to bargain on several topics — including establishing a standard for the ratio between administrators and service workers, as well as a committee to discuss tuition affordability.
“You can just see a lot of spots where we can’t even have a conversation, which is surprising,” said David Pinsonneault, a union representative.
Union member John Scott, a library technician, has worked at the UO for 14 years and has seen these contract disputes before.
“It’s the same thing every two years. It’s the same fight over and over again,” Scott said. “I’m not sure why, with tuition at an all-time high, they have to continue to go after labor.”
Service employees and the university often have disputes over contracts, most recently in 2013. The union hasn’t actually struck since 1995. But if an agreement is not met, the union is prepared to do so. Scott admires those willing to strike.
“It’s a good job, so it’s hard to complain,” Scott said. But “you have to be prepared to fight. You have to be willing to fight.”
If a strike does occur, it will take place during move-in week in late September. Buildings normally occupied with mostly union members, like the libraries and Oregon Hall, will become ghost towns. Managers will have to take on the work of service employees. Student workers won’t be supervised.
“After about a week, you’ll see the university start to shut down,” said Johnny Earl, a lead bargainer for SEIU.
OPU doesn’t believe a strike will occur. But Saunders said the universities have a plan in place to stay open and operating during a strike, recognizing the important role service workers play at the university.
“We know how critical our classified workers are,” Saunders said.
The final phase of negotiations between OPU and SEIU will take place on Aug. 10, 11 and 12.
“We’re at the turning point,” Earl said. “If we’re not able to get a tentative agreement, we will begin the process of organizing a strike.”
If the two sides don’t reach an agreement by Aug. 13, union members will vote on whether or not to strike.
“We feel confident that most of our employees will stand with us,” Earl said. “The university works because we do.”
