The University of Oregon has released COVID-19 resources and policies for its students and faculty, but the school’s classified-staff union is concerned for the health and safety of its members going into fall term.

Service Employees International Union Sublocal 085 represents over 1,500 classified staff at UO, Stephanie Prentiss, SEIU president, said. Classified staff work in departments like custodial, University Housing and Campus Planning and Facilities Management.

UO has “done great by the students,” Prentiss said, but hasn’t done enough for employees currently on campus and those scheduled to return.
“The students are super important,” Prentiss said. “If they weren’t there, we wouldn’t have jobs. But you also have to remember that if they’re there, somebody’s gotta do the work.”

The university has been flexible with staff whose jobs can be done remotely, Prentiss said, but has rejected SEIU’s pushes for hazard pay. 

“There are people that have been here since before campus shut down for spring, that were working 40 hours a week on campus and haven’t left,” Prentiss said. “They’re essential workers, they deserve hazard pay as far as I’m concerned.”

In an email, Missy Matella, UO’s senior director for employee and labor relations, said the university “follows applicable collective bargaining agreements and UO policies with respect to pay.”

In the spring, UO implemented an emergency sick leave program, allowing employees to use additional paid leave hours. However, Prentiss said, a sick employee could be without suitable pay while quarantining or recovering before returning to work. 

Even solutions like remote work and training might not be enough, Prentiss said.

“People can’t afford not to work. They just can’t afford it,” Prentiss said. “And if they go home, there’s nothing in place in writing, as it stands right now, that’s going to ensure that employees will have anything to live on once they’re home.”
UO hasn’t implemented mandatory COVID-19 testing for staff, Prentiss said, including student employees in UO’s dining halls. She is concerned testing might not be readily available and accessible. 

The university provides voluntary testing for staff, prioritizing employees on campus, UO spokesperson Saul Hubbard said via email.

UO asks students and employees to self-check for symptoms before coming to campus, Hubbard said, in accordance with the Oregon Health Authority. OHA does not recommend testing people without symptoms, as it “represents an unnecessary burden for the employee.”

Rogelio Lozano, a junior working at Hamilton Dining Hall, said exposure to COVID-19 is in the back of everyone’s minds. However, he said he feels pretty safe, given UO’s safety measures and because he expects to see less students.

“If their whole goal is to protect the students, you would think that they would test the people serving them,” Lozano said.

The university’s steps for ensuring campus safety include providing face coverings, posting signage regarding face masks and providing flexibility to caregivers and others with personal needs, Matella said.

SEIU members are feeling helpless and worried about their health and safety, Prentiss said. “They know there’s no chance of them really being protected even with a mask on because they’re going to be indoors, with students, in very close proximity with them.”

Prentiss wishes UO would communicate more with union leadership about its plans and locations of positive campus COVID-19 cases.

“We’re all assuming. And this is the problem,” Prentiss said. “Because if they’re not telling us these specific questions that we’re asking — and they’re not telling us anything — it feels like they’re not considering it.”

SEIU 503, the state’s classified staff union, ratified a Letter of Agreement with Oregon’s seven public universities regarding COVID-19 workplace issues on Sept. 9. The LOA clarifies safety equipment, flexible scheduling options and COVID-19 exposure notice expectations.

To prepare SEIU 085’s members, Prentiss recommends utilizing temporary COVID-19 protections under the federal Family Medical Leave Act or Oregon Family Leave Act. 

Employees caring for children due to COVID-19-related closures are eligible for up to 12 weeks of additional leave until Dec. 31, UO’s human resources website stated. 

Prentiss suggests keeping a daily journal. She is worried that certain departments might blame staff for not adhering to social distancing when it isn’t their fault.

“Universities don’t work unless we do,” she said.