The Oregon University System and unions representing classified workers of Oregon’s public universities agreed to a tentative contract Friday afternoon, putting the brakes on a threatened strike by the workers Sept. 24.
A strike could have forced OUS schools to rely on management and supervisors to perform classified-worker jobs, causing a slow-down in student services and the removal of non-essential services. Classified workers at the University handle food service for the residence halls, provide nursing care at the University Health Center and perform clerical tasks for many academic departments, among other things.
“If the strike had gone through, it would have been nothing short of devastating,” said Tim Young, University political science major and student member of the State Board of Higher Education. “The classified staff is a vital component of the University. It would have been tremendously difficult for students, faculty, staff and administrators.”
Negotiations began informally Thursday morning when representatives for the unions — the Service Employees International Union Local 503 and the Oregon Public Employees Union — and OUS talked via telephone. The talks paved the way for a smooth dialogue Friday in Salem, where both sides met face-to-face and hammered out a deal.
“Discussion since (the last mediation session, Sept. 14) proved critical to finding an agreement,” OUS spokesman Bob Bruce said.
The two sides have been engrossed in tense contract negotiations since April 11 over issues of fair pay and improved health benefits for the 3,700 full- and part-time classified workers of Oregon’s seven public universities. About 1,230 of those classified staff work at the University.
Both sides expect to ratify the tentative agreement next month.
“When our people began negotiating (Friday) morning, they were very optimistic that we would reach an agreement,” said Kathie Best, statewide president for SEIU Local 503. “We’re delighted that we were able to come to an agreement without a disruption of services.”
The unions and OUS said Thursday they were optimistic a resolution could be reached Friday, but both began readying their ranks for a strike.
Classified workers of the University held a bake sale at the south end of the University Bookstore on Wednesday to raise money for a strike fund, and OUS was briefing managers and supervisors Wednesday about how to cover for classified workers who didn’t report to work.
“I have asked departments at the colleges to prepare plans which identify those activities that absolutely have to go on, and how they will be covered by existing personnel,” University Human Resources Director Linda King said early Friday.
King said child-care facilities at the University would have closed during the strike, leaving about 170 families scrambling to find daycare services. The University Health Center also was preparing to restrict its services to students who had emergencies or had appointments scheduled prior to Sept. 24.
The tentative agreement, finalized at 1 p.m. Friday in Salem, calls for a 2 percent cost-of-living wage increase on Jan. 1, 2002, and a 3 percent increase on Feb. 1, 2003. The plan includes annual step increases and fully paid health coverage for full-time employees in 2002 and 2003.
The “unfair labor practice” complaint filed by the unions Tuesday charging that the OUS was not bargaining in good faith will be withdrawn, Best said.
Eric Martin is a higher education reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
He can be reached at [email protected].