UO venues and services hours:
Allen Hall Equipment checkout: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Hearth cafe: Closed.
Lillis cafe: Open.
Cafe Verso: Closed.
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art: Closed.
Knight Library Book Drop: Closed, library is open.
Lawrence Hall Output Room: Open.
Tutoring and Academic Center in Knight Library: Writing tutors closed, math tutors open.
Updated 3:00 p.m.
Around 2:45 p.m., striking workers and picketers helped move the Student Sustainability Center Trillium Produce Plus Produce Drop, a weekly Tuesday resource to help address food insecurity, to the lawn outside Johnson Hall.
According to Keara Monique Alonso-Lopez, lead of the Food Equity Program Lead for the SSC, the produce drop was moved from its regular location, the EMU amphitheater, after UO staff attempted to run the produce drop in wake of the strike.
“The produce drop is a student-led program to promote food security for students. They (UO) tried to do the produce drop and this is obviously bad because we are striking and want to emphasize how valuable and important this resource is by taking it over,” Monique Alonso-Lopez said.
Updated 1:00 p.m.
Around 12:30 p.m., Ed Wolf, a member of UO’s faculty union, United Academics, joined striking workers and picketers for multiple songs on the lawn across the street from Johnson Hall.
“(We’re singing to show) union solidarity. We are united as unions and we want to make sure we stand up for our fellow unions… and support pay equity,” Wolf said. “We got four unions here and we all support each other.”
Wolf said singing is an important aspect of “showing how union solidarity works.”
“Singing has always been important to labor unions. It gives our chanting voices some rest and musical expression can work to show how union solidarity works best,” Wolf said.
Valentine Bentz, a strike organizer with UOSW, joined Wolf on guitar.
“If you can’t sing well, sing loud,” Wolf shouted to the crowd.
Students for Justice in Palestine also had a booth set up near the picket with clothing items and pamphlets.
“We are here in solidarity with the student workers,” Salem Younes, an organizer for SJP, said.
Three University of Oregon Police Department police officers and two cop cars were seen near the picket line between the EMU and Chapman Hall.
Updated 10:00 a.m.
Around 10:10 a.m., approximately 200 strike supporters marched inside the Erb Memorial Union.
At 10:00 a.m., the university had scheduled an “Amplifying Action: A summit on Employee Engagement and Flourishing” event.
According to Victoria Robison, a striking worker, the union marched to the 2nd floor of the EMU, where the event was supposed to take place in the EMU Ballroom, because “we wanted to show you all that we’re not flourishing.”
“We’re not flourishing. We’re on strike,” Robison said.
Strike supporters briefly made their way down to the EMU “O” desk, and then headed back to the Redwood Auditorium where the event was taking place.
A few minutes later, the event was cancelled by an attendee from the event.
According to a social media post by UOSW, the union will host a 12:00 p.m. “Learning Labor Songs on the Picket with United Academics” event.
Then at 1:00 p.m., there will be a “Protecting Coworkers: How to be a Union Rep” event, followed by a “Produce Drop At Johnson Hall.”
At 3:00 p.m., the union will hold a contract reading.
From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., there will be a general assembly, ending the day with “Live Music.”
What UO, UOSW are bargaining for
After 11 months of bargaining, below is what remains on the table.
Wages
UO is proposing hourly wages of $15.44 to “over $19.94” with 3% increases each year until contract expiration. UOSW is proposing hourly wages of $18.50 to $19.50 with 5% increases each year until contract expiration. Compensation is dependent on the student’s position.
Both sides agreed to form a working group to explore the possibilities of a bi-weekly pay period. The procedures this working group will follow are still under discussion.
UO’s current proposal offers no sick leave for employees who are on work study. UOSW offers the same sick pay rate for all students.
UO and UOSW are proposing the same shift/meal rate, but UOSW’s proposal has students working over six hours receiving the most benefits, and UO would have students working over eight hours receiving the most benefits.
Resident Assistants
The Resident Assistant roles will be divided into Community Builder, Community Coordinator and Community Safety Assistant roles.
UO’s proposal compensates 50% of the Community Builder’s room and board and 75% of the Community Safety Assistant’s room and board and 100% of the Community Coordinator’s room and board, whereas UOSW’s proposal compensates 100% of room and board for all three positions.
These changes would not be implemented until the 2026-2027 academic year.
Arbitration
Both sides have agreed to include some form of arbitration in their contract, meaning a third party could review contract violations. However, UO’s version does not include arbitration for harassment and discrimination cases.
Probationary Period
UO’s proposal implements a probationary period of eight-12 weeks. UOSW rejects this proposal.
According to UO’s final offer, the probationary period provides a chance for supervisors to gauge the skills of a student worker.
“During probationary periods, supervisors will determine if the employee has the skills, knowledge and demonstrates work performance necessary to be successful in the position,” the final offer reads.
Contract Expiration
UOSW would like the contract to expire at the end of 2027. UO would like the contract to expire in 2028.
More information can be found here.
Editor’s Note: The Daily Emerald values transparency in its reporting and coverage production. While some Emerald staff are actively involved in the student workers strike, these staff members are not involved in the production or reporting of The Emerald’s strike coverage, due to the conflict of interest.
