Departments within the university will be able to apply for an exemption to hire new student workers despite a hiring freeze to meet operational needs, according to a communication from the University of Oregon Student Workers union.

UOSW met with UO’s Employee Labor Relations on May 27 to request more information about the hiring freeze’s impact on student workers. In a previous statement, UO confirmed that the hiring freeze would not impact reappointment of student workers who held positions before the summer break, but provided no details about new workers.

According to the communication to union members, UOSW said that ELR confirmed that students would still receive pay increases per the union’s collective bargaining agreement. Hourly wages for student workers will increase by 2.5% on July 1, and all levels of student workers will receive a 3% pay increase. Levels of student workers refer to the classification made depending on the type of employment. 

The university informed the student union that departments can apply for an exemption to hire new student workers, different from reappointment, to be able to meet operational needs. According to UOSW, several departments have already utilized these applications for summer and fall term positions. 

ELR declined to give the union a timeline of the duration of the hiring freeze or plans for identifying sources of funding to decrease the deficit. It also declined to say what departments would be most impacted by the cuts, stating it is “too early to be able to provide a specific answer,” according to UOSW’s communication.

UOSW’s executive board said in the communication that it will continue to seek more information from UO through labor management meetings. The union will continue to organize throughout the summer and fall, preceding when plans for cuts are anticipated to roll out in December.

This story is breaking and will be updated.