With the votes counted, members of SEIU Local 503 have agreed to a potential strike against the Oregon University System, which could happen as soon as September 23 if a deal isn’t struck.
In an email Thursday morning, the employee union announced that its members had voted “overwhelmingly” over the last two days to give its leaders the authority to picket against contracts proposed by OUS. Though there is one last bargaining session on September 13 and 14, SEIU issued a letter of intent to strike to OUS yesterday afternoon.
“On campuses throughout the OUS, our members voted overwhelmingly to give our bargaining team the authority to call a strike,” the SEIU said in the email. “Because the response was so immense, we are standing by our ten-day notice to strike with OUS.”
These sessions have faltered over wages, salary steps, and tax reimbursements for same-sex couples. Union members say they had accepted salary freezes over the last two contracts due to the recession, but now a salary bump is overdue. Under the current contract proposals, SEIU claims that 1,200 employees would be earning less than $2,500 a month and be eligible for food stamps, and are thus asking for larger base salaries. OUS maintains that its budget is too thin, having been stagnant for the last decade even as student enrollment has risen dramatically.
“We are prepared for either a short strike or a long one,” said Diana Saunders, the director of communications for OUS.
In solidarity for the protest, ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, with the support of student presidents from Oregon State and Portland State universities, has also called for students across the state walkout.
“These folks work some of the lowest paying and often least appreciated jobs on campus,” Dotters-Katz said in a statement Thursday morning. “They deserve a contract that treats them with dignity, respect and most importantly fairness.”
OUS has insisted that classes will continue unhindered, but students and teachers could be pressured to hold classes off campus in the case of a strike. In response to a potential student walkout, the OUS is supportive of the students expressing their solidarity.
“We respect anyone’s rights to hold rallies on the campuses and support issues that are important to them,” Saunders said. “That’s the spirit of academic freedom.”
More to come.