SEIU Local 503 took to the campus streets Friday afternoon to chant demands for a fairer contract from the Oregon University System. The march is the second in two weeks, an apparent pilot run in case the union goes on strike as soon as September 23.

The employee union represents non-faculty employees — housing workers, caterers, secretaries, etc. — in all seven public universities, and are currently negotiating their 2013-2015 contract with OUS.

SEIU Local 503 is seeking higher base salaries, stronger salary steps and tax reimbursements for same-sex couples, most notably. Union leaders have maintained that OUS’s current contract proposals would make 1,200 employees eligible for food stamps.

OUS insists that its budget from the state has stagnated in the last decade, even as student enrollment has skyrocketed. And because they’re negotiating for all seven public universities, a contract has to be treat the budgets for all schools equally, meaning a bigger budget school like UO can’t pay their employees more than a regional school like Eastern Oregon pays its employees.