Home
|
|
Welcome to United Academics of the University of Oregon
Early in 2009 the American Association of University Professors
(AAUP) and the American
Federation of Teachers (AFT)
agreed to jointly organize all teaching faculty, researchers, librarians, and non-managerial officers of administration at
the University of Oregon. We will benefit from the combined
expertise of these organizations, being able to enjoy the deeper resources of
AFT and the commitment to academic freedom and university experience of AAUP. We will also be able to act in concert
with other campuses in the state despite their being split between the two
unions in terms of representation.
There are currently 4 full-time
organizers helping us with our campaign: Dennis Ziemer, Marlene
Drescher, Gabe Hargrove, and Ashlee Wiese. United Academics of the
UO has an office directly across from the Graduate Teaching Fellows
Federation on 13th Avenue; you can access the office via the stairs just
east of the Red Rooster Barber Shop.
Most areas of this website can be accessed without logging in. You will only need to log in to access an article that is password protected. Before you can log in you must register; click on the link below the log in area to the right to register.
|
United Academics projects that union dues at UO will be no more than 1% of gross monthly salary. Click on the article title to see a table of dues at various unionized institutions in Oregon and throughout the country.
|
|
In this article we list the 21 unionized public institutions that are ranked Very High or High in the Carnegie Research ranking, the 5 public institutions in the AAU whose tenure-related faculty are unionized and 11 public institutions in the AAU whose non-tenure-related faculty are unionized. Click on the article title to read the story.
|
SB 897 requires PERS to develop a mechanism that insures potential retirees of getting accurate and audited and certified benefit estimates BEFORE retiring and that such benefits would be fixed (as in not subject to change) after retirement. It was passed in the last legislative session only to be vetoed by Gov. Kulongski. Click on the article title to read more.
On February 4, 2010 legislators voted to override Gov. Kulongski's veto. You can view the press release by Senators Devlin and Ferrioli here. |
In this article we discuss the issue of eligibility for OAs and note some issues of particular concern to OAs. Supervisors will not be automatically excluded from the bargaining union, contrary to rumors that have been floating around campus. Click on the article title for more details. |
Meeting for Officers of Administration on 2-5-2010
Come to a meeting on Friday, Feb. 5th, from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. in 360 Oregon Hall.
This will be an opportunity for OAs to meet with unionized colleagues from Portland State University. Jonathan Uto, Equity Retention Coordinator, PSU Student Affairs, and President of PSU-AAUP and Christina Luther, Assistant Director, PSU International Affair. Both Jonathan and Christina are academic professionals, which is the PSU equivalent of OAs. OAs will also have a chance to meet with Jonathan and Christian directly after the University Town Hall Meeting on Unionization on Friday Feb. 5th, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m, in 180 PLC. |
The university has created a website on unionization and has sent various emails with "neutral" information on unionization. The information provided has only told part of the truth and has been misleading on a number of counts. In this article, which is under development, we will dispel the myths surrounding what dues will be, fair share (also called agency fees, card check, and other matters.
|
Senate Town Hall Meeting on Unionization
There will be a Senate Town Hall Meeting on Unionization on Friday, February 5th, from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in 180 PLC. Panelists will discuss the process by which unionization is considered, the employee groups that are involved, the legal issues surrounding unionization, and the impact unionization might have on these groups. Linda King (Associate VP for Human Resources), Doug Park (Assistant General Counsel), Mike Tedesco (Adjunct Professor, Labor Law), Gordon Sayre(Professor of English, United Academics) will be panelists and Senate President Nathan Tublitz (Professor, Biology) will be moderator.
|
Currently there is a two-tiered, double ballot requirement for conducting representation elections among OUS faculty. This requirement for university employees differs from the how elections for all other state public employees are conducted. SB 989 will clean up the language in the Oregon Revised Statute that created this inequity for faculty. Click on the article title to read more.
|
PERS currently has assets to pay only 75% of liabilities. In a meeting on January 29, 2010 the Board took steps to blunt the impact of the upcoming employer rate increases.
|
Ballot Measure 66 passed with 54.2% of Oregonians voting Yes and 45.8% voting No. Ballot Measure 67 passed with 53.7% of Oregonians voting Yes and 46.3% voting No.
Ballot Measures 66 will raise personal income taxes for individuals with adjusted gross income of $125,000 or more and couples with adjusted gross income of $250,000 or more. Ballot Measure 67 will increase the corporate minimum tax from $10 to $150 and increase the marginal tax rate for corporate profits over $250,000. The Oregon Legislature passed these measures during the last session, but subsequently they were referred to the January 26th ballot. Click on the title to read the full article. |
|
Lost Trust (at the University of California)
This article in Inside Higher Ed reports that University of California President Mark Yudof declared a financial emergency in the summer of 2009 at a time when there were increased revenues in every category of the budget. In fact the UC system lent the state $200 million. When reporters asked Yudof how he could lend the state money at the same time he was cutting salaries, reducing enrollment, and laying off non-tenured faculty, he responded that when the university lends money to the state, it turns a profit, but when the university spends money on teachers’ salaries, the money just disappears.
There are now more administrators in UC system than faculty members. Read the full article here. |
Oregon State University is proposing furloughs for faculty. The
proposal drafted by two Senate committees was discussed at a meeting of the
Faculty Senate on 11/12/09 and was voted on and approved at the 11/19/09 Senate meeting. See this article for a copy of the proposal and additional materials, including a letter by the OSU Chapter of the AAUP urging faculty to accept pay cuts only if there was a guarantee that the cuts would save positions. OSU administration reported at the Dec. 10th Senate meeting that 3 - 4 positions would have to be created to implement the furloughs and that faculty will have to report their furlough days to supervisors. OSU recently announced the creation of a new Vice President position to head research.
|
This article summarizes contract negotiations and salary reductions at the OUS campuses as of 12-17-09.
|
|
Reflecting on the importance of education to "lift us up in life," U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in his column in the current issue of the Baltimore Afro-American praises AFT executive vice president Lorretta Johnson as a heroine in the field.
|
|
A dozen nurses, paramedics and EMTs who are members of the AFT-affiliated Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (VFNHP), as well as doctors and an AFT national representative, are leaving for Haiti on Jan. 20 to provide much-needed medical assistance for the victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake. Members of the medical team work at Fletcher Allen Health Care, an alliance of the University of Vermont's medical and nursing schools.
|
When you go to the AFT's public Web site, you will find a new, improved and totally redesigned site. The redesign—the first in more than five years—involves more than just an updated, more attractive design. The site includes improved navigation and lots of new features that not only will make it easier to find what you're looking for but also to share your voice and opinions on important issues in a variety of ways. One thing you will notice is the prominence throughout of AFT members' quotes and faces.
|
