Oregon’s seven public universities have reached a tentative labor agreement with the union that represents classified staff.
The new contract would last five years and would cover about 4,600 workers with the Service Employees International Union. Classified staff work in a broad range of roles but don’t include professors.
The deal includes a one-time bonus payment of $1,500 for some employees who had to work on-site during the initial months of the pandemic when the universities held nearly all of their classes remotely.
The agreement also boosts starting wages to at least $15 per hour for all classified employees across the university system. The proposal was reached by bargaining teams for the schools as well as the union. It now goes before union members for ratification.
“We are deeply appreciative of the contributions that these employees provide each day in supporting the education and lives of students, as well as their work in helping to advance the research and community service programs that Oregon universities provide throughout the state,” said a statement released by the seven university presidents (or interim president, in the case of OSU).