Labor advocates are asking the University of Oregon to give two former union leaders their jobs back.
Last spring, the university sent a layoff notice to Mike Urbancic, an economics professor who was serving as the outgoing president of United Academics of UO.
That summer, Mae Bracelin, the interim president of UO Student Workers, learned she wasn’t being reappointed to her job in a university dining hall.
The pair were among hundreds who’ve faced job loss amidst UO’s efforts to reduce its spending.
Now, more than 500 people have signed onto a petition demanding the university “address and correct” the decisions, reinstating Bracelin and allowing Urbanic to keep his position.
“When the UO fires a union president, they're not just firing another worker,” said Michael Dreiling, a sociology professor at UO and petition backer. “They're firing a representative of a collective.”
Dreiling said the dismissals may be retaliation. But he said even if that wasn’t UO’s goal, the school has still undermined the unions’ democratically-elected leadership and the public’s trust.
Dreiling said Urbancic, who does not have tenure, is a devoted professor who teaches hundreds of students in large classes, while going above and beyond to host game nights and other extracurricular activities.
“The idea that this was a fiscally smart move on the part of the university is absurd,” said Dreiling. “This was a hit not just on the economics department and the ability to cover these classes, which it was. It's also a hit on the kind of commitment we want to see in our colleagues.”
Bracelin said she couldn’t prove retaliation had happened. But she accused UO of “vindictiveness” in its decision to cut—according to the union’s estimates—around 300 student workers shortly after contentious union negotiations.
Last April, student workers went on strike for more than a week. Faculty came within hours of a potential strike in March, but they reached a deal in the final hours.
“It's difficult for me not to think that the reason that such emphasis was put on cutting student workers is in some way connected to the fact that we had gone on strike a couple of months ago,” said Bracelin. “We had stood up for ourselves, much to the annoyance of upper administrators.”
In a statement by email Tuesday, University of Oregon spokesperson Angela Seydel denied accusations of retaliation, although she said she couldn’t speak on decisions about specific employees.
“Like many public universities, UO has faced substantial budget challenges,” said Seydel. “Those challenges require difficult decisions, but they were not based on an employee’s union involvement or other protected activity.”
Neither United Academics nor UO Student Worker have taken legal action alleging retaliation by the university around these particular dismissals.
The petition invites the university’s administration “to rise and meet us in reconciling this breach” of trust.
