The University of Oregon’s graduate employees union has declared an intent to strike if it doesn't reach a deal on a new contract by Nov. 16.
The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation represents around 1,200 student employees. This includes research assistants, graders, and instructors teaching some classes, labs and discussion sections.
The union is currently negotiating with UO for a new contract. But Amelia Cuomo, a co-chair for GTFF’s bargaining team, said they’ve been unable to reach agreement on some core financial issues.
98% of participating union members voted this week in favor of a strike, according to a union press release early Saturday morning.
Cuomo said if workers hit the picket line this month, it could slow down grading or force the university to cancel classes in the middle of Fall Term.
“Coming towards the end of the term is grading crunch time,” Cuomo said. “Students want their final grades. They have midterms and final exams that they're taking. And if we go on strike then, withholding all of that information is a more powerful strike.”
The university and union’s disagreements center on healthcare, job security, and salaries.
UO is asking employees to pay for a larger percentage of their health insurance. It says the union's latest insurance plan has increased the school’s annual costs by $1.6 million.
Meanwhile, the union is asking the university to form a workgroup to lower healthcare spending in the future. But in the meantime, it wants UO to take on a larger share for the rest of this fiscal year.
Cuomo said the costs of renewing the insurance plan haves increased due to broader economic factors and union members tapping into their benefits more heavily.
“It's a big unknown how much these costs are going to increase by, and somebody has to take on that risk,” she said. “GEs are in a less financially stable position.”
Cuomo said the union also wants to preserve some graduate educator support positions that the university is asking for the authority to cut.
And she said the university’s salary offers don’t line up with the current cost-of-living in Eugene or potential increases in healthcare costs for members.
The university and the union are in agreement about offering no raise this fiscal year. But the university is offering two 2.5% raises in the two following years, while the union is asking for 3.5% and 4% increases.
The parties have been in negotiations for eight months, and have been in state-led mediation since September.
UO and the union previously reached a deal in 2024, days before a strike was set to begin. But Ava Guhama Olson, a Vice President for Communication with GTFF, said the parties had met far more regularly during those negotiations than this time around.
“This year has been a very different experience,” Olson said. “It’s been generally difficult to pin UO down.”
In an email Friday, a university spokesperson referred KLCC to a Nov. 6 statement on its bargaining webpage.
“The parties have had two more productive mediation sessions and have reached tentative agreement on all non-economic articles,” read the update. “The next mediation session is scheduled for Monday, November 9 and we are hopeful it will also be productive.”
Cuomo said she expects that further mediation sessions could follow.
The union’s announcement comes after UO’s classified employees union barely averted a strike earlier this year. The faculty union also reached a last-minute deal to avert a strike last year, while student workers hit the picket lines for more than a week.
