After threat of strike and a series of bargaining sessions, the Oregon University System’s (OUS) classified workers and administration officials announced a tentative contract agreement on Sep. 15. The settlement concluded an all-night bargaining session and was reached just before dawn.
After threat of strike and a series of bargaining sessions, the Oregon University System’s (OUS) classified workers and administration officials announced a tentative contract agreement on Sep. 15. The settlement concluded an all-night bargaining session and was reached just before dawn.
The classified workers on campus—Portland State’s nurses, cashiers, accountants, lab technicians and custodians, among many others—are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 503 (SEIU), and considered state employees. SEIU 503 represents more than 40,000 workers in state and local government, nonprofit organizations and care facilities, and 10 percent of its members are employed by OUS.
Marc Nisenfeld, chair of the statewide bargaining team for SEIU and a development engineer for research apparatuses at Portland State, is satisfied with the result of the negotiations and with the support his union received from the campus community.
“Campus really rallied behind us,” Nisenfeld said. “ASPSU came to a rally at Western Oregon University. I think the administration listened more to the campus community.”
Union members are expected to ratify the settlement in a vote-by-mail system that will officially conclude on Oct. 12.
The greatest achievement for SEIU was winning a tenth step on the previously nine-step pay scale for the university’s classified employees. Almost one-third of OUS’ SEIU employees were topped out at the ninth step, effectively rendering their salaries stagnant for the remainder of their careers.
Other state employees won a 10th step during the last bargaining cycle in 2009.
“[OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner] chose not to do it when Kulongoski did it,” Nisenfeld said. Instead, OUS’ SEIU employees accepted “shared sacrifice” in the face of what appeared to be dire financial straits for the university. The SEIU contract for the last biennium included unpaid furlough days, no cost-of-living adjustments and a pay freeze.
The tentative contract settlement for the upcoming biennium includes fewer furlough days and two cost of living adjustments. A 1.5 percent adjustment will take effect on Dec. 1 and a second, 1.45 percent adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Portland-area cost of living prices have risen 2.6 percent in the last 12 months.
Another major change to the SEIU contract this biennium is healthcare. Governor Kitzhaber requested that all state employees begin to pay 5 percent of their health insurance premiums, and the employee contribution was debated and agreed upon during bargaining with the Department of Administrative Services. DAS reports directly to the governor and negotiates benefits, cost of living adjustments and healthcare with all state agencies and their unions.
SEIU bristled at the 5 percent employee contribution mandate, and proposed instead contributions figured as a percentage of salary.
“We were really taking a lot of hits at the plan level,” explains Paul McKenna, senior researcher at SEIU 503. The Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB) had made major changes to the available health plans, including increasing the out-of-pocket maximum by 50 percent and dropping coverage for procedures like wart and bunion removal. Because PEBB decisions are independent and non-negotiable, the only opportunity to try to renegotiate the increased healthcare costs was in bargaining sessions with DAS.
“For a low-paid worker, that contribution might be 3 percent of their salary, whereas for a manager it may be 0.5 percent,” said McKenna. “We felt it was more equitable.”
“SEIU was the only union out of 32 that proposed the percentage of salary concept; all others were looking at a percent of premium, which is the usual and customary way for employees to contribute to their insurances,” said Thomas Perry, State Labor Relations Manager of DAS. “Other unions told the state, in very clear terms, that the higher paid employees had no interest in subsidizing the lower paid people’s insurance premiums.”
Even so, SEIU’s final settlement included a $40 per month healthcare subsidy for its lowest-paid members. Five percent of the premium for the least expensive healthcare and dental plan, for a single person, is $47.27 per month.
SEIU is not the only union on the Portland State campus that takes issue with the equity of the 5 percent employee contribution. The Portland State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents academic professionals and all faculty working more than half-time, will be contesting the contribution in their upcoming bargaining sessions.
“First of all, PEBB increased the costs of the employees’ healthcare plans specifically to offset the need to contribute 5 percent. It’s a double-whammy,” said Mary King, vice president of collective bargaining for PSU-AAUP. “Second, we are not regular state employees. The state pays less than 15 percent of the university’s budget. PSU is more of a business model. And we’re teaching more and more students paying higher and higher tuition, bringing in more and more research and grant money.”
AAUP was also not represented at the DAS negotiations.
“Just because the governor and the chancellor want us to, doesn’t mean we’re going to recognize that agreement,” said King.
PSU-AAUP bargaining resumes Sept. 30, with three student representatives from ASPSU to be present at the bargaining table.
