The likelihood of professors going on strike at Portland State University rose this week after the University Administration and the faculty union each released their final offers for a fair contract. The resulting documents from each party conflicted on several key issues, including salary increases and parts of the layoff policy, prompting the union to release a statement urging all members to vote yes on authorizing a strike.
The University Administration sent a statement to PSU Vanguard on March 4 addressing the situation.
“Portland State University recognizes the vital contributions of its faculty and academic professionals…” The University Administration stated. “Last week, the University provided its best and final offer that embodies the value we place on our faculty and academic professionals and the important roles they play in teaching, research and engagement.”
On Tuesday, March 4, Portland State University-American Association of University Professors (PSU-AAUP) released a statement on its website announcing its disapproval of the University’s final offer.
“Unfortunately even after over 170 hours of bargaining, mediation and impasse, Administration is resisting making meaningful changes to layoff protections or respecting shared governance,” the statement read.
On Feb. 20, after seven months and over 170 hours of bargaining, PSU-AAUP filed for an impasse—a tactic that is employed when negotiations break down between two bargaining parties and they are unable to move forward.
An impasse cannot be filed until both groups have undergone at least seven days of mediation without re-establishing productive negotiations. It is a final resort before a union goes on strike.
“We had seven days of mediation, and many of those days were 9, 10, 12 hour days where we were trying to come to agreement…” said College of Urban & Public Affairs librarian and PSU-AAUP President Emily Ford. “After the end of seven days, Administration wasn’t moving.”
On Feb. 28, both parties published their final offer for a fair contract. Both parties had one week from the announcement of the impasse to put together their closing deal.
“PSU has been bargaining in good faith throughout the process and has brought several innovative solutions to the table,” the University stated. “We believe our final offer is comprehensive and respectful of the significant and vital contributions made every day by our AAUP-represented colleagues.”
With those contracts now officially published, a 30 day cooldown period has been triggered, during which both parties can continue to bargain under mediation—it will end on March 29. After that, the University may decide to impose its contract upon the faculty. If the faculty disapproves, then they are legally permitted to go on strike.
When asked what a faculty strike would look like, Ford said the impact on campus life would be drastic.
“I’ll be honest with you, I hope it doesn’t come to a strike. But if workers strike, it’s because Administration is forcing us to,” Ford said. “We’re working with students everyday, the people in this bargaining unit are advisors… financial aid counselors… mental health counselors at SHAC… your professors… I think that the mission critical parts of the University will, in effect, stop.”
According to a press release from PSU-AAUP, the day the impasse was filed, members were “signing strike pledges and gearing up for a potential strike should the Cudd Administration continue to delay bargaining.”
One of the key issues cited by the union was a perceived lack of shared governance between administrators and faculty bodies. The University released its own statement shortly after the final offers were published, addressing the differences between the two contracts. In the statement, the University clarified its position.
“The University does not believe it is appropriate for the AAUP contract to impose shared governance processes,” the statement read. “The CBA [definition] governs employment relations, not shared governance.”
In the final contract offers, the faculty and Administration disagreed with some of their policies toward layoffs. One area of contention is whether or not a laid-off professor’s workload should be redistributed among their former colleagues. PSU-AAUP outlines that the University should not shift the workload to existing professors within two years of the employee’s termination, whereas the University’s final contract struck any mentions of the offer.
The two contracts also differed on layoff notice periods. For employees with over six years of service, PSU-AAUP demands a maximum notice period of one year. PSU is offering a maximum of 210 days.
The contracts also differed in their policies toward salary increases and cost-of-living adjustments. Both documents can be found on the Oregon Employment Relations Board website.
“While both the union and PSU have submitted “final offers” as required by Oregon law, the University is committed to continuing negotiations and resolving the contract fairly and responsibly so we can move forward together,” the University stated.
In an email sent to Vanguard on March 4, Ford stated:
“The next two weeks are critical and it’s up to Administration whether we move to strike or not. We have two bargaining sessions scheduled, March 11th and March 18th. If Administration does not meet PSU-AAUP with what it needs, then the membership may walk out as early as March 31st… If we are forced to walk out on strike to create working conditions that support learning conditions for students, we will.”
