Email on 4/25/2012:
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United Academics of the University of Oregon and the University of Oregon is posted on the Human Resources website.
The MOU describes the agreement reached by the United Academics and the University. The bargaining unit agreed to by the parties is set out in paragraph 1. The University’s agreement to recognize United Academics as the exclusive representative of this unit is conditioned on the Employment Relations Board’s certification that the Union has obtained signed cards from a majority of this unit supporting union representation. We have submitted a revised list of bargaining unit members (called an Excelsior list) to ERB to allow for this certification.
The Union and the University agreed on approximately 230 faculty members who are excluded from the bargaining unit, including Deans, Provosts, Department Heads and others with supervisory responsibilities. Those faculty members are listed in Exhibits A and B to the MOU. Once ERB certifies the bargaining unit, we will next identify those on the Excelsior list whom we believe to be supervisors as defined by Oregon law. As the MOU describes, the Union and the University have agreed on a shortened process through which additional supervisors who will be excluded from the bargaining unit will be determined. We are working on the details of this process.
Once we have resolved the question of which additional faculty members will be excluded from the unit, we will begin negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement. The President will appoint a bargaining team which will likely include our legal counsel and several others representing the various constituencies in the bargaining unit to represent the University at the negotiation table. The President has final authority to agree to a contract.
If you identify names of faculty who are seemingly not included in the appropriate listings as inside or outside the bargaining unit, please e-mail general counsel at [email protected]
This new strategy is divide and conquer. Berdahl and Bean will exclude the faculty with grants, administrative experience, involved in research centers, and so on. The union will then consist of the least well paid faculty.
The administration will play one group against the other, rewarding the PI’s and administrative brown-nosers while playing tough with the union members and calling them disgruntled losers.
A classic strategy, and hard for the union to defeat. They took the deal because at least they still get most of the dues.
Solidarity will never defeat self-interest. You can bank on that.
Eugene Debs.
Unionization IS self-interest. Plus ideology. In any case, right now all parties involved need to shake out a more-or-less workable layout…
Are many business school professors being excluded as PIs? If you’re making the argument that they’re pulling highly paid people out of the union, I don’t think science professors are really at the tippy-top.
I’m going to guess that there will be people in the union who make 150K+ and people who have supervisory positions who won’t be in who make 50k and below.
It might not be perfect, but it’s how the labor laws work.