Bargaining Recap, January 8

After a hopefully restorative winter break, PSUFA’s bargaining team arrived  back at the bargaining table for another full-day session dedicated to receiving a fair shake on the economic conditions governing our labor, our professions, and our careers. The day was mostly contentious but there were some notable victories.

Firstly, the session began with a consensus check and tentative agreement on Articles 3 and 4. Article 3 now incorporates the language of House Bill 2016, which requires PSU to provide contact information for new adjuncts. This allows us to better organize and help our new members get situated. Article 4 sets up an orientation event for all new adjunct hires. This is something that PSUFA has sought for years since many adjuncts are offered little information about how to connect with their campus community. We hope these victories will help our union grow and offer us a chance to foster a sense of belonging at PSU for new employees. It was a positive note prior to the more thorny negotiations later in the day.

Another bright spot at the table was potential access to the so-called staff fee privileges that are currently available to full-time employees. This would allow some adjuncts and their family access to taking courses at Portland State for a significantly reduced cost.

Our presentation of an updated economic package and the continued discussion around compensation and adjunct inclusion in departmental meetings dominated the rest of the day. Our package was a response to last session’s bargaining, but we made sure to present it in context. Firstly, $30 million in additional federal relief has been slated for PSU, and Governor Brown’s recommended budget contains no major cuts for higher education. We then reminded Admin of the importance of adjunct labor to PSU’s financial health. We relayed the fact that adjunct faculty are paid approximately $1 of every $4 in revenue we generate. (Revenue generated from adjunct-led classes is approximately $60 million; expense to the university is around $15 million per academic year.)

Startlingly, and without a rationale we could determine, PSU counter-offered an economic package totalling less money than the package they presented in mid-December. This seems both punitive and verging on regressive bargaining. “Regressive bargaining,” or regressive proposals during bargaining, is when one party makes a proposal that is less advantageous to the other party than a preceding proposal. This is unlawful at worst and bad faith at best, and we will not tolerate this tactic.

Within our updated economic package, PSUFA continues to demand PSU put money behind our stated and shared interest in greater adjunct inclusion in departmental meetings, activities, and governance. PSU insists simply encouraging departments and educating our supervisors will be sufficient. The reality of past efforts of adjunct inclusion—specifically the perceived exploitation when department’s “require” inclusion without offering extra-instructional wages—illuminates PSU’s offer as well-intended but not meaningful or realistic. PSU Departments are already operating under increasingly tight budgets, and encouraging inclusion with no meaningful offer of support, or recognition of PSU’s fiscal responsibility, is not tenable. We will continue to push for this shared goal. 

Discussion also continued on PSU’s offer of a “Length of Service” pay, compared to PSUFA’s suggested $10/credit pay raise after every two years of continuous teaching. PSU countered, instead, with a one-time bonus of $100 for less than five years’ service, $250 for five to 10 years, $400 for 10 to 15 years, $550 for 15 or more years. Adjuncts who have been serving their institution for years, many for decades, deserve continued pay increases and not a one-time pay-off. PSUFA, however, will not dismiss this offer entirely as “money is on the table” but we are committed to building a more equitable and sustainable pay structure. For example, with regard to minimum adjunct salaries, the current rate is $1043/credit. PSU suggests a raise of $50/credit split over two years (Fall 2021 and Fall 2022). PSUFA suggested a $35/credit increase in Fall 2021, and $25/credit increase in Fall 2022.

In the next bargaining session we will continue to point out the gaps between their values and their actions. Our demands are simple and we will not shy away from our desire for fair compensation and greater inclusion, interests they claim to share. We deserve no less.

Our next bargaining session will be Friday, February 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please join us as an observer! Sign up here.

Bargaining Recap, December 17 & 18

Bargaining started off promisingly, with PSU and PSUFA reaching a tentative agreement on Article 3, Information on New Members. Both sides discussed creating a list of current adjunct office spaces and info for new hires, and PSU and PSUFA came to a tentative agreement on this article. Next, PSUFA agreed to minor Preamble changes for our potential Collective Bargaining Agreement. We hope this Preamble provides a documented, shared beginning to PSUFA and PSU’s commitment to addressing and ending professional inequities in higher education. This effort and tentative agreement provided some needed levity to a potentially laborious day of negotiating. 

Our negotiations and bargaining then moved to Article 7, which covers Member Rights. Progress was made, and PSUFA will continue to push for adjunct voice and inclusion within departments. It is far past time to put commitment to action and budgetary consideration. PSU has recognized, as far back as 2015, that this is a top priority of PSUFA. Since adjuncts teach the most credit hours of any teaching unit at PSU, it makes obvious and transparent sense for us to have a say in departmental decisions that greatly impact our careers, our labor, and our research and students—and doing so will benefit both departments and students and PSU. 

Bargaining moved on to Article  8: Assignment Rights and Reappointment. We made clear that, absent major pay raises, this Article was essential to PSUFA members. This Article will eventually outline who will be, and how we will be, assigned classes and therefore have our assignment rights contractually fulfilled. We were and are not willing to rush bargaining on this essential piece. We cannot say this was met with an enthusiastic response, but it did emphasize our commitment to this article and that more time, even bargaining through January, will be necessary. We established, consequently, a subgroup process to continue this work, with more bargaining in January with full quorum. 

We then turned to bargaining about economics; it became clear that PSU will need to concede more economically if we are to come to even a tentative agreement. PSU countered PSUFA’s proposal of a $10/credit raise after two years of service with a one-time bonus for adjuncts based on length of service. PSU did extend this “length of service” to even our new members who have not yet reached one year of part-time employment. We are not yet entirely sold on this offer, and will continue to work on our counter to this offer throughout the end of the year. 

Next we discussed PSUFA’s three benefit funds (Emergency Assistance, Professional Development, Education). PSU countered PSUFA’s recommendation of increased funds with an offer of no increase in funding. And in place of offering adjuncts dedicated financial support to attend department-level meetings, PSU proposed $100 gift cards for participation, given to departments to distribute in some way. In other words, another stop-gap measure instead of the structural changes in revenue that adjuncts deserve and need. PSUFA is committed to our economic package and we will continue to push hard for our entirely reasonable package and proposal in its entirety. Our labor deserves nothing less. 

We look forward to continuing discussions on the entire Collective Bargaining Agreement. In January, we will bargain almost exclusively on Article 8 and economics. Far and away, this is the issue adjuncts want to see most changed. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support as we continue our collective efforts. 

You can make a major difference with two minor actions: 

1. Make certain all your respective colleagues are members, or are aware of our effort. Please share this post or any of our bargaining updates with your fellow faculty members, and ask your fellow adjuncts if they are members of the union. 

2. Join us at the bargaining table by observing! Not only will you be able to watch these conversations over basic work issues come to life, you’ll also be in a live chat room (using Slack) with other observers and the PSUFA bargaining team. Our next session won’t be until January, but you can check psufa.org/observer for updates. 

Have a happy and well-deserved winter break,

PSUFA

Bargaining Recap, December 4

We arrived at the virtual bargaining table alongside PSU with hopes that beginning the day on certain non-economic issues would help us move in a productive direction. We began by addressing Article 3, Union Rights and Privileges. PSU presented their latest thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. Primarily, PSU found that our estimation and need of “Worksite Location” being the in-person or online classroom space was neither accurate nor achievable for their reporting requirements. Our disagreement on the definition of “Worksite Location” took the majority of our time previously allotted to discussing other non-economic items at today’s table. While it might not sound like a major impasse, PSUFA is entitled under Oregon House Bill 2016 to give reasonable access to you, our members, including the ability to meet at these regular, worksite locations. 

HB2016, for those not familiar, is an Oregon House Bill inspired by and in reaction to  the Supreme Court’s Janus vs. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31. Janus radically curtailed union rights and privileges. The Oregon House, in their wisdom, legally framed our current rights with this Oregon bill and PSUFA requested PSU provide us the classroom worksite information each term in order to fulfill that legal obligation. The ability to find and support our bargaining unit members is crucial to welcoming new faculty to PSU, reducing isolation of adjuncts, and more effective organizing. It was distressing to hear PSU statements, which we believe illuminated actual opposition to effective organizing. We were also reminded of the general lack of attention adjuncts receive from PSU, as employees and dedicated laborers.  

This was further demonstrated when PSU categorized our “Worksite Location” as “Portland.” Their justification was, in essence, so they could produce an “accurate report” when, and if, they decide to follow the legal requirements of House Bill 2016 as presented by PSUFA. We did not reach even a partial agreement on the issue, but will work toward language that fulfills our legal rights and will pursue other remedies if needed. After no further movement on the subject, we turned our discussion to economics. 

PSU presented an updated economic package similar in total cost to their initial package presentation. They did craft minor alterations in their offer suggesting slightly higher per-credit increases—ones that would not go into effect until a later time. They also offered a pool of money for a one-time “Length of Service” bonus to be distributed in the 2020-21 Academic Year. We are interested in the marginal movement, but reiterated that if PSU and PSUFA share an interest in creating a more sustainable, equitable institution, the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers need to be offered a fair wage and fair economic package, which honors the substantial and ongoing contributions to the University. 

After reviewing PSU’s updates, PSUFA unveiled our economic package with fuller details on the entirety of our needs. In past full bargaining sessions, PSU had maneuvered around considering “packages,” but then presented exactly that in our last full bargaining session. We met them in this effort, but it wasn’t as appreciated as we had hoped. PSU expressed alarm at the extent and scope of our detailed economic needs and our plan to arrive at parity with full-time colleagues. We are committed to our package; although we fully understand PSU is not agreeing to any of our inclusions so far, we believe we honored our actual, material needs as they exist in reality.

We look forward to continuing discussions on the entire Collective Bargaining Agreement and especially economics during our next full bargaining sessions on December 17 and 18. Join us by signing up to be a bargaining observer here! 

Bargaining Update, November 20

Much of the day’s session was dedicated to economics, but we started negotiations by agreeing to discuss a proposed “letter of agreement” regarding adjunct participation on select Faculty Senate committees. When this issue was last discussed in subgroups, we seemed close to consensus. However, today PSU brought forward a new concern that the letter of agreement (LOA)—which would provide funds for adjuncts to participate on Faculty Senate committees—would circumvent the established process of the Faculty Senate Presiding Officer asking the Provost to provide funding for Faculty Senate expenses. It was a difficult and confusing discussion, in no small part because the Faculty Senate Presiding Officer had asked PSUFA to try to negotiate for funding as part of our ongoing bargaining. While PSU had expressed a shared desire to secure adjunct involvement in some key Faculty Senate committees, they seemed to be bringing barriers to the table rather than any solutions.

After caucusing to discuss both the Faculty Senate LOA and prepare to talk economics, we returned to the table and PSU presented an economic package. Their initial offer included 2% pay increases in both Spring ’21 and Spring ’22, a small raise to the accrued sick leave hours cap, and no other changes. This amounts to an average of $262,000 per year over the next two years, or an increase to the university’s operating budget of about 0.044%. 

We then took a caucus to discuss generating new economic options. We returned to the table to present a proposal that would move us gradually toward pay parity over the next three years; notably, we significantly reduced the cost of our total financial ask. We reiterated that we understand the university’s responsibility to be financially sustainable in uncertain circumstances, as well as the fact that sustainability is not possible when you’re exploiting a primary resource of the institution by underpaying faculty. We have a moral responsibility to move the university toward a picture of financial sustainability that includes financial sustainability for adjuncts. PSU is preparing to respond to our latest financial proposals on December 4, when we’ll also be trying to move toward resolution around Assignment Rights and Reappointment, Union Rights, and Adjunct inclusion in departments. Please join us—sign up to observe here!

Bargaining Update, November 8

The Friday before this unusual Sunday bargaining session between PSUFA and PSU saw the public release of a letter to PSU President Percy and the PSU Board of Trustees, from members of both PSUFA and our full time colleagues in PSU-AAUP, asking for economic openness and fairness in our contract negotiations. 

The letter, signed by over 600 PSUFA, AAUP, GEU, SEIU and other labor and community members, definitely made an impression. Thank you to all of our members who signed!

PSU started the bargaining session expressing their frustration with what they believed was an end run around the bargaining process, which forced them to schedule a meeting with the president to discuss the situation with bargaining. 

However, the letter itself was a response by us and our sister union AAUP to the foot-dragging by the PSU bargaining team and their unwillingness to negotiate options for salary increase and COLAs, even though these bargaining sessions have gone on for almost seven months. 

This has been a difficult year for adjuncts: many have lost classes and other work due to the pandemic, and according to a recent survey of our members, 35% of our adjuncts live at or below the poverty line. 

Both teams were able to quickly air and settle their concerns regarding the letter and moved on to what would prove to be one of our most productive bargaining sessions.

Members of the PSUFA team spoke to clarify the difficulties that many adjuncts face in terms of low pay and lack of security, and a difference in pay structure from full-time faculty that exacerbates these challenges. Non-tenure-track full-time faculty (NTTF) teach nine classes a year; adjuncts can teach up to five classes a year—we’re more than half-time employees, but we are not even paid what half-time would be for NTTF, and we don’t receive benefits on top of that. That is why our goal is per-credit pay parity with NTTF. 

PSU listed their priorities: minimizing impacts to students, sustainability, providing PSUFA an equitable contract, attracting high quality faculty, and responding to dropping enrollment.

PSUFA responded that since we teach one-third of all classes at PSU and often provide much mentoring and advising (all unpaid), our stability is tied to student success. 

Then followed a substantive discussion about the differences between the work adjuncts and NTTF do. PSU posited that the NTTF position description includes curriculum development, advising, and a less well-defined “service” to their department and the PSU community. PSUFA responded that while adjuncts are not required by contract to perform these duties, we often provide many of these duties while not being paid for it, compelled by love for teaching and our students, and pressure to perform well in our precarious positions. PSU recognized that adjuncts often provide a lot of these services and should be paid on top of their contract for it; PSUFA stated the reality that most often we are not. There seemed to be a general understanding of this reality by both parties.

The remainder of this frank discussion aimed at specifying the amount of PSUFA’s offer for pay parity with NTTF, and how it fits into the PSU budget. Our ask is for an increase of ~$100 to the current rate, to get to $1,140 per credit as the minimum adjunct salary. This increase package would total around $2 million and would raise the percentage of the total PSU budget spent on adjunct pay from 2.5% to 2.8%. We currently teach one-third of all classes at PSU (the largest teaching cohort), and are paid 2.5% of the university’s budget. 

PSU mentioned that any increase in pay would require an increase in tuition or state funding. PSUFA rejected this attempt to pit our demand for fair pay and job security against tuition and student well-being. Given the fact that PSUFA’s total financial request amounts to less money than what PSU considers a reasonable margin of error within their own budgeting process, there is no evidence that our pay is even a minor factor for setting student tuition costs. We are asking PSU to consider their current budgeting model in relation to the stated mission of the University, and to come up with creative options. 

The bargaining session ended with both parties talking numbers, economic specifics, and the possibility of a tiered implementation of any decisions. This level of specificity is exactly what has been missing from the bargaining process all year, and even though there is much work to be done, both bargaining teams should be commended for providing us with a glimmer of hope and something to build on.

Our next bargaining session was scheduled for November 20th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., though please check back here at our social media pages in case the schedule has changed.

Bargaining Update, October 29

PSUFA gathered with PSU for an evening bargaining session with continued hopes of making progress on knotted issues surrounding a future faculty orientation and onboarding, adjunct inclusion in governance, and future bargaining sessions. 

PSUFA team members presented a newly crafted Article 4: Orientation and Onboarding for potential inclusion in our Collective Bargaining Agreement, and a Letter of Agreement that creates the task force with this charge and encourages clear, deliverable results for our members. After our presentation and full review by both PSUFA and PSU we received consensus on a tentative agreement! The results include commitments to an annual collaborative orientation event, and a plan to research, create, and distribute onboarding materials that inform our members of the valuable resources, rights, and benefits available as PSU union-represented employees. 

Following this important development, we entered into discussion on potential adjunct inclusion on forthcoming Faculty Senate committees. PSUFA advocated strongly for inclusion in this forum; the University administration after some discussion stated that they “heard our interests,” and are willing to work toward resolution on this step forward. 

PSU Administration then immediately asked how our interest in including adjunct faculty in departmental meetings and governance was interrelated to Faculty Senate inclusion. They  stated they were now hesitant to continue discussing the former without also addressing the latter. This started a rather frustrating discussion about whether adjunct faculty should be welcome to voluntarily attend department meetings at all. PSU staked out an intractable position asserting it would not be possible to invite adjuncts without compensation, whereas we pointed to language in several existing departmental bylaws and in our current CBA which clearly state how adjuncts are welcome to attend department meetings, though not required. We noted it is only in the case where faculty are specifically requested or required to attend meetings they must be paid. In no uncertain terms are we advocating for less or lack of compensation under any conditions, but we hope that the benefits of inclusion outweigh PSU’s resistance to meaningful departmental inclusion and resistance to further inclusion always being associated with compensation. This is a tricky position for us to argue, but we have limited maneuvering room when PSU insists on both positions simultaneously. Our ultimate goal is a seat at the table at the site of our labor. 

We then touched on the potential rights and role of an adjunct representative at department meetings, but were unable to make progress on contractual language, despite many aligned interests on this point.

After a caucus, we returned to the digital bargaining table to set our agenda for our next bargaining session on Sunday, November 8 dedicated to economic topics! Given our experience with our prior agreed economic agenda being entirely derailed (twice) from meaningful progress by PSU’s stated confusion and endless processual questions, we proposed a very clear agenda coupled with a request for an explicit mutual understanding and commitment to that agenda. We are looking forward to diving into a vital conversation about pay, economic justice, and equity during this next session. Sign up to be an observer here!

Please join us! 

Bargaining Update, October 9 & 16

Friday, October 9

After several weeks of negotiating in subgroups on various topics and articles, we returned October 9th to the full, virtual bargaining table with PSU. 

PSUFA had high hopes of taking on the previously agreed upon agenda of topics, including the economic considerations of minimum teaching pay, cost-of-living increases commensurate with other bargaining units, and financial compensation for members whose contracts or assignment rights are violated. 

Unfortunately, due to several stated issues on PSU’s part, we were unable to fully depend on that agenda. In essence, PSU noted they were missing needed members; they felt haggard from an earlier session of bargaining with our colleagues in PSU-AAUP; they were unable or unwilling to provide detailed cost assessments to any of our previously stated interests, as agreed upon.

This was a frustrating day, and our bargaining team made that known in unequivocal terms. PSU is continually noting their goal is financial sustainability, without providing meaning to this platitude. Despite these setbacks, we were able to arrive at an understanding and commitment pertaining to our next full bargaining session. These agreed upon commitments include: 

1. To reach agreement and finalization of an article for the future collective bargaining agreement that will fully detail progressive sanctions and procedures that will, we hope, provide more clarity on a discipline system that existed in name only. 

2. We asserted for a fourth and hopefully final time that our interests are not served by “clearing” all supposedly non-economic interests while saving economic interests for one final bargaining session. (We see this as a transparent strategic maneuver that neither serves our members’ interests, nor accurately depicts how negotiations have proceeded, so far.)

3. We shared with PSU how we arrived at the “costing” of our interests and encouraged them to be ready to offer more details, considering we are using the same model PSU invented for that exact purpose. They expressed admiration of the labor we expended and how prepared we were. We expressed our hope for them to model the same in future bargaining sessions, especially since this was previously agreed upon during our September 18th bargaining session.  

4. We continued to share our research results about the state of adjunct researchers and the need for PSU to begin allocating funds so researchers might actually participate in the extension and procurement of additional research funding without working for free. PSU seemed cautiously curious about this idea. 

5. We reminded PSU that Oregon House Bill 2016 advocated for our interests in securing release time for members to work for and advance PSUFA. This was met with shared recognition of the legal requirement, but disagreement about how this would or should be paid for. We reminded PSU this was a similar stipulation already provided in our fellow union’s contract (that of AAUP). 

All in all, we ended the day of bargaining quite discouraged, but certainly not defeated. One of our team members reminded us to keep our eye on the bigger picture. We are ready, prepared, and more than willing to take on the vital economic interests of our members when PSU is able to be more fully prepared at the negotiating table.

Friday, October 16

PSU started the session stating that they were not clear on the process being used to discuss economic topics, which was at the top of the day's agenda. Rather than reaching out before the bargaining meeting to clarify the process so that we could have a productive session, they required us to spend the whole session discussing how to discuss economics. No progress was made on any topics, and the economic discussion has been pushed off for three weeks. 

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update, September 18

A long week of fires and more political mayhem seemed to affect folks in various ways, but after a quick greeting we all pledged to attempt to do our best work under the conditions we find ourselves in. We were not anticipating, of course, the death of Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the end of our day together (more on that below).

PSUFA and PSU came to the virtual table on Friday, September 18. The meeting began with discussion of contract language and the biases (inherent and implicit) that adjuncts face in their profession. PSUFA has worked diligently to include language in the contract that speaks to this reality. The intention in doing so is to pave a path forward for adjuncts to be more respected and better included at PSU. Several members of our PSUFA bargaining team were given a platform to speak about the challenges they’ve faced on this front and their difficulties reflect those of their adjunct peers. These included being invited and/or asked to attend workshops or do work without pay, the stigma regarding being an adjunct and the struggle to find full-time work, and, finally, not feeling that we have a voice in our departments’ decision-making process despite teaching the most classes at PSU. One could venture to guess that our bargaining team may have felt a bit of catharsis.

In general, PSUFA anticipated PSU to be further along in meeting our data requests, in meeting our requests for further clarification on previously drafted language, and in being prepared to specifically address our economic proposals during economic discussions. While we were disappointed, our PSUFA team leadership quickly moved to reset the agenda for the day!

PSUFA is continuing to press PSU for clear, transparent processes and documentation of new adjunct hires at PSU. As it stands, we hope to secure PSU’s commitment to regularly reporting new adjunct hires within 10 days of employment. This helps not only our effort to receive a clear roster of members and potential members, but also demonstrates PSU’s capacity for managing adjunct employee relations. This may give us confidence that potential onboarding and training of new hires might occur in a far more substantial way than is currently practiced, and is also presently being bargained over. We know, it is quite surreal to be bargaining for our own training!

PSUFA then continued to negotiate a potential Preamble to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. As previous bargaining updates narrated, we encouraged this collaborative work as one method for creating a strong statement of purpose and rationale for addressing the “adjunct crisis” in higher education as part and parcel of our collective work. We presented a longer Preamble draft to PSU in prior meetings and they responded with a commitment to this document and various edits and clarifications. We noted appreciation of their work and relatively productive edits on our now shared draft. We still disagree on the use of “bias” in the statement; PSUFA thinks “bias” is an appropriate way to predicate some of our experiences at PSU, which was met with concern by PSU because of the overall implications of that term. PSUFA strongly indicated as a full team how this is, in fact, what it feels like. We will continue to work on this document in smaller group meetings prior to the next bargaining session. 

We hoped to gain agreement and consensus on the more clear and transparent language of Progressive Sanctions and discipline at PSU. Unfortunately, after one month of consideration, PSU is still not ready (or willing) to agree on this. We do anticipate, however, a breakthrough prior to the next bargaining session. 

We also negotiated “assignment rights”: how these should function (as opposed to how it presently is variously managed by Departments);  how appointment order should work according to our more accurate assessments of the prior Collective Bargaining Agreement; and how this should be tracked. We are moving slowly through these issues and agree we are at least making good technical progress. At present, there is less disagreement on the “why” but instead PSU remains flummoxed by the “how.” 

PSUFA endeavors to continue to both educate and explain. In addition, as part of our rights, we are close to securing an agreement on a new role for adjunct faculty members to be invited to departmental or program faculty meetings. There has been disagreement on the actual role this member would perform at the meeting, but we strongly believe this marks the beginning of a sea change in “who counts as faculty?” at PSU. Specifically, PSU is opposed to adjuncts freely attending faculty meetings as unpaid observers; they instead want to shepherd a process where an adjunct faculty is selected by the department chair or supervisor and attends as a paid representative (as per our last bargaining agreement’s hard-won provision providing remuneration for extra-instructional work).

We knew the major economic discussion was on the agenda and we were prepared and ready for the difficult, meaningful discussion about wages, professional development funds, benefits, and other vital economic issues. For several months, it has been PSUFA’s priority to discuss this issue, specifically wage equity. PSU has consistently voiced how they are in a difficult economic situation, both because of COVID-19 and, generally, because of declining enrollment. 

PSUFA spent ample clarifying that despite forecasts of economic disaster, enrollment at PSU is only down 1%. Over the last five years, PSU’s overall revenue and expense budget has consistently been at odds with each other. Our colleagues at PSU AAUP, the union for the tenure-track and fixed-term faculty, prepared a chart recently included below that shows PSU has been consistently increasing in revenue, despite pleas from PSU that there has been an economic crisis. See the graph below for the totally generated revenue at PSU over the last five years (the 2019-2020 final budget has not yet been completed):

Furthermore the PSU end-of-year budgets going back to 2014-15 show a surplus for the last five years. These details can be seen below:

Source

Taking into account that adjuncts account for only about 2% of the total PSU budget, PSUFA pushed to substantially increase the already-low wages we receive. PSUFA sought PSU’s opinion on the current economic situation at PSU while planning to advocate for substantial pay increases. The process we are enjoined in, however, encourages a slower and more deliberative parsing of “shared interests” and “non-positional” bargaining. Although we have committed to this process, we still recognize the slow pace may not be helping our cause. In that light, our leadership candidly and forcefully explained how difficult it was to understand PSU’s ongoing hesitancy to “lay the options on the table.” PSU, again after detailing another “frightening” look at the financial crisis, deferred back to the idea that they need more time to “understand the process” for bargaining economic issues as we move forward.

This was frustrating for our team but, frankly, we also anticipated it and were ready with economic options and sound costing models, criticism of the incorrect enrollment rates PSU relied upon for their financial estimates (as noted above), and we questioned the endless mural of dire financial straits presented by PSU. At this point, our Facilitator encouraged us to craft a process and refined topic list for our next intensive bargaining session in October (where we now anticipate economic issues as our primary focus) and where bread and butter will set the table (we will bring the cool water and salt!)

As we worked to set the agenda for the next session, word of RBG’s death coursed through our meeting. PSUFA leadership honored this moment but also encouraged us to finish our good work for the day, which we did. Thank you for your continued support as we continue our Bargaining into Fall Term.

 In solidarity. 

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Our next bargaining session is Friday, October 9 (NOT October 2, as previously reported). Come and observe and support your fellow adjuncts as we bargain for better pay, improved working conditions, and more transparency from PSU! 

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update, September 4

On Friday, September 4, PSU and PSUFA returned to bargaining after a two-week hiatus. Progress was made, though not as much as we had hoped for. The bargaining team was able to clearly and effectively delineate important issues to PSU that will help us in the long term, which we’ll get into below. Specifically, PSUFA spoke of how adjuncts have historically been treated at PSU and outlined what we will continue to push for in terms of better treatment for adjuncts at our institution. It became clear over the four-hour bargaining session that PSU will need to pay more than lip service to adjuncts if we are to come to an agreement.

Bargaining began with PSUFA’s continued push for PSU to find a mechanism to share info on new hires. It is stipulated in the in the recently passed House Bill 2016 that employers must provide this info within 10 days of their hire. We have made considerable progress with PSU on this issue in prior bargaining sessions, and it is a particularly key one for new adjuncts. The fact that PSU has not yet shared full details on new Fall 2020 hires with us puts these adjuncts in a disadvantageous situation as they begin their work. It is not uncommon for new adjunct hires to receive little to no training on many aspects of teaching at PSU such as working with DRC, OAI, as well as learning of the benefits available to them through our union. PSUFA reiterated that this is just one step in the bigger goal of integrating adjunct faculty in a meaningful way into the PSU academic community.

We then spent nearly the entirety of the remaining bargaining session on Article 7 in our contract. Central to the discussion was the fact that we as adjuncts are often barred from department-level meetings. Of course, inclusion and meaningful participation in department meetings helps any faculty member better perform their work. Many adjuncts have expressed communication difficulties with their departments, and PSUFA believes that allowing attendance and including the perspective of adjuncts at department-level meetings would help to improve this. In prior bargaining sessions, PSU was amenable to including language that would allow adjunct faculty to attend meetings and contribute in some capacity, even if in a limited role. In this session, however, they expressed a litany of concerns, many of which PSUFA characterized as unfounded. The concerns ranged from interfering with the Senate Faculty Bylaws (there is no language there that bars adjuncts from attending meetings), to compensation (we aren’t asking that adjuncts be compensated for attendance), to concern from department chairs and faculty about having adjuncts present (our participation would help both departments to be more transparent and adjuncts to be better informed and thus, better perform our work). Several PSUFA bargaining team members acknowledged each of these points, and then dismantled them.

All in all, there was frustration today with the lack of progress made and legitimate concerns that the bargaining process is being intentionally slowed. We also voiced to PSU the need to discuss economics—specifically, pay. Our next bargaining session is Friday, September 18. Come and observe and support your fellow adjuncts as we bargain for better pay, improved working conditions, and more transparency from PSU! 

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Intensive Recap, Day 5

Read our previous Bargaining Intensive Recaps here: Day 1, Day 2, Days 3 & 4

Friday, August 21, was the fifth and final day of our bargaining intensive, and it had strong ups and downs. We’ll start with the ups: We came to agreement on an improved grievance process in Article 10 and came close to agreement on another Article, as well as provided an update on the ongoing health care task force about possible paths to accessing support for health insurance and/or health care. The second half of the day brought what looks to be the first in a series of many sobering conversations about economics. Our team members, applying bargaining strategies discussed during multiple PSU Admin requested caucuses, brought the heat as always.

Article 10: Grievances and Article 16: Progressive Sanctions

During the morning, teams were able to come to tentative agreement on the grievance process as outlined in Article 10. (The designation of “tentative agreement” means the Article is ready for membership approval and ratification at the end of the bargaining process.) We also came very close to a tentative agreement on Article 16; however, given PSU’s concerns about the application and legality of certain terms—terms they had previously suggested—we accepted that we were not ready to conclude that negotiation. The document will return to the internal group and we await PSU to agree to their own previously presented terms. 

Both Articles include expansions of the Grievances and Progressive Sanction process language (read: we now have agreed upon a step-by-step process). These improvements make it easier to protect the rights of our members during any potential complaint, grievance, or sanction. We needed clear, followable steps for both; we needed a process to not only know how but who was handling this at PSU. We feel confident that with the resolution of these two Articles, we will have secured a collegial and supportive structure to handle all sanction or grievance processes, as well as solidified our right to Union representation at every step along the way, ensuring our members receive the protections they deserve. 

Health Care Task Force Report

This joint task force is exploring strategies to ensure access to affordable health care for part-time faculty at PSU. One strategy is legislative: PSUFA has enlisted PSU to help lobby the state for an adjunct health care bill that would provide state-supported insurance for many of our adjuncts. Recent federal government attacks on health care access made it more difficult for employers to offer options while preserving our members’ right to buy subsidized insurance through healthcare.gov. The task force is working with a consultant and exploring more affordable and legally sound options. We look forward to sharing a full report with members after it is presented at the next bargaining session.

Article 7: Member Rights

There are sticking points in this Article, which teams continue to negotiate: adjunct faculty representation in departmental governance, including faculty meetings; acquisition of two-year appointments for long-term adjuncts without the need for a formal evaluation; and improvements to the professional evaluation process. 

On Friday, we heard a report from our team members on a breakthrough meeting with PSU’s Faculty Senate and AAUP (the full-time faculty union) about the issue of adjunct inclusion in governance and university-wide committee work. Key points: There is nothing in the Faculty Senate constitution that bars adjuncts from attending department meetings, and the Senate is already looking for ways to revise the narrow, distorting definition of “faculty” that includes only full-time employees working .50 FTE and above. A potential change in adjunct faculty representation at the University will be slow, but we see this as the first signs of a potentially transformative shift in recognition and inclusion. 

As a result of this meeting and our negotiations, we are looking for ways to increase adjunct inclusion in their own department faculty meetings. And at the request of Faculty Senate leadership, we plan to appoint adjuncts to serve as paid members of the Senate committee tasked with redefining the definition of faculty and investigating ways to recognize our significant contributions to the essential functioning of our institution.  

Economics

In the afternoon, the PSU team shared their costing model spreadsheet with us, which is a tool intended for the bargaining teams to test the cost of different financial options and see how the various economic components of our plans—such as raises, cost of living increases, and benefits funds—interact with each other. Our astute members noted several errors and discrepancies in both the spreadsheet and the justifications of certain costing details. After the presentation, critique, and discussion of the model, PSU immediately called for an additional caucus. 

Once the PSU group rejoined us, we asked the University to share their economic vision for our union and how they envision moving us toward pay equity. It was concerning that their response was just to tell us they have no money. 

Our team leadership pressed PSU again to state where they stood on some pretty basic financial questions: 1) Do they agree with PSUFA’s calculation of $1,178 per credit as the rate that would bring us to pay parity with our full-time non-tenure-track-instructor colleagues? and 2) How does PSU envision remedying the pay inequity between adjuncts and full-time faculty? 

PSU refused to provide any answers. They repeatedly stated they don’t have any money to offer at this time, citing drops in fall enrollment and general uncertainty about our future financial situation for their inability to negotiate. This was met with alarm and confusion by the PSUFA team members, who were unsure as to why the University would have gone through the trouble of creating and presenting a costing model if there is to be no monetary increases to consider or calculate at all. This made the earlier discussions about equity being a shared interest for PSU and PSUFA feel performative and futile. PSU did note they desired more time to think through “creative” solutions beyond money. We look forward to learning what this might even mean. 

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We aren’t giving up hope, and we too believe there are creative solutions to this underwhelming budget situation, some of which we offered during bargaining. Given the crisis and the pandemic, this is not an easy moment to be in negotiations, but we are committed to getting the best deal we can for our members! We are not giving in to intransigence, and we are not acquiescing to strategic inefficiency. 

We won’t be back at the table to address these things until September 4, but in the meantime our team will be working internally and in subgroups with the administration to make progress on a number of issues, most importantly job security and assignment rights. 

Some of the ways we plan to approach that is strengthening PSU’s accountability to honor assignment rights/credit load minimums, prioritizing adjuncts for full-time hires, ensuring timely notification for reappointment year to year, and creating fair and transparent mechanisms for tracking seniority for adjuncts instructors.

We welcome your feedback and testimony and have been very grateful for our member observers, AAUP observers, and supporters throughout this week! Thank you for reading this update. 

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Intensive Recap, Days 3 and 4

Our third and fourth days at the bargaining table with PSU management saw the opening of discussions around the economic issues that pertain to our contract. We worked collectively to identify all the financial topics and our interests in them, as well as to frame guiding questions about each one. We outlined a slew of issues for discussion from minimum salary rates and length of service recognition to researcher funding and pay for committee service. Members of the PSUFA bargaining team thoughtfully explained what’s at stake for our members with each economic issue, clearly and candidly testifying to the vulnerabilities of the lived adjunct experience and the interests we have in a more equitable and stable future. Though framing guiding questions around our economic interests occupied more time than we imagined, it did aid our effort in organizing our economic interests for PSU clearly and broadly. 

PSU noted the economic aspects of other topics being brought to the table such as improved orientation and onboarding procedures and the Professional Development, Faculty Education, and Financial Assistance benefits. They also identified how PSU’s overarching economic interests are inclusive of negotiated outcomes that result in a fair and equitable contract, while stating their perceived realities of PSU’s current economic situation and concern for fiscal responsibility. 

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Read our Bargaining Intensive Day 1 Recap here.

Read our Bargaining Intensive Day 2 Recap here.

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Much of the work of the last two bargaining days potentially lays the foundation for upcoming conversations on our pressing economic interests. Behind this groundwork is the reality that there are places where we (of course) have conflicting interests and perhaps even different understandings of what constitutes shared goals, such as equity in higher education. Still, our team is committed to conversations around these issues and toward making PSU a more supportive place for our faculty members who collectively take on the majority of instructional work.

One of the ways our team is seeking to address this goal is to create a preamble to our Collective Bargaining Agreement that builds on the existing work we’ve done with the PSU Board of Trustees and Office of Academic Affairs, who have both been supportive of the goal to improve the status of adjunct faculty at PSU. (Read our 2020 Letters to the Board of Trustees here.)

Our vision is that this statement would outline a shared commitment between our Union and PSU to continue to improve the working conditions for adjunct faculty and researchers at our University. Two members of our bargaining team presented our proposed draft of that preamble at the table, drawing powerful connections between their own experiences as part-time professors at PSU, the history of the University, and the larger national formation of adjunct labor. We all recognize that something that has been seen as nonessential (adjunct labor) has become integral to the functioning of the University, and the institution needs to change accordingly.

We are including our draft of the preamble below for you to read. Its presentation at the table started an open conversation about the role of adjuncts in University culture, which was punctuated by statements of appreciation from the PSU team for the work PSUFA had put into this. We have plans to continue these talks and work on a collective draft in the coming days.

We have loved seeing observers from our union as well as allies from AAUP joining us at the table these past few days. Several times during the session, our observers are invited into the room and recognized. We love to see your faces and have your support! You can still join us Friday, our last day of the bargaining intensive. SIGN UP HERE TO BE A BARGAINING OBSERVER.

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

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Preamble Draft

PSU and PSUFA recognize the landscape of labor in higher education, at PSU and across the country, has drastically changed in recent years. Responding to the radical declines in funding at the state and federal level, universities have countered by increasing the proportion of part-time faculty to sustain their mission but, at times, at the expense of their values. For example, adjunct faculty at PSU are responsible for teaching the largest share of student credit hours—more than tenure track or non-tenure track professors. As a result, adjuncts are essential to the operation of PSU. This preamble honors the importance of part-time faculty at our university and is an assurance that they will work with dignity. 

Public universities are vital to a democratic society. As an academic community, we strive to promote democratic ideals, engage in vital conversations about equity and inclusion, oppose systems of oppression, and foster a platform for marginalized community members to center their own voices and experiences. We are an intellectual body committed to identifying exploitation and inequity and working to confront our biases.

PSU and PSUFA agree to combat bias against adjunct faculty and will work toward greater inclusion and recognition of the critical work that part-time faculty perform across all departments, programs, and institutes at our University, the role they play in student success and retention, and the broad expertise they possess. Long-term academic employment and service to the University should serve as a path to further professional rank and faculty advancement for those who seek such advancement. In recognition of our adjunct faculty commitment and service to the University, PSU and PSUFA recognize all faculty should receive the same respect and collegiality as full-time and tenured colleagues. PSU and PSUFA strive to bring adjunct faculty to a state of equity with other faculty. We agree to work in partnership to improve the status of adjunct faculty at our institution because we understand well-supported majority faculty also means greater student success  and retention and a more just, more diverse, and more equitable campus community. Institutions from all sectors of society look to Universities for leadership and examples of vibrant, richly diverse, and democratic institutional ethics and behavior. We rise to this challenge—in this effort we seek to fulfill the promise of knowledge serving our city.

Bargaining Intensive Recap, Day 2

Read about Day 1 of the August 2020 Bargaining Intensive here.

We started today’s session doing some work on Article 3 (Union Privilege and Limitations) in the Data Subgroup, and on Article 7 (Member Rights) in the Assignment Rights Subgroup.

In the Data Subgroup, we are moving toward agreement on having annual Fall Adjunct Orientations, and proposed creating a joint task force to develop onboarding materials for adjuncts. 

In the Assignment Rights Subgroup, we are making a lot of progress on creating a more transparent and streamlined Professional Evaluation process, ensuring that it’s a supportive experience without negative consequences for adjuncts. There are some key sticking points around figuring out how to not disadvantage long-term adjuncts who do not participate in the Professional Evaluation process.

In the afternoon, PSU presented a general overview of the University’s current economic conditions, which include details such as the fact that enrollment was up by 11% for this summer term but fall enrollment is fluctuating between 10 and 6% down compared to last year. Tomorrow afternoon PSUFA and PSU will each present our interests for the main economic issues, which are described in Article 12 (Salaries and Payroll Administration) including raises, retirement benefits, sick leave, and funding for adjunct researchers to write grants for continuing projects. Our main interest is pay parity with full-time non–tenure track faculty. 

Don’t forget—we want our members to be a part of this negotiation process!

We love having a group of observers with us and look forward to seeing more of you over Zoom. Please join us as an observer this week! There are multiple sessions still to come, and you can sign up for an hour slot here:  
SIGN UP HERE TO BE A BARGAINING OBSERVER.

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Intensive Recap, Day 1

The first day of our five-day bargaining intensive went pretty well! (What’s a bargaining intensive? Click here.) It almost felt like a celebration of the work we did this summer in remote subcommittees. We presented what we’ve accomplished during the last eight weeks, including shared agreements and clarifying terms. We’ve almost come to full agreement on two full articles—10 and 16. That said, we anticipate more difficult conversations to start next week, when we begin to tackle economics and job security.  

Here are some details. (Don’t forget—you can always access our most recent collective bargaining agreement here if you’d like to nerd out on the specifics.):

Progress on Article 10, Grievances 

We worked together with management to further clarify and develop Grievance procedures,  establishing clear and demonstrable processes; developing a restorative underpinning to the entire Grievance process; and clarifying an early informal conversational process to proceed any formal Grievance.

Progress on Article 16, Progressive Sanctions

In this article, we worked to change language to provide a path for adjuncts to improve rather than just be disciplined. We would like to standardize these processes across departments, so that if adjuncts have difficulties (as determined by their supervisor), there are very clear steps to follow to reach resolution. We’ve also crafted a new informal restorative process that can occur prior to formal sanctions. The idea is to prioritize clear communication and adjunct support rather than outline a punitive process. 

We feel good about our progress on these two articles. Another article we worked on today was Article 3, which deals with Union Privileges and Limitations. 

Progress on Article 3: Union Privileges and Limitations

A lot of our work in this article centers around a new state bill, HB 2016, which was put forth and passed with the health and well-being of Oregon’s unions in mind after the 2018 anti-union Janus Supreme Court decision. The university must now follow this law and clarify their role in providing PSUFA access to resources and information.

Article 3 clarifies how we access information crucial to our union’s functioning—such as who our current members are at any particular point and how our dues are being collected and reported. PSU has yet to determine how they will meet the legal requirements of Oregon House Bill 2016, but they’ve acknowledged their need to find a way to accommodate the law.

In addition, onboarding, or a lack thereof, for adjuncts is a perennial complaint among our members, and something administration has continually failed us on. In the discussion of Article 3, administration committed to providing onboarding, orientation, and training for our new members, and standardizing the process across departments, which would be …. amazing.

Lastly, we want our members to be a part of this negotiation process! We had a wonderful group of observers with us for our first day and look forward to seeing more of you over Zoom. Please join us as an observer! Multiple sessions are going on next week, you can sign up for an hour slot here:  SIGN UP HERE TO BE A BARGAINING OBSERVER.

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

The Bargaining Intensive Starts This Friday

PSUFA is excited to resume bargaining this Friday, August 14. That day will kick off the first of five days of our bargaining intensive. We want you to get involved! Read on about what the bargaining intensive is and how you can get involved.

What is the bargaining intensive? 

Usually, bargaining is a weekslong process where union representatives and university representatives sit across from one another and rhetorically hash out the nature of our collective bargaining agreement. In April, we started bargaining like this over Zoom every Friday. Unfortunately, because of university furloughs, this kind of bargaining was put on hold in June. 

We didn't stop our work entirely, though. Instead, we split into subcommittees and used the time to hash out issues remotely. You can read about what we worked on here. 

Now, we are coming together for what we're calling a bargaining intensive, where we will spend five full days bargaining, from Friday August 14 to Friday August 21st (skipping Thursday, August 20). Most days will go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

What will you be talking about? 

The issues we plan on discussing are some of the issues we haven't yet been able to address yet, particularly salaries, assignment rights, benefits (including retirement and sick leave), researcher rights, and the processes around grievances. 

How can I get involved? 

We're thrilled you asked! Like previous bargaining sessions, you will be able to sit in (remotely) as a bargaining observer. In fact, we'd love for all of our members to spend at least one hour as a bargaining observer. Not only do you get to see bargaining in action, you'll also be able to give our bargaining committee feedback on how they're doing. 

You can sign up for specific times—starting this Friday!—using this Google form:

 SIGN UP HERE TO BE A BARGAINING OBSERVER

Plus! We’ll have a Slack channel (an app for connecting and chatting) where you’ll be able to talk with other bargaining observers during the session. You can ask questions, discuss what’s happening, and more. We can’t overstate how crucial bargaining observers are—it shows PSU that our union goes way beyond the people at the bargaining table, and that we’re fighting for the 1,400 adjuncts and researchers who help make PSU what it is today. By joining as an observer, you’re joining the fight for better working and learning conditions! Sign up today! 

To sum everything up: the bargaining team is about to go into an intense week, and would love for you to join!

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

July Bargaining Update

Well, it’s been over a month since our last update, when normal bargaining negotiations were put on hold due to the workshare program and administrators being on furlough. But just because the process for negotiations has been changed doesn’t mean we haven’t made any progress. 

Over the past weeks, teams have been working in remote joint subgroups on different issues to come to agreements around proposals that address different articles of the PSUFA contract. We are making progress in this new format—one upside is that we are able to work on multiple issues at a time. A downside is that we aren’t able to have all the decision-makers at the table, and due to the unstable situation and the wealth of unknowns about the future, the University is reluctant to talk about economic issues at this point.

We’ll reconvene again in mid-August for a weeklong bargaining intensive. In the meantime, we wanted to give you an update on what we’re currently working on. Here’s a breakdown from four subcommittees about how things are going.

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Data (Including Salary and Benefits)

We’ve learned a lot now that data requests (about revenue, costs, and other issues) made last November are finally being addressed. The table below contains some of the information that we’ll use to bargain for pay parity.

We’re also working collaboratively to understand the process of information flow regarding new hires across departments and how an electronic system might streamline this process so that PSUFA can connect with new adjuncts sooner. We’re working hard to ensure that the University complies with a new Oregon law (House Bill 2016, which we wrote about earlier) that states that our union will be given new employee information within 10 days of faculty being hired.

All that said, admin still cannot confirm exactly how many adjuncts teach in a single year. Knowing how many adjuncts teach at PSU is essential information; more than just knowing how many adjuncts there are, we need to know how to reach them so PSUFA can hear their experiences working at PSU and make sure their rights are being observed. We've looked at the records that PSU keeps to track assignment rights of adjuncts to make sure they have a system that works.

Assignment Rights & Evaluation

We are working collaboratively to improve the Professional Evaluation Process and ensure it is not used unfairly or for discipline. We’re also working on making transparent public records for assignment rights, so that faculty members know where they stand in terms of their employment as well as preparing proposals to create more clarity around hiring and seniority. Lastly, the administration and our team are committed to creating joint trainings to educate staff and administrators about our rights. 

Healthcare

The Healthcare Task Force is researching multiple approaches to tackling the issue of helping adjuncts access affordable healthcare. We have found a consultant with experience in insuring contingent academic workers to help us research possible group plans for adjuncts as an insurance pool. They are also helping us research other types of benefits/coverage, such as dental, vision, etc., which would be supportive but not interfere with members’ access to support through healthcare.gov or Medicaid.

We are also working with representatives of PSU, AFT-Oregon, and the State Senate to organize renewed efforts around creating and passing legislative solutions to provide affordable health care to adjuncts.

Grievances

Our goal is to clarify and streamline grievance procedures; we want to foster an environment where grievance procedures are accessible and not intimidating. We also want to make sure that there are clear processes for professional evaluations and professional feedback that are distinct from discipline. We are working on creating a new process around performance improvement as a mechanism for support and transparency in the progressive sanction/discipline process.

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Thanks for following along during this period. We’ll have more updates soon and ways to once again get our unit involved as observers. 

In solidarity,

PSUFA Bargaining Team

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update 4: Welp, Bargaining Is on Hold for Now

As you all are aware, COVID-19 has and continues to impact the ever-evolving world we live in. Despite the pandemic, the PSUFA and PSU bargaining teams were able to come together in the past few weeks to negotiate over Zoom. PSUFA made progress in putting forth various proposals to improve our working conditions, including those pertaining to Oregon House Bill 2016. This Friday, June 12 was to be the next bargaining session but it has been cancelled. While PSUFA’s bargaining team has transitioned smoothly into the online bargaining platform, details beyond our control emerged this week that will put bargaining on hold for the moment. In the paragraph below I’ll outline why, as well as elaborate on when and how PSUFA is advocating for bargaining to resume. 

Recently, PSU furloughed many employees on campus. The workers hit hardest by these cuts were those belonging to the SEIU union. These workers include technology specialists and many office workers, among others. Most of the PSU bargaining team also took furloughs and cut their hours from 40/week to 32/week. On this reasoning, they have suspended bargaining both with PSUFA and AAUP, the union for tenure-track and fixed-term faculty. PSU has pointed to August as the time to resume bargaining. We believe, though, that mixed PSU/PSUFA subcommittees can continue to hash out contract details in June and July and we will push for this action in the coming week. While it is our preference to continue negotiations over the summer, we are fully prepared and capable of resuming bargaining in August as well. 

In the next week, updates will be forthcoming on our progress in this matter. Stay tuned. 

In solidarity,

PSUFA Bargaining Team.

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update 3: House Bill 2016 and PSU

On Friday, May 15, 2020, discussion over Oregon’s House Bill 2016 took up nearly the entirety of PSUFA’s bargaining with PSU.

First, some context: There is great variation from state to state in terms of union membership. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, Hawaii and New York have the highest union membership (23.5 percent and 21.0 percent of their workers are represented by a union, respectively), while South Carolina represents the lowest (2.7 percent). In Oregon, 14 percent of workers are represented by a union. 

Like many state governments with a large percentage of workers represented by unions, the Oregon State Legislature recently drafted pro-union legislation to counter the Supreme Court’s 2016 Janus decision. House Bill 2016, a law that went into effect on January 1, 2020, was put and forth passed with the health and well-being of Oregon’s unions in mind. HB 2016 gave many rights to unions in Oregon that will help us continue to build strength in the coming years. Notably, in terms of how this affects adjuncts at PSU, the law would require the institution (in this case, PSU) to provide timely notice of new hires to the union (i.e., adjunct faculty). This harkens back to a contentious issue that we have been fighting for years in how new adjuncts are treated at PSU. 

Over the last decade, orientation programs for new hires and returning adjuncts at PSU have been nonexistent on a campus-wide level. Certain departments have chosen to undertake their own orientations but others have not. While PSUFA undertook the first orientation in many years in 2019, we were hindered in doing so because we had not been provided with a complete list of new hires. As our bargaining team outlined today, providing updated information on new adjunct hires not only supports these workers and helps them to more smoothly transition into their work at PSU but also helps improve the overall preparedness of teaching faculty and, thus, the quality of education at PSU.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon that new adjunct hires don’t know where their office is located on the first day of work or, if they are able to locate it, find that they do not have access to basics such as computers, printers, and private office space to speak with students. When new and returning adjuncts are not provided with these basic necessities, everyone and everything suffers the consequences—adjuncts, students, the quality of education provided, and the academic integrity of the institution. Adjuncts deserve better. With this recently-put-into-effect law, we have constitutional backing from the State of Oregon to improve said conditions. 

The PSUFA bargaining team communicated to PSU the importance and immediacy of these issues to current and future adjuncts. PSU was amenable to some of the changes and responded often that they would need to speak with PSU Human Resources personnel before taking next steps. There has also been a Technology Committee formed between PSUFA and PSU to work on many of the specifics in terms of data sharing collection and distribution, and several of the issues that PSUFA addressed with PSU’s implementation of HB 2016 will be discussed in this committee. PSUFA and PSU will check in on this matter’s progress during the next bargaining session on Friday, May 29. 

As always, the PSUFA Bargaining Team is working tirelessly on our behalf to improve our work conditions. Stay tuned for an update after bargaining on Friday, May 29 from 1 to 5 PM or better yet, join us in support as an observer.

 —Eli Ronick

PSUFA 3571, Chair of Membership

 Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update 2: Ground Rules, Transparency, and Information Sharing

As many of us stay indoors and use technology to communicate through work, the PSUFA Bargaining Team does so as well. Last week, bargaining continued with PSU administration through Zoom as we moved on from setting ground rules to formally advocating for changes and improvements. These include, among others, issues of clarification and transparency in information sharing that fundamentally affect the way we interact with our membership and a more clear and well-defined definition of who is in our bargaining unit. Finally, we outlined the necessity of an improved formal orientation for all new adjunct hires.

The need for an orientation is an issue at the heart of improving our working conditions. Many adjuncts have communicated to PSUFA throughout the years their frustration at not being provided with basic training for their work upon hire. This is not the first time that PSUFA has brought up this critical issue and we will continue to push for this basic right that we deserve. Adjunct instructors, professors, and researchers who are well-informed about how to effectively use campus resources are able to better support their students and their work. With this objective in mind, we established task forces with PSU administration to research what are the needs of adjuncts in terms of orientation, how much or how little information has been communicated to each of us before our hire dates, and how adjunct orientations are implemented at other comparable universities.

After each bargaining session, I will convey all the relevant information I am able so that we are all better informed about where bargaining stands. This a long process but know that the PSUFA Bargaining Team is working tirelessly on our behalf to improve our work conditions. Stay tuned for an update after bargaining this Friday.

—Eli Ronick, Chair of Membership

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.

Bargaining Update 1: Calling All Observers

Bargaining in 2020 has begun! Unfortunately, we don’t have too much to share yet. We spent our first two meetings laying ground rules and figuring out what an all-virtual bargaining session will look like. This means we’re still hashing out the details of how and when observers will join us.

What we do know is the important role observers have in the bargaining process. Being a digital observer will be different from the feeling of being physically present with us at the bargaining table, but we’re choosing to see the silver lining: A Zoom bargaining experience will hopefully create an accessible way for more members to join us throughout the process. 

We can’t overstate the value of having observers at bargaining. At every session, the bargaining team is there representing roughly 1,400 PSU adjuncts. Observers show management that we are bargaining on behalf of this broad group of faculty and researchers, and that we are all in this together. Then there’s the transparency. Over the years, members have continuously told us how being a bargaining observer opened their eyes to the uphill battle we and other PSU workers face when asking for the bare minimum of rights, pay, and protections. Lastly, it means the world to the bargaining team to not be alone. Bargaining is exhausting—mentally and physically—but being surrounded by our coworkers reminds us what we’re fighting for. 

Until we have more information about observing, we’re excited to share some custom PSUFA Zoom and D2L avatars and screen backgrounds to share with our members. (Check out this example from Brown University to see some in action!) 

It’s beginning to look like observers will not be able to use video, so we’re encouraging observers to change your Zoom avatar to the small “Adjunct at work” square. So even though we won’t be able to see your face, your presence will be felt in our wall of adjunct avatars and the number of participants at the meeting. We encourage you to use the D2L banner and Zoom background in your other work and meetings!

Ready to get started? Visit this Google Drive folder to access the instructions and images.

Our next bargaining session is Friday May 8th. We’ll be discussing union rights and how the new Oregon law HB 2016, among other things. We’ll see you back on the bargaining blog with updates!

Read all of our 2020 bargaining coverage here.