2020 Negotiations

The CGE and University bargaining teams exchanged a total of 9 written counterproposals and a letter of agreement at this virtual bargaining session. CGE offered counterproposals to following articles – Tuition (Article 12), Summer session (Article 13) and Sick Leave (Article 30). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – Salary (Article 11), Grievance Procedure (Article 18), Evaluation (Article 15), Insurance (Article 28), Housing (Article V), Mandatory and Paid Training (Article X), and a Letter of Agreement on Childcare and Housing. Tentative agreement was reached on Sick Leave (Article 30). The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 20.

Bargaining teams for the Coalition of Graduate Employees (CGE) and the University exchanged a total of 10 written counterproposals while meeting remotely at the virtual negotiating table due to the pandemic. CGE offered counterproposals to following articles – No Strike or Lockout (Article 6), Evaluation (Article 15), Statutory Compliance (Article 27), Transportation (Article 22) and Insurance (Article 28). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – No Strike or Lockout (Article 6), Tuition Wavier (article 12), Summer Session (Article 13), Discharge and Discipline (article 17), and Sick leave 9 (Article 30). Tentative agreements were reached on No Strike or Lockout (Article 6) and Statutory Compliance (Article 27). The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 13.

Bargaining teams for the Coalition of Graduate Employees and the University are making steady progress in negotiating an updated, successor labor agreement. Teams exchanged a total of 18 written counterproposals at the bargaining session.

CGE offered counterproposals to the following articles – Term of the Agreement (Article 3), University Rights (Article 7), Union Rights (Article 8), Appointment (Article 9), Work Assignment (Article 10), Discipline and Discharge (Article 17), Grievances (Article 18), and  Sick leave (Article 30). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – Recognition (Article 2), No Strike or Lockout (Article 6), Evaluation (Article 15), Transportation (Article 22), Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying (Article 24) and Insurance (Article 28). 

During the bargaining session, the University bargaining team responded to four of the eight articles presented by the CGE and the teams signed three tentative agreements on University Rights (Article 7), Union Rights (Article 8) and Appointments (Article 9).
The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 6.

The Coalition of Graduate Employees and University bargaining teams exchanged a total of 12 written counterproposals at this bargaining session. CGE offered counterproposals to the following articles: Salary (Article 11), Tuition (Article 12), Summer Session (Article 13), Mandatory Training (Article X), Housing (Article Y) and Family Leave (Article Z). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on six articles: University Rights (Article 7), Union Rights (Article 8), Appointment (Article 9), Work Assignment (Article 10), Grievances (Article 18) and Sick leave (Article 30).

The next bargaining session is scheduled for April 29, 2020.

The university and CGE bargaining teams continue to make progress at the table. A total of 13 articles were exchanged during this session, with both parties articulating their desired interests. CGE brought counterproposals on Union Rights (Article 8), Transportation (Article 22), Nondiscrimination and Bullying (Article 24), Insurance (Article 28), Restrooms and Locker Rooms (Article 29), and Sick Leave (Article 30). The University presented counter proposals on Salary (Article 11), Tuition Waiver (Article 12), Summer Session (Article 13), Discipline and Discharge (Article 17), Mandatory and Paid Training (Article X), Housing (Article Y), and Family Leave and Policies (Article Z). 

The bargaining teams are scheduled to meet again on Friday, April 17, 2020 from 2 to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, April 29, 2020, from noon to 3 p.m., utilizing remote conferencing tools.

The CGE and University bargaining teams exchanged eight written counterproposals at the bargaining session and fourteen individuals offered testimony on behalf of CGE. CGE offered counterproposals to the following articles – Appointments (Article 9) and Work Assignments (Article 10). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – Union Rights (Article 8), Transportation (Article 22), Nondiscrimination and Bullying (Article 34), Insurance (Article 28), Sick Leave (Article 30), and Restrooms (Article 29).

The next bargaining session is scheduled for March 11, 2020.

Bargaining teams for the Coalition of Graduate Employees and the University are making steady progress. Teams exchanged four written counterproposals at the bargaining session, and multiple individuals offered testimony on behalf of CGE.
 
CGE offered counterproposals to the following articles – Evaluation (Article 15) and Grievance Procedure (Article 18). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – Work Assignments (Article 10) and Appointments (Article 9). The university bargaining team also presented a detailed estimate of the financial cost of the CGE bargaining unit proposals offered to date by the union. The preliminary projected annual cost of the CGE proposals is estimated to be $45 to $54.4 million beginning next year. For more detail on the estimated costs, please see the university’s CGE bargaining web page.  
 
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Feb. 26

The CGE and University bargaining teams exchanged a total of seven written counterproposals at this bargaining session. CGE offered counterproposals to following articles – Recognition (Article 2), No Strike or Lockout (Article 6), University Rights (Article 7) and Discipline and Discharge (Article 17). The University bargaining team presented written counterproposals on – Evaluation (Article 15), Consultation and Labor Management Meetings (Article 19), and Grievances (Article 18). Both bargaining units are in alignment regarding the extent to which eSET scores are used as a method for evaluation and achieved the first tentative agreement of the negotiations on the Consultation and Labor Management Meetings article.

The CGE and University bargaining teams presented a total of eight written proposals during the session. The CGE bargaining team presented four articles – Sick Leave (Article 30), a new article on Family and Medical Leave (Article Z), Grievances (Article 18), and Labor Management Meetings (Article 19), while the University bargaining team brought written counterproposals on the four articles, as well – Recognition (Article 2), University Rights (Article 7), No Strike or Lockout (Article 6), and Discipline and Discharge (Article 17). Through the University’s written counterproposals, the bargaining team reaffirmed OSU’s commitment to: (1) notify CGE if the University creates a new University-wide classification for graduate employees; (2) maintain existing language agreed upon by the Parties in previous negotiations related to the Graduate Assistants’ employment role should another group of employees strike; (3) continue to preserve the appraisal of academic progress and protocols within the academic units; and (4) encourage bargaining members to work with the office of Equal Opportunity and Access on issues related to discrimination, harassment, bullying and retaliation.

The Union bargaining team opened by presenting revisions to Article 6. Strikes and Lockouts, articulating that the union does not enter the negotiations with the intention of striking, but does not support individuals who work despite an ongoing strike.

Next, the Union bargaining team presented a proposal on Article 29. Restrooms and Locker Rooms. The Union stated the desire for bathrooms to be safe, accessible, gender neutral, and not located in a busy building hallway, and to be stocked with hygiene and sexual health products. As suggested by the addition of locker rooms to the article title, the Union bargaining team articulated the Union’s interest in safe, gender-neutral locker rooms being located throughout university facilities, and specifically within the Dixon Rec Center on the Corvallis campus. The Union bargaining team said that the current space provided CGE members is shared with Dixon employees and is deemed inadequate with respect to privacy.

After testimony by Union members, the discussion turned to the Letters of Agreement (LOA), which are matters negotiated between the two Parties, either during a partial negotiation re-opener or agreed to on a specific matter outside of the typical negotiations period. The University bargaining team brought a number of LOAs and expressed its desire to deactivate the LOAs and, instead address these matters within the body of the contract. The Union bargaining team responded that it does not intend to strike the LOAs, even though the Parties had previously agreed that certain letters would cease to remain active after a specific date. The University bargaining team reinforced the intent to transition concepts contained within the LOAs, when applicable, into the body of the contract and that a future counterproposal from the University would reinforce this position.

Attention then turned to Article 3. Terms and Agreement. The University bargaining team expressed a desire for a five-year contract within this counterproposal. In addition, the University bargaining team also offered a counterproposal to Article 18. Grievance Procedures. Proposed revisions expressed in this counter reinforce the principles of resolving matters at the informal stage, whenever possible. This benefits all parties as the direct supervisor can work directly with a graduate assistant to find resolution, when possible, in an appropriate timeframe. If a resolution is not identified between the graduate assistant and their direct supervisor, then an escalatory system remains available through the appropriate structure.

A number of the Union bargaining team’s counterproposals seek to include matters that would dictate academic performance conditions. The University bargaining team reaffirmed that the collective bargaining agreement covers employment issues, and shared that the University does not have an interest in having the collective bargaining agreement govern academic matters.

The parties bargain again in the new academic term. Dates and times to be determined at a later date.

The parties met for a third bargaining session. The session began with the CGE bargaining team presenting proposals on the following articles:

• Article 3 – Terms of Agreement
• Article 7 – University Rights
• Article 17 – Discipline and Discharge

As the university team did not have immediate questions, the CGE offered members the opportunity to present testimony and each team convened a caucus. Subsequent to the caucus, the CGE team presented proposals on the following articles:

• Article 18 – Grievance Procedures
• Article 24 – Nondiscrimination

The University bargaining team posed clarifying questions to the CGE team about these two proposals and indicated that it would need additional time to consider CGE’s proposals.

The University team presented proposals on the following two articles:

• Article 27 - Statutory Compliance
• Article 30 - Sick Leave

The CGE and University bargaining teams clarified the articles and Letters of Agreements to be discussed at the December 6, 2019 bargaining session. The session concluded with final testimony from CGE members.

The CGE and the University bargaining team met for a second session. The CGE bargaining team provided a second grouping of initial proposals for the university’s consideration:

• Article 2 – Recognition
• Article 9 – Appointments
• Article 8 – Union Rights
• Article 10 – Work Assignment
• Article 13 – Summer Session
• Article 15 – Evaluation
• Article 22 – Parking/Transportation

The University bargaining team indicated it would need more time to fully consider the proposals.

In addition, the University bargaining team presented a proposal to the CGE bargaining team that offered to integrate the concepts agreed to within the Labor Management Meeting Letter of Agreement with the existing Consultation article. The proposal confirms the University’s agreement to meet on a monthly basis and the ability to include five representatives to these meetings. 

The University and CGE bargaining teams met for their first bargaining session and agreed upon a set of ground rules for the negotiations. Subsequent to the agreement on ground rules, the CGE bargaining team presented their initial proposals on the following articles:

• Article 11 – Salary
• Article 12 – Tuition Waiver
• Article 28 - Insurance
• Article X – Mandatory and Paid Training
• Article Y – Housing
• Article Z  - Family Leave and Policies

The  University bargaining team posed a few questions related to the articles and indicated that they would need more time to consider the proposals presented by CGE.