UO Student Workers declare intent to strike April 28

If UO Student Workers don’t reach an agreement with the university this week they will go on strike Monday, April 28. The union delivered a letter to the administration stating that last Wednesday after a practice picket, in addition to their official filing with the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Both sides have been bargaining for 11 months and entered state-mediated sessions on Jan. 7. While over a dozen tentative agreements have been reached, they still remain disparate on pay and resident assistant roles, among other issues.

Over a hundred student workers showed up to the practice picket on Wednesday to let the university know they are serious about taking action for a fair contract. The practice picket and rally were also attended by allied unions such as UA and GTFF. UA says that students had their backs in landing a contract and now they will stand alongside them calling on the university to properly come to a bargining table on all issues.

“There are 4,000 undergraduate student workers on this campus. If you stand together and take what is yours, you will win,” said Collin Heatley, GTFF VP for External Relations

UOSW bargaining team members have spoke to not only the seeing eye to eye with the university on issues but administrators not listening and respecting them. One anecdote Ashton Pressman, co-lead on the bargaining team, told rally attendees on the steps in front of the business school Wednesday, is that at the begining of bargaining they introduced a pay structure and it is only now that they are saying it is something that could work.

“The university continuously says that the purpose of student employment is to enrich student workers’ lives. Although I’m sure there are jobs that are very life enriching and important valuable experience, enrichment is not gonna pay our fucking rent,” Pressman said.

According to the university’s human resources page, the two sides met in mediation last Thursday, and have upcoming sessions scheduled for this upcoming Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.