Talking Points for February 5, 2010 Town Hall Meeting, Linda King ...

TOWN HALL MEETING ON ORGANIZATION
February 5, 2010
Remarks by Linda King, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
I appreciate the opportunity to be part of this panel today to discuss this very important
decision for faculty and officers of administration. Because the university is considered a state
agency, university administrators may not interfere with the formation of an employee
organization/union.
Please do not construe this approach as disinterest, however. I want to assure you that
university leadership cares deeply about this issue and view it seriously. Many administrators
hold dual posts as faculty members and administrators.
We have and will continue to provide information via messages and the website to help you
make the best decision for yourself. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions
or have suggestions for information for the website that you and your colleagues would find
useful. I will post my notes for this session on the website.
Question 1: Which groups are in/out of the union?
• The website for United Academics states that it wants to organize “all teaching faculty,
researchers, librarians, and non-managerial officers of administration.”
• Under PECBA, the Oregon Employee Relations Board (ERB) was established to administer
and enforce the statute. In that capacity, ERB decides what is an “appropriate bargaining
unit,” and generally tends to prefer more inclusive units. The union could change its mind
and try to organize some sub-set of the larger group, but again the ERB would have to agree
to that smaller unit.
• PECBA excludes supervisory, managerial and confidential employees from collective
bargaining rights. Definitions:
o A supervisory employee is someone having the authority “to hire, transfer, suspend,
layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or
responsibly direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend
such action.”
o A managerial employee is someone having the authority “to formulate and carry out
management decisions” or to act on behalf of management “by taking or effectively
recommending discretionary actions that control or implement employer policy, and
who has discretion in the performance of these management responsibilities beyond
the routine discharge of duties.”
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Management employees do not have to be supervisory, but the term
“managerial employee” specifically “does not include faculty members at
a community college, college or university.”
o A confidential employee is someone “who assists and acts in a confidential capacity
to a person who formulates, determines and effectuates management policies in the
area of collective bargaining.”
• Initially the university designates jobs as supervisory, managerial, or confidential in
accordance with PECBA and, as such, excluded from the bargaining unit. These
designations may be contested by the union with ERB ultimately making the
determination regarding inclusion or exclusion from collective bargaining.
Question 2: What aspects of university life are “covered” by the union?
To answer this question, we have to consider three relationships:
• The relationship between the university and the union is governed by PECBA and
relevant statutes.
• The relationship between the university and union-represented faculty and staff would
to a large extent be governed by the union contract bargained by the university and the
union. Currently this relationship is found in OUS and UO administrative rules (OARs).
• The relationship between union-represented employees and their union is governed by
the union’s constitution and bylaws.
Legal context: The relationship between the university and the union
The relationship between the university and the union is governed by state statutes concerning
bargaining between the university and the union. Oregon statues say:
• Both the university and the union have an obligation to bargain in good faith with
respect to “employment relations.”
• Issues that do not fall within the definition of “employment relations” are not
mandatory subjects of bargaining, but these issues can be bargained if the university
and the union both agree to do so.
• The obligation to bargain in good faith “does not compel either party to agree to a
proposal or require the making of a concession.”
State statutes also provide some guidance concerning what issues are considered “employment
relations” and thus are mandatory subjects of bargaining:
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• Included within the ERB’s definition of “employment relations” are “matters concerning
direct or indirect monetary benefits, hours, vacations, sick leave, grievance procedures
and other conditions of employment.” These are the mandatory subjects of bargaining.
• Subjects that are not mandatory subjects of bargaining include:
o Issues that the ERB “determines to have a greater impact on management’s
prerogative than on employee wages, hours or other terms and conditions of
employment.”
o Subjects that “have an insubstantial or de minimis effect on public employee wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.”
o Such issues as “scheduling of services provided to the public, determination of
minimum qualifications necessary for any position, criteria for evaluation or
performance appraisal, assignment of duties, workload when the effect on duties is
insubstantial, reasonable dress, grooming, and at-work personal conduct
requirements.”
Union Contracts: The relationship between the university and union-represented faculty and
professionals
The relationship between the university and union-represented employees would be governed
in large part by the contract bargained between the university and the union. Thus, it is helpful
to review union contracts covering faculty at other Oregon universities. All five have been
posted on the HR web site.
o Portland State University contract with the AAUP for academic professionals
working half time or more.
o Southern Oregon University contract with the Association of Professors, an
independent union that only exists at SOU.
o Western Oregon University contract with the AFT.
o Eastern Oregon University contract with the AFT.
o Portland State University contract with the AFT for academic professionals working
less than half time.
Although the five contracts have significant differences, there are consistencies in some areas. I
will summarize briefly the provisions that have the most direct effect on the work lives of
union-represented faculty and professionals.
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Employee payments to the union
o Each states that union-represented employees must pay the union that represents them
either via union dues or “fair share.” AFT recently increased dues at WOU by 25% to
finance organizing drives at UO and OSU.
• Management rights
o Each lists rights that continue to belong exclusively to university management, such as
the rights to hire, promote, demote, transfer, suspend, discipline, discharge, test, direct
and schedule employees and to control the use of university property.
• Types of faculty and appointments
o Each describes various categories of fixed-term and tenure track faculty.
o Each outlines the process for faculty appointments, including appointments for summer
term.
• Assignment of duties/teaching load
o Most of the contracts include definitions of normal teaching loads with language that
allows the university to assign faculty work load based on institutional needs and goals.
• Salary
o Each describes salary steps and percentage increases, if any, for each category of
represented employees.
o The new contracts at PSU and SOU call for unpaid furloughs to achieve pay reductions.
At PSU reductions range from 1.15% for the lowest-paid faculty to 4.38% for the
highest-paid. At SOU, 4.6% is the maximum amount that a faculty member’s pay may
be reduced.
• Progressive sanctions/disciplinary procedure
o Each describes the steps through which disciplinary procedures are to progress.
o Each states that employees undergoing disciplinary action have the right to request
union representation.
o Two contracts list offenses for which union-represented faculty and professional staff
can be disciplined.
• Grievance and arbitration
o Each states that grievances may only be filed concerning alleged violations of the union
contract, and may not be filed over matters related to academic judgment.
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o Each outlines the stages through which grievances proceed and the time limits that are
associated with each step.
o Each states that grievances can be taken to arbitration only with the approval of the
union.
o The PSU/AAUP contract states that the union must file the grievance on behalf of the
bargaining unit employee; the three other contracts allow bargaining unit employees to
represent themselves if they so choose.
• Professional development & support
o Each specifies how much is set aside for faculty development and travel.
o Each describes a procedure for determining how and to whom funds are to be awarded,
with management retaining the right to decide who receives support.
• Evaluations, tenure and promotion
o Each outlines procedures and timelines for performance evaluations and decisions
regarding promotion and tenure.
o Each acknowledges that university management retains the right to set performance
standards and make tenure and promotion decisions.
• Layoff and retrenchment
o Each states that university management has the right to determine when a layoff or
retrenchment is required due to financial exigency, program or discipline curtailment or
retrenchment.
o Although contracts vary slightly, the order in which personnel are laid off generally is
determined by:
a. The needs of the program or division;
b. Kind of appointment: e.g., fixed term appointments shall be laid off annual
tenure appointments, who are laid off before indefinite tenure appointments;
c. Seniority.
• Tenure relinquishment and early retirement
• Each outlines procedures for early retirement.
• Leaves
o Each describes factors determining eligibility for sabbatical leave and procedures for
awarding such leaves.
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o Each describes procedures regarding sick leave, vacation leave and other paid leaves
of absence, such as jury duty and military leave.
o Most contracts describe procedures regarding unpaid leaves of absence, which
typically are granted at the discretion of university management.
• Academic freedom and faculty governance
o The PSU/AAUP and SOU/AP contracts state that faculty bylaws will continue to be in
effect; the PSU/AFT, WOU/AFT and EOU/AFT contracts do not.
o The EOU/AFT and PSU/AFT and SOU/AP contracts state that faculty should not
introduce material into the curriculum and classroom that is not relevant to the
subjects they teach. However, neither contract indicates how this principle is to be
observed or enforced. The PSU/AAUP and WOU/AFT contracts place no restrictions
on course content.
• Outside employment
o The PSU/AAUP, WOU/AFT and EOU/AFT contracts contain guidelines related to
employment outside the university and prohibit conflicts of interest as determined
by university management.
o The WOU/AFT contract states that outside employment may not involve the use of
university equipment, supplies or facilities.
Union constitutions and bylaws: The relationship between union-represented employees and
the union
The relationship between bargaining unit employees and the union is governed by union
constitutions and bylaws. As their exclusive representative, the union makes decisions that
affect the work practices and environment of those in the bargaining unit.
Union constitutions and bylaws govern how and by whom union decisions are made. Although
there are many differences between the constitutions and bylaws of PSU/AAUP, SOU/AP,
WOU/AFT and EOU/AFT, there also are some consistent practices. No bylaws could be
obtained for PSU/AFT. These are available on HR website.
Topics covered in these documents:
Membership
• Membership in good standing is contingent on timely payment of union dues and fees.
• Only members have any voice in union affairs or can hold union office, and non-members
may be excluded from union meetings.
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Executive Council
• Elected by the membership, officers comprising the Executive Council have the authority to
govern the local union by setting policies, creating committees and appointing their
members, spending union funds, and hiring union employees and setting their wages and
benefits.
Committees
• Standing committees are appointed by the Executive Council.
• Local union committees typically include:
o Bargaining Committee
o Elections Committee
o Grievance Committee
o Membership Committee
o Communication/Political Action Committee
Grievances handling
• Union members who act as representatives for other members filing grievances are
selected by the union executive council or by vote of union membership.
Contract ratification and strike vote
• Members of the union’s bargaining committee are appointed by the Executive Council.
• Proposed contracts are ratified via secret ballot by a majority of the members who
participate in the vote.
• Authorization for the union to call a strike is done via an open vote of the members, not a
secret ballot vote.
Quorum:
• Quorum ranges from 10% - 25% of the membership.
I hope you will check out the websites established to provide you information about this
organizing effort.
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