(Photo: Krystal Waldschmidt hands the union’s strike notice to OSU Provost Roy Haggerty)
The clock is ticking at Oregon State University. No, for real. There is a countdown clock on SEIU Local 503’s website:
They are still actively bargaining at the time of writing this article. So it could be solved by the time we are done writing it and posting it. But if no agreement is reached in the next 11 hours, 56 minutes, and 18 seconds… many campus services will be affected come tomorrow at 6am.
11 hours, 56 minutes, and 9 seconds now.
SEIU-represented workers are preparing to strike at 6 a.m. Monday, September 28. A strike plan has been posted on the website. In an update from a Sunday briefing, the union said wages remained unresolved, and no overall agreement had been reached.
“Management still has an opportunity to do the right thing and settle this contract,” Jo Hickerson, chair of SEIU Local 503’s higher education bargaining team, said after members authorized a strike on September 17.
The workers belong to SEIU Local 083, the OSU group within SEIU Local 503. They are the classified employees who work as food service workers, custodians, administrative staff, IT professionals, laboratory and research staff, and tradespeople, among others. They work in dining facilities, residence halls, offices, labs, and other OSU locations.
How many could walk out? It’s not really known. What is known is that Local 083 says it represents 1,454 OSU workers across Oregon. That is the size of the represented workforce, not a count of confirmed strikers.
The union has not published a separate figure for workers based on the Corvallis campus or said how many OSU employees intend to strike. Workers covered by the contract may also choose to report to work. So just like the countdown clock, only time will tell.
(Photo: Local 083)
For students, the most immediate questions concern the services those employees provide. Depending on participation and OSU’s staffing plans, a walkout could affect dining, custodial work, building maintenance, administrative help, IT support, and some research or laboratory operations. The extent of any disruption has not been established; OSU has not announced a verified list of Corvallis campus services that could close on Monday.
It is a fluid situation right now. At Sunday’s briefing, the union reported progress on health coverage and job protections but said the two sides had not closed the wage gap. The university bargaining organization had scheduled a virtual mediation session for Sunday. A settlement could still avert the walkout before its planned start.
6 a.m. Monday is the time to watch. The number of workers who actually strike, along with any changes to campus services, will become clearer if and when the walkout begins.
We rarely cover OSU, but this strike pertains to one of the biggest employers in the city, and citizens who depend on that income. So it matters to us. It should matter to you as well.
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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