Pledge to withold funds to Oregon State University

Oregon Sate University

Since August of 2023, CGE (the labor union representing all graduate employees at OSU) have been in contract negotiations with Oregon State, fighting for a fair contract that focuses on the safety, stability, and community of graduate students. Our goals include salary increases (to not only keep up with inflation but reduce the financial stress most of our graduates face), increased protections for international graduate employees, and basic health and safety requirements for job sites. In response to our asks, OSU has refused to meaningfully engage at the bargaining table. They took 9 months to respond to our first salary proposal and have suggested a contract length that would harm all graduate employees at OSU. They are not interested in supporting their graduate employees, even when these employees teach an enormous amount of OSU's undergraduate classes, bring in millions of dollars of research grants and funding, and do much of the essential work that keeps OSU running. OSU has claimed that they cannot raise our salary as a result of a low budget, even while they spent millions of donated dollars on renovating Reser stadium and thousands on legal fees to go back on previous contract promises with our Union. They claim they do not have money to fund graduate employees appropriately, despite an overall budget of over 1.8 billion dollars.

We have had to resort to bringing in an external mediator to facilitate bargaining and help us reach a compromise, but OSU continues to refuse to truly negotiate with us. As a response to this, we are gearing up to prepare for a strike if OSU continues to refuse to provide liveable wages for our workers. We'd much prefer to work with OSU to compromise on a contract that benefits both employee and employer, but we must prepare to strike if we need to.

As part of this preparation, we are launching this petition to ask folks to withhold all financial donations to OSU in support of CGE. OSU has made it clear that they do not plan to use your donated money to support essential operations of this university provided through the labor of graduate students, but would rather fund stadiums and bloated administrative salaries at the detriment of student well-being. Withholding donations until Oregon State agrees to a fair contract for graduate students helps CGE put pressure on OSU to do what is right and to manage their finances in accordance with their mission as an "institution committed to teaching, research, and outreach and engagement."

Lauren Nelson

Wed, Sep 18, 3:05 PM (2 days ago)


to CGE
Petition by
Lauren Nelson
Lauren Nelson
Corvallis, Oregon

To: Oregon Sate University
From: [Your Name]

I strongly believe that Oregon State University has a duty to bargain in good faith with CGE, the Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT-Local 6069. In spite of record inflation, high cost of living, and stagnant minimum salaries, Graduate Employees at OSU have yet to receive a salary proposal from their employer that provides them with safe, stable conditions in the city that they work. OSU's insistence on offering low salaries without adequate cost of living adjustments to the workers that keep OSU running is a disservice to the institution, the community, and the student population. We understand that the university is also tethering these low wages to a much longer term of agreement that would prevent GEs from being able to bargain over their own working conditions for longer than many of them will remain at the university. These factors, taken together, would directly disenfranchise a large number of employees that the university relies on for its continued success.I strongly urge the OSU administration to reach a fair contract that values the work of graduate employees as educators and researchers. I plan to withhold donations to the university until it does so. I am disappointed that it has come to this; that Oregon State University needs to be compelled in this manner in order to honor the needs of the workers that contribute so directly to OSU's reputation, funding, and goals.Oregon State University has a choice: it can proactively meet the needs of its workers, reach a fair deal, and demonstrate responsible leadership--or, it can continue to ignore the needs of its employees by refusing meaningful compromise.I am hopeful you will take advantage of this opportunity to settle a fair contract with CGE before a strike is necessary. However, if CGE decides to call a strike to defend their demand for a fair contract, we will stand in full solidarity with their members. I stand behind CGE in their historic contract fight, and I hope to see a fair resolution to negotiations soon.