Union members on strike after stalled contract negotiations with OIT mailtribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mailtribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The union representing Oregon Institute of Technology faculty went on strike Monday.
The union and the university negotiated over the weekend, but they were not able to reach an agreement. The two parties have been in contract talks since fall 2019.
“We organized our union in record time and we’re the first faculty ever to go on strike in Oregon,” said Mark Clark, professor of history and OT-AAUP past president in a release shared Monday morning.
“I hope Oregon Tech’s senior administration is prepared to negotiate a similarly historic contract.”
In all, 92% of voting union members voted to authorize a strike, according to the union.
Oregon Tech Professors Go on Indefinite Strike
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Oregon Institute of Technology’s faculty union went on strike Monday, saying it seeks to preserve the university’s traditions of shared governance, small class sizes and hands-on instruction. The union, which is affiliated with the American Association of University Professors, traces its concerns about the future of the institution to the arrival of Oregon Tech president Nagi Naganathan in 2018.
Mark Clark, professor of history, said during a virtual picket line event Monday that unionization was not a popular idea prior to 2018, as the university s Faculty Senate historically advocated for professors. Yet “within a year of our new president arriving, people s opinions changed,” Clark said. “They saw how the administration was treating faculty, no longer, as they say, in a collaborative way, but more in a more dictatorial way. And so we unionized and the reason we unionized was really to protect what makes Oregon
Oregon Tech faculty union strike begins klcc.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from klcc.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. The faculty union at the Oregon Institute of Technology went on strike Monday morning, making it the first faculty to ever go on strike in Oregon.
The strike, organized through Oregon Tech – American Association of University Professors (OT-AAUP), said it’s demanding fair wages, secure benefits and a reasonable, clearly defined workload.
“We organized our union in record time,” said Mark Clar, professor of history and OT-AAUP past president. “I hope Oregon Tech’s senior administration is prepared to negotiate a similarly historic contract.”
The union said negotiations continued through the weekend but no deal was reached. Monday morning, the school said it would proceed with classes as usual.