August 26, 2020 Negotiation Session

Notes contributed by OT-AAUP bargaining team member Dr. David Johnston, Natural Sciences, with minor edits by Communications Committee Member Dr. Ben Bunting, Humanities and Social Sciences

The OT-AAUP and Oregon Tech negotiating teams met on Wednesday, August 26, to continue the fifth bargaining round of the summer. OT-AAUP presented counter proposals on Leaves and Sabbaticals. The Oregon Tech team did not have any articles to present.

Leaves
OT-AAUP first presented their counter on Leaves, and summarized the changes from their previous proposal. There was some discussion around concerns that the Administration’s team had regarding some of the language in the proposal and that it might contradict or come in conflict with statutory language. The Association suggested that the Oregon Tech team could address the issue in their next counter, and the parties agreed to discuss the matter, separately, in caucus.

Sabbaticals
Next, the Association presented their counter proposal on Sabbaticals. The Association’s team continued to assert their position that if the Administration is serious about faculty members taking sabbaticals, there would need to be an increase in sabbatical pay, to which the Administration had no response at the time. Lastly, the parties engaged in some discussion over whether or not the parties were actually in agreement in certain sections of the proposal. The OT-AAUP team believed that the parties were in agreement over the condition that faculty members would need to return to Oregon Tech and prepare a report on their sabbatical; and, that if the faculty member did not return, they would have to reimburse their salary and OPE to Oregon Tech. However, the Administration’s team felt that since the language was not identical, there was no agreement. Both parties agreed to consider the other parties’ position in caucus.