Dear UO community,
As the University of Oregon and United Academics continue negotiating a successor collective bargaining agreement, I want to share the university’s latest salary offer and address next steps in the bargaining process.
UO’s salary offer provides competitive total compensation within our financial means.
The university remains committed to a competitive total compensation structure for retaining and recruiting faculty in service of our shared mission, within our financial means. We recognize the central contributions faculty members make to teaching, research, and service. We continue to support faculty while also responsibly stewarding the institution’s financial resources.
Today, the university provided the UA bargaining team with a counterproposal on salary that includes the following terms:
Tenure-related and career faculty members
- Annual increases: 4% across-the-board increases on January 1, 2025, for faculty members in tenured, tenure-track, and career classifications; 3% merit-pool increases in January of 2026 and 2027.
- Promotion and review increases:
8% upon promotion in rank; 8% initial six-year post-tenure/continuous employment review increases followed by 4% increases on subsequent reviews.
These periodic increases are equivalent, on average, to an additional 1.1% annual salary increase for tenured and career faculty.
Limited duration (pro tem, visiting, retired) appointments
- Annual increases: 4% across-the-board increases to base salary on January 1, 2025; 2% across-the-board increases to base salary in January of 2026 and 2027.
There are a few key elements about the UO salary offer that I want to highlight:
- The combination of annual increases and review-related increases presents multiple opportunities for increases in pay over the term of the contract for tenure-related and career faculty members.
- Salary is only one component of a comprehensive investment that supports UO faculty members. Other benefits include generous retirement programs (both defined benefit [PERS] and defined contribution [ORP]); comprehensive health insurance (PEBB) with the lowest required employee premium contribution rates among AAU public universities; family tuition benefits; and progressive leave policies. These programs are of significant practical benefit to all employees including faculty and their families, with the university paying the majority of the costs.
- The university is facing a challenging fiscal situation this year with E&G fund expenses projected to be $2 million more than expected revenue. This gap is projected to increase over the next five years.
- The university’s salary proposal would invest an additional $18 million annually in faculty compensation once the contract is fully phased in.
An agreement must be reached within the university’s resource constraints
UO is closely monitoring its financial position based on key factors including student enrollment and state funding.
- Out-of-state student enrollment this academic year is below budgeted projections by approximately 475 non-resident students.
- While the governor’s recently released budget recommendation would increase the operating funding for Oregon public universities by 3.87% from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026, it falls $14 million short of the minimum funding level needed to maintain operations for universities.
These issues present financial realities that must be taken into consideration as we seek an agreement with UA. These are in addition to considerable economic pressures on higher education including projected decreases in the population of potential college-bound students, a drop in the number of college-age individuals choosing to pursue 4-year degrees, and increasing financial uncertainty for many private and public universities across the county.
To meet our mission and to ensure the University is on the strongest possible footing during a time of uncertainty, any investments in teaching, research, student success, and operations must be planned within the limits of our financial position and available resources, and with the long view in mind.
UO will pursue mediation to advance negotiations.
The university intends to request mediation through the state’s Employment Relations Board. Mediation is the next step in the structured bargaining process. A professional mediator will help identify common interests and opportunities for progress as we continue to work with UA toward reaching a tentative agreement on a successor contract.
Mediation will likely start during the winter term. We are hopeful that it will provide the framework needed to tackle challenging issues, sort out differences, and find a path forward that is amenable to both parties and sustainable for the institution.
Human Resources will keep the campus community informed about this bargaining process through posted updates and links to proposals on the HR website.
We value our faculty and remain committed to working with the UA bargaining team to reach a tentative agreement.
Sincerely,
Chris Meade
Senior Director of Employee and Labor Relations
