This page contains updates from recent years of WOUFT/WOU bargaining.
2017-2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement including economic reopener
- WOUFT proposed an NTT step system back in 2013, in 2015, in 2017, and in the reopener in 2018, and administration rejected this improvement categorically until the 2018 reopener. During that reopener your union pushed for a six-tier NTT step system while Administration wanted a two-tier NTT system. WOUFT refused to settle and took the matter to mediation, where Administration finally agreed to the five-tier NTT step system you see in Article 16 of the CBA today.
NTT Minimum Salary Schedule
Years Experience Bachelor’s Degree Masters’s Degree Doctoral Degree/Terminal Degree 0-4 35,000 40,000 45,000 5-9 37,000 42,500 48,000 10-14 39,000 45,000 51,000 15-19 41,000 47,500 54,000 20+ 43,000 50,000 57,000 - WOUFT negotiated that individually designed courses eligible for faculty compensation now include courses for which students earn RP or W grades, ensuring that faculty labor is appropriately compensated irrespective of student performance.
- WOUFT negotiated a 35% increase in Faculty Development funding for the biennium, from $400,000 to $540,000.
2017-2020 CBA
Note that each of 1-5 below were summarily rejected by administration when initially proposed.
- WOUFT negotiated five course reassignments annually, for technologically innovative course preparation, recommended by the Faculty Development Committee and awarded by the Provost.
- WOUFT negotiated adjustments in office hours (now student consultation hours) in recognition of the large increase in electronic correspondence with students. Now up to four of the five required student consultation hours may be electronic in which faculty are immediately available online.
- WOUFT negotiated an end to the old credit banking system for individually designed courses (which was a huge improvement over the previous system in which administration did not compensate faculty for such courses at all), and replaced it with a reasonable compensation formula (Student Credit Hour total ÷ 12) ÷ (45 unit annual work load) x (averaged annual salary rate over the previous two academic years or the annual salary rate during the academic year in which 36 credits is reached).
- WOUFT negotiated a faculty option for tenure-clock stoppage in the event of birth or adoption. The stoppage is automatic unless the faculty member opts out.
- WOUFT negotiated multiple year contracts for qualifying NTT faculty (based on years of service) subject to approval by the Dean and Provost.
- WOU proposed a Joint Labor Management Committee and WOUFT readily agreed. It has been a big success.
2015-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement
- Step 1 tenure track salary increased from $44,134 to $50,000 (Sep. 2015) then to $50,767 (Sep. 2016).
- NTT faculty received a 5% COLA in each of 2015 and 2016.
- WOUFT negotiated the Healthy Workplace appendix (at the time it was Appendix F) added. Includes language on complaints regarding bullying and abusive conduct.
- WOUFT negotiated a 1.0 compensation rate for all labs in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
- WOUFT negotiated adjustments to the grievance steps. Step 1 grievances were moved from the Provost’s level to the Dean’s level.
- WOUFT negotiated the implementation of a Professional Leave program. One-year leave or less induces no break in service for tenure and promotion clock.
2013-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement
- WOUFT negotiated two 2% steps, two 2% COLAs and another 1% COLA for TT faculty, and a 4% COLA in year 1 and a 3% COLA in year 2.
- WOUFT negotiated the addition of “gender identity or expression” to the non-discrimination language.
- WOUFT negotiated Parallel “librarianship” language (to accompany “teaching” as a primary duty) to the Article 8 and the relevant appendices in recognition of often non-teaching duties for faculty librarians.
- WOUFT negotiated Faculty Development language which 1) refines and clarifies eligible types of scholarly and creative activities, and 2) permits up to 5 course releases to be “rolled over” to the next year if not used or allocated in a given year.
- WOUFT negotiated that NTT faculty are to be explicitly included in the lab equivalency compensation rate language in Article 7.
- WOUFT negotiated adjusted office hour requirements for faculty taking course reassignments.
2011-2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement
- WOUFT negotiated two 2% steps and two 2% COLAs for TT faculty, and a 2.67% COLA in years 1 and 2 along with 3.7% and 4.2% increases to the NTT Instructor and NTT Assistant Professor minimum salaries.
- WOUFT negotiated an increase of 11% in summer salary.
- WOUFT negotiated an increase of 33% in faculty development funding, from $300,000 to $400,000 for the biennium.
- WOUFT negotiated NTT Three-Year Letters of Intent for NTT faculty at WOU for 5 years or more, for the purpose of obtaining home or car loans, etc.
- WOUFT negotiated an increase from 20 to 30 days for the presentation of grievances.
- WOUFT agreed that faculty will pay 5% of health insurance costs. We, along with many other unions around Oregon, still wish we hadn’t.
2009-2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement
- WOUFT negotiated the Special Summer Compensation Rate.
- WOUFT negotiated Faculty Development rollovers.