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SOU workers vote to strike By DAMIAN MANN ASHLAND - Southern Oregon University workers joined with higher education employees throughout the state in unanimously voting to strike Thursday after recent wage and benefit negotiations crumbled. The planned walkout technically could take effect as early as Sept. 17, just a week before the Sept. 24 opening of SOU - though no specific date has been set. Another bargaining session has been scheduled for Wednesday. At SOU, 210 classified workers, who handle everything from campus maintenance to arranging financial aid for students, are part of the union and represent about one-third of the total university staff. Union officials believe about 185 to 190 of these workers could participate in a walkout. Kathie Best, president of the union that represents 3,700 workers in the seven-university system in Oregon, said 96 percent of union members who voted favored the strike. She would not disclose the precise number who participated in the vote. Best believes both sides are still far apart in negotiations. "I think that the offer that's on the table stinks," she said. "We shouldn't settle for less than what 25,000 other state workers received. We are worth as much as other state workers - at least." Best is referring to another state bargaining unit that received a better wage and benefit package than the one currently on the table for her union members. Union officials have asked for 3.23 percent wage hikes in the next two years to compensate for cost-of-living increases, and they want fully paid health care coverage. They also want a so-called "living wage" of at least $9.50 an hour for the lowest paid university workers. State university officials say they can only afford 2 percent increases and also want union members to help shoulder some of the costs of health care. Oregon University System spokesperson Bob Bruce also said both sides are far apart, but he is still confident that a resolution will be found. In the meantime, the university system is preparing just in case there is a strike. SOU officials are determining which administrators will have to handle the duties now performed by classified workers. Bruce said the walkout would be disruptive for the university system, especially with the start of school. "Frankly, no one benefits from a strike," he said. However, the university system has endured other strikes, he said, and will be prepared this time. Bruce said the state doesn't have the financial resources to meet the union's demands. But Best responded, "I would beg to differ. I don't think that's the case." She believes the state does have the money and is forcing the union members to strike. Cheri Donahoo, vice president of the union local at SOU, said Oregon universities have been hiring more and more contract labor, relying less on in-house staff. "We're losing the basic ability to keep our jobs and that's very disconcerting," she said. "The union members are ready to go on strike just to protect themselves in the future." Donahoo calculates that about 50 of the 210 classified workers are forced to take second jobs because they make only about $8 an hour. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.