Document text
SOU, faculty union reach ‘tentative agreement’ By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Mar 29, 2022 02:43 PM A A The parties were in the midst of a 30-day “cooling off period” when SOU came “mostly in line” with what the union had requested When it came to reaching a contract agreement, it turned out Southern Oregon University and the faculty union did not need 30 days of “cooling off” after all. The bargaining teams for the Association of Professors of SOU and the university administration announced on Tuesday they had reached tentative agreements on what the final articles would look like, paving the way for a contract to be ratified. “After months of challenge and frustration on both sides, SOU has accepted some of the most important articles in our contract,” the APSOU said in a statement. Joe Mosley, director of community and media relations for the university, told the newspaper that SOU cannot offer an official comment on developments at this point -- or even confirm there is a tentative agreement – since that might be interpreted as an attempt to influence the union vote. Faculty members will have a chance to discuss and ratify the contact after it is presented to the APSOU Board for approval. Late last week, the union declared an “impasse,” triggering a required 30-day “cooling off period” — a term coined by the Oregon Employment Relations Board (OERB). But that period never meant the parties had to stop negotiating. In an initial statement to the Mail Tribune on Tuesday, a faculty union representative said SOU’s offer was “mostly in line” with what APSOU had requested. This includes raises for faculty. While they will not receive a raise during the current school year, they will get a 2.5% increase, followed by two 2% raises, for three years of the 4-year contract. Both parties have agreed to memorandums of understandings that establish work-groups to explore language on curtailment and intellectual property, the union said. The Mail Tribune will update this story as more information becomes available. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.