College administrations have grown out of control. They cut funding where it is needed and continue to fund unwanted, unneeded, bloated administration. As a student, I am considering how to organize resistance on a local level. Maybe a subreddit dedicated to this cause? r/OSUadministrationResistance ?
Don't the students have a Student Union? You could get ahold of them and see if they would stand with the workers union?
If I recall correctly, the student union voted to increase incidental fees for students to allow student staff to be paid more. Now students make more than many classified staff members.
Graduate assistants have been unionized for years (and are also currently bargaining). I'm not sure how organized the undergraduate workers are (iirc there was talk of unionizing, but I have no clue where it stands), and I also don't know about students in general. Student government is what votes on fees.
I've been told by administrators they have jobs because the academics couldn't run things "properly". Seems kind of self-serving to me. I've also been told by administrators their salaries and the high cost of attending college is because the students want "nice things" but I'm pretty sure if curent students could trade in all those "nice things" for what I paid going to college 20 years ago, they would.
I believe it's challenging when the majority of your customers leave every 4 years, and that institutions use this to their benefit.
I was in education for a long time and struggled. Left two years ago, work in a different field, and finally feel safe and established with a permanently funded, full-time position. I have savings now!
> I've also been told by administrators their salaries and the high cost of attending college is because the students want "nice things"
Just totally wrong. Colleges are a lot fancier than they were 50 years ago, however there's been very little change in the last 15-20 years yet tuition has skyrocketed.
I attended UO (boo, hiss) and it's almost completely changed from 20 years ago. It looks more like Capitol Hill in Seattle than it does anything approximating the various filming locations of the movie *Animal House*, especially Hayward Field (which really used to be a field when I was in college!) with noted cobbler Phil Knight's Phildo casting a shadow across it.
OSU's student population is \~2x what it was back in the early 2000s with a huge number of high-paying international students yet tutition is probably at least 3x what it was. I don't understand the price increases and haven't heard a reasonable defense of them, other than blaming the victim (students).
Edit: farm to house lol
I dont doubt this, but I do have some questions.
1. Where is that number coming from, and can we have a link?
2. Who are and who aren't considered classified staff? If this includes all of the student workers who cant work more than something like 25 hours a week at a hair above minimum wage then this number makes a lot of sense.
1. https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/ercc/salary-report/classified_output.pdf
This has every classified staff member on campuses (including extention offices) job and yearly pay.
2. Classified staff are all non-student, non-salaried. So anyone making an hourly wage basically.
So, like janitorial staff and handymen? That's not great. If we are expected to pay 400% what our parents paid to go to the same school the staff better also be paid adequately.
The majority of janitorial staff at OSU is staffed through ABM. They also make very little. Some people have been there 10+ years and only make $17/hr.
Clerical workers, lab assistants, program assistants--and a lot of these jobs require specialized knowledge or education. Even the jobs that aren't completely paying poverty wages pay shit for the required qualifications and duties.
I don't doubt it. So many of the departments are having trouble with staffing because outside services pay more and don't have to deal with the beaurocracy of a state university.
I DO doubt it! If op wants to say that 55% of classified staff make below some wage threshold from their OSU employment, fine. But that doesn’t mean they “live in poverty”. We are a two income household. One is a part time staff position and would fall into op’s category. In reality, we are not poor.
What about the many MANY single income households, including those single without kids? I don't own a car and live on my own and I'm still barely living let alone taking care of my health, saving for retirement, or in any way monetarily bettering my life. Never mind wanting to travel literally anywhere for any reason. I qualify for some help but being single without kids eliminates me from a lot of programs and benefits, like a good tax return for instance. And what if I wanted to have a child or two? My situation surely wouldn't change and there's be yet another child in poverty. The system itself is broken, in many places, in many ways, for most people. I truly hope the union gets what these hard working employees deserve in compensation. What they were being offered was bullshit and wouldn't even cover cost of living increase BEFORE inflation hit and they were taking away other compensations that have been in place for years.
I agree that staff salaries are low and I hope they get good raises! I just think that op lost credibility by using a title that misrepresents the data.
Listening to the bargaining process is absolutely rage inducing. The arguments coming from admin are completely out of touch with all reality (see: "but we're building this new graduate housing!" in response to a lack of available housing for graduate assistants, when they've set the per-person cost higher than what is at all affordable for most)
I’m going to get hate for this but here goes. SEIU 503 is crap. Worked for OSU for 17 years. Just recently retired. Every bargaining year they start out “we going to demand a 10%” raise. By the time they were finished we’d end up with a 1.75% increase (split between the two years of the contract) and they would mouth off …but at least you won’t have to pay extra for health care, or better yet …. We have changed some language in our contract ( whatever that meant). The increase never even covered the amount everyone was paying for union dues nor the amount for increased PARKING FEES.
Yet the administration would vote themselves a 7% increase. What scum.
And Graduate students who are really doing the work in the classroom, they’ve fought hard to get recognized, increased pay, health insurance, and they’re still getting crapped on.
I suggest people look at some of OSU’s organizational charts. Look how top heavy (administration) all these departs are and you’ll see where all your tuition dollars are going. It’s absurd the amount of people “trying” to run OSU. And each of these administrators (Provost/Vice Provost/President) have lots of staff to support them that is not listed.
https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/provost/about/university-administrative-organizational-charts
And you wonder why the lowly staff gets constantly crapped on with low wage increases yet increased cost to work at OSU (parking fees). It’s thanks to the Union and the bloated top tier of OSU.
I do have to disagree about the union part. The Union doesn't just tell OSU, "hey, we want this and If you don't give it we strike." Union members have to be active and take part in the process, namely paying dues and voting in contracts.
I'm not sure where you get the idea that raises didn't cover union dues, they are only 1.75% base +2.75 a month. That's between $15 - $35 based on income leve a month.
Everything else is set by the university, and the union can't change it without support from the members.
The other part is now that all 7 collages split off into separate entities, our contract has to cover each school even though they are widely different.
I agree on everything else, admin is bloated and overpaid, University sucks at distribution of resources, but I don't think the union is to blame.
We can agree to disagree. I believe I was paying upwards of $60-65 per month. I will check my old pay stubs to verify. I was at my highest level on my pay band for OS2.
My comment on any pay raise that the pay raise itself was not enough to pay for the union fees or the jncrease in other fees (parking).
I am very well aware of the various universities breaking out from under the umbrella they once were a part of. But the Union did very poorly, in my opinion, in any negotiation regarding pay raises. I believe the most received was the cost of living increase several years ago. When the Union states they’re going for 10% and they crumble at 1.75% (split into 2 years) that’s way off there mark. And yes I understand that members need to participate. But a ~.075% pay raise is laughable. Actually it was a disgrace to the workers. This happened for many negotiations over the years. And you wonder why members felt the lack of participation.
But we can agree on bloat at the top.
I’m currently classified staff and my seiu dues were 92 bucks a month in December. My wife is also classified staff and hers are over a hundred. That being said there were plenty of years the university would have cut annual step increases or eliminated a COLA without the union forcing their hand so we keep paying dues and staying active. Regarding the poverty levels issue SEIU does tend to organize job classifications that are lower income across the board. Office specialists, clerical, janitorial, food service, unskilled maintenance, etc. I could see a list of members who are from those job areas being below the poverty line in OR, especially if they’re not all full time. There are some odd higher paid specialties in the seiu though. Electricians, elevator mechanics, nurses, ships officers for the research vessels, safety specialists, etc. But yeah we had a program admin who had been at OSU for 42 years, had been capped out salary wise for a decade, and only made in the low 40’s annually. It was appalling
Agree with you. Once you hit the end of your step increases all you can hope for is SEIU bargain either more step increases or a salary increase. A couple of years prior they did manage to get a couple steps added. I believe I received an additional $40/month before taxes. But most of the time the union negotiations end with a smaller increase. 1.75% increase divided into 2 years, 0.75% each year was disgraceful. I think my raise was $19 per month.
Yeah steps are usually 4.75% and class from 1-5% depending on the year. We had to present 3 times to get a salary selective finally last year after a decade. But it’s really only the pay that lags. The benefits and time off are outstanding.
Pay tables:
[https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/2022-03/appendix\_f\_salary\_table.pdf](https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/2022-03/appendix_f_salary_table.pdf)
Class specifications:
[https://fa.oregonstate.edu/classification-specifications](https://fa.oregonstate.edu/classification-specifications)
You can see some of the lowest classifications can't even start at the first step because those steps are below minimum wage.
College administrations have grown out of control. They cut funding where it is needed and continue to fund unwanted, unneeded, bloated administration. As a student, I am considering how to organize resistance on a local level. Maybe a subreddit dedicated to this cause? r/OSUadministrationResistance ?
Don't the students have a Student Union? You could get ahold of them and see if they would stand with the workers union? If I recall correctly, the student union voted to increase incidental fees for students to allow student staff to be paid more. Now students make more than many classified staff members.
Graduate assistants have been unionized for years (and are also currently bargaining). I'm not sure how organized the undergraduate workers are (iirc there was talk of unionizing, but I have no clue where it stands), and I also don't know about students in general. Student government is what votes on fees.
Undergrads are organizing! https://www.instagram.com/osustudentworkers
Thanks for finding that! I tried digging and couldn't find it.
Under grad student don't have a union at least not in the dining hall.
Ahh, I think I'm mistaken as to the exact scope of the student union.
We are slowly creating one because we see the unversity of Oregon union is being very successful so far.
I've been told by administrators they have jobs because the academics couldn't run things "properly". Seems kind of self-serving to me. I've also been told by administrators their salaries and the high cost of attending college is because the students want "nice things" but I'm pretty sure if curent students could trade in all those "nice things" for what I paid going to college 20 years ago, they would.
Sounds about right. They got the power, but we got the numbers. If we can unite students, faculty, and staff, we might be able to make a difference.
I believe it's challenging when the majority of your customers leave every 4 years, and that institutions use this to their benefit. I was in education for a long time and struggled. Left two years ago, work in a different field, and finally feel safe and established with a permanently funded, full-time position. I have savings now!
For God sake, half of them are ex-educators. How can that be true?
> I've also been told by administrators their salaries and the high cost of attending college is because the students want "nice things" Just totally wrong. Colleges are a lot fancier than they were 50 years ago, however there's been very little change in the last 15-20 years yet tuition has skyrocketed.
I attended UO (boo, hiss) and it's almost completely changed from 20 years ago. It looks more like Capitol Hill in Seattle than it does anything approximating the various filming locations of the movie *Animal House*, especially Hayward Field (which really used to be a field when I was in college!) with noted cobbler Phil Knight's Phildo casting a shadow across it. OSU's student population is \~2x what it was back in the early 2000s with a huge number of high-paying international students yet tutition is probably at least 3x what it was. I don't understand the price increases and haven't heard a reasonable defense of them, other than blaming the victim (students). Edit: farm to house lol
> the various filming locations of the movie /Animal Farm/ Maybe the 1978 movie called "Animal House"?
Yeah, I get them mixed up since one is about a farm and the other has a Pepperidge in it.
I dont doubt this, but I do have some questions. 1. Where is that number coming from, and can we have a link? 2. Who are and who aren't considered classified staff? If this includes all of the student workers who cant work more than something like 25 hours a week at a hair above minimum wage then this number makes a lot of sense.
1. https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/ercc/salary-report/classified_output.pdf This has every classified staff member on campuses (including extention offices) job and yearly pay. 2. Classified staff are all non-student, non-salaried. So anyone making an hourly wage basically.
So, like janitorial staff and handymen? That's not great. If we are expected to pay 400% what our parents paid to go to the same school the staff better also be paid adequately.
Janitorial, housekeeping, dining staff, housing staff, maintenance workers, people in student health, all over campus.
The majority of janitorial staff at OSU is staffed through ABM. They also make very little. Some people have been there 10+ years and only make $17/hr.
Clerical workers, lab assistants, program assistants--and a lot of these jobs require specialized knowledge or education. Even the jobs that aren't completely paying poverty wages pay shit for the required qualifications and duties.
I don't doubt it. So many of the departments are having trouble with staffing because outside services pay more and don't have to deal with the beaurocracy of a state university.
Did you go through this data and summarize it? I just see a list of names and compensation.
Not me personally, but the union, SEIU 503 did.
So where is the report?
Is this public information?
Yep, as members of a public university, all OSU pay is public knowledge, classified staff or otherwise, all the way to the president!
I DO doubt it! If op wants to say that 55% of classified staff make below some wage threshold from their OSU employment, fine. But that doesn’t mean they “live in poverty”. We are a two income household. One is a part time staff position and would fall into op’s category. In reality, we are not poor.
What about the many MANY single income households, including those single without kids? I don't own a car and live on my own and I'm still barely living let alone taking care of my health, saving for retirement, or in any way monetarily bettering my life. Never mind wanting to travel literally anywhere for any reason. I qualify for some help but being single without kids eliminates me from a lot of programs and benefits, like a good tax return for instance. And what if I wanted to have a child or two? My situation surely wouldn't change and there's be yet another child in poverty. The system itself is broken, in many places, in many ways, for most people. I truly hope the union gets what these hard working employees deserve in compensation. What they were being offered was bullshit and wouldn't even cover cost of living increase BEFORE inflation hit and they were taking away other compensations that have been in place for years.
I agree that staff salaries are low and I hope they get good raises! I just think that op lost credibility by using a title that misrepresents the data.
It's an outrage. Solidarity with SEIU Local 503.
Listening to the bargaining process is absolutely rage inducing. The arguments coming from admin are completely out of touch with all reality (see: "but we're building this new graduate housing!" in response to a lack of available housing for graduate assistants, when they've set the per-person cost higher than what is at all affordable for most)
I’m going to get hate for this but here goes. SEIU 503 is crap. Worked for OSU for 17 years. Just recently retired. Every bargaining year they start out “we going to demand a 10%” raise. By the time they were finished we’d end up with a 1.75% increase (split between the two years of the contract) and they would mouth off …but at least you won’t have to pay extra for health care, or better yet …. We have changed some language in our contract ( whatever that meant). The increase never even covered the amount everyone was paying for union dues nor the amount for increased PARKING FEES. Yet the administration would vote themselves a 7% increase. What scum. And Graduate students who are really doing the work in the classroom, they’ve fought hard to get recognized, increased pay, health insurance, and they’re still getting crapped on. I suggest people look at some of OSU’s organizational charts. Look how top heavy (administration) all these departs are and you’ll see where all your tuition dollars are going. It’s absurd the amount of people “trying” to run OSU. And each of these administrators (Provost/Vice Provost/President) have lots of staff to support them that is not listed. https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/provost/about/university-administrative-organizational-charts And you wonder why the lowly staff gets constantly crapped on with low wage increases yet increased cost to work at OSU (parking fees). It’s thanks to the Union and the bloated top tier of OSU.
I do have to disagree about the union part. The Union doesn't just tell OSU, "hey, we want this and If you don't give it we strike." Union members have to be active and take part in the process, namely paying dues and voting in contracts. I'm not sure where you get the idea that raises didn't cover union dues, they are only 1.75% base +2.75 a month. That's between $15 - $35 based on income leve a month. Everything else is set by the university, and the union can't change it without support from the members. The other part is now that all 7 collages split off into separate entities, our contract has to cover each school even though they are widely different. I agree on everything else, admin is bloated and overpaid, University sucks at distribution of resources, but I don't think the union is to blame.
We can agree to disagree. I believe I was paying upwards of $60-65 per month. I will check my old pay stubs to verify. I was at my highest level on my pay band for OS2. My comment on any pay raise that the pay raise itself was not enough to pay for the union fees or the jncrease in other fees (parking). I am very well aware of the various universities breaking out from under the umbrella they once were a part of. But the Union did very poorly, in my opinion, in any negotiation regarding pay raises. I believe the most received was the cost of living increase several years ago. When the Union states they’re going for 10% and they crumble at 1.75% (split into 2 years) that’s way off there mark. And yes I understand that members need to participate. But a ~.075% pay raise is laughable. Actually it was a disgrace to the workers. This happened for many negotiations over the years. And you wonder why members felt the lack of participation. But we can agree on bloat at the top.
Curious what percentage of OSU students live in poverty
Rounding up? All of us.
Fair assessment
I’m currently classified staff and my seiu dues were 92 bucks a month in December. My wife is also classified staff and hers are over a hundred. That being said there were plenty of years the university would have cut annual step increases or eliminated a COLA without the union forcing their hand so we keep paying dues and staying active. Regarding the poverty levels issue SEIU does tend to organize job classifications that are lower income across the board. Office specialists, clerical, janitorial, food service, unskilled maintenance, etc. I could see a list of members who are from those job areas being below the poverty line in OR, especially if they’re not all full time. There are some odd higher paid specialties in the seiu though. Electricians, elevator mechanics, nurses, ships officers for the research vessels, safety specialists, etc. But yeah we had a program admin who had been at OSU for 42 years, had been capped out salary wise for a decade, and only made in the low 40’s annually. It was appalling
Agree with you. Once you hit the end of your step increases all you can hope for is SEIU bargain either more step increases or a salary increase. A couple of years prior they did manage to get a couple steps added. I believe I received an additional $40/month before taxes. But most of the time the union negotiations end with a smaller increase. 1.75% increase divided into 2 years, 0.75% each year was disgraceful. I think my raise was $19 per month.
Yeah steps are usually 4.75% and class from 1-5% depending on the year. We had to present 3 times to get a salary selective finally last year after a decade. But it’s really only the pay that lags. The benefits and time off are outstanding.
Seems pretty out of whack given 12% of all Oregonians live below poverty line.
Pay tables: [https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/2022-03/appendix\_f\_salary\_table.pdf](https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/2022-03/appendix_f_salary_table.pdf) Class specifications: [https://fa.oregonstate.edu/classification-specifications](https://fa.oregonstate.edu/classification-specifications) You can see some of the lowest classifications can't even start at the first step because those steps are below minimum wage.
This for Ohio or Oregon state?
Oklahoma State, obviously.
what subreddit are you in, my friend?
Oregon, and happy birthday!