Contract negotiations between Service Employees International Union, Local 503 and Oregon’s public universities are breaking down. And the main issue for both sides is affordability.

SEIU declared an impasse in negotiations on Aug. 7, after nearly seven months of bargaining. The union represents about 4,400 classified staff — ranging from academic support and dining hall workers to janitors and public safety officers — at all of Oregon’s seven public universities.

SEIU is seeking to shield its members from rising housing, food, transportation and health costs. The union’s most recent proposal includes a two-year contract with wage increases tied to inflation, at least 3% for the first and second year of the contract.

“We aren’t asking for stipends and luxury perks like executives receive,” said Jo Hickerson, the chair of SEIU Local 503’s bargaining team in a press conference Wednesday. She manages Eastern Oregon University’s science labs in her day job.

“We are demanding wages that keep up with inflation and keep us from having to rely on public assistance for bare necessities,” Hickerson said.

The universities, represented by the legislatively-formed University Shared Services Enterprise, have offered a four-year contract with a 1% increase in 2027 and a half percent increase in 2028. Further wage adjustments could be negotiated after the second year of the contract.

The institutions had initially proposed no yearly salary bumps, noting that classified staff who are eligible for step increases see an average boost of 4.6%.

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University negotiators say the schools are operating under extreme financial constraints.

“The realities facing higher education in Oregon place real limits on what the Universities can sustainably commit to,” negotiators wrote in a bargaining opening statement in February. “Acknowledging these constraints is not about dismissing the union’s priorities but about being candid about the environment in which bargaining is taking place.”

Nearly all of Oregon’s public universities are either currently undergoing or recently finished multimillion-dollar budget cuts and layoffs. The institutions’ budgets are pinched by declining enrollment, shifting federal funding priorities, increasing personnel costs and flat state support.

But a white paper, compiled by SEIU and released this week, complicates the universities’ narrative on workforce costs.

The report used university payroll data and financial audits to find that personnel spending growth for top administrators has outpaced classified staff at some institutions, including Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. The paper also found that administrators accounted for about $510 million in salary expenses across all seven public universities last year. It estimated that classified staff made up $292 million in personnel expenses.

Union leaders say administrators have been prioritizing themselves over staff who keep their schools running efficiently.

“We’re not the majority of the burden of the budget,” said Rieley Umphress, a dining services worker at UO and SEIU bargaining team member. “But we’re the first ones to go because we’re the easiest to do without, apparently.”

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The universities’ lead negotiator, Brian Caufield, said the union’s characterization of administrative spending as “bloat” is an oversimplification. He pointed to a Higher Education Coordinating Commission report that attributes increased administrative staff spending on rising benefits, insurance, compliance and technology costs.

“Positions contained in this data include frontline staff who are essential to providing student services such as financial aid, enrollment, student success, and more,” Caufield said in an emailed statement.

Despite the impasse, negotiations between the union and universities are still ongoing.

Both sides are expected to present their last, best and final offers Friday, before a 30-day cooling off period.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/13/oregon-public-universities-negotiations-stalled/