Negotiations between Oregon State University and the Coalition of Graduate Employees over Veterans Day weekend officially came to a standstill, prompting CGE to stage a walkout Tuesday morning.
Through striking, CGE President Austin Bosgraaf said he hopes to show “a unified message to the university through the withholding of our labor and through the showing of our presence.”
Bosgraaf said that the CGE wants to encourage OSU to re-prioritize the way the university is spending the money they get from tuition.
“We’ve been receiving reports from the (American Association of University Professors) that the university has been moving a lot of money out of instructional and educational support and into administration salary, and so we are hoping to encourage them to move some of that money back,” Bosgraaf said.
CGE, which has been pushing for a 50% increase in minimum salary as well as a change in the periods of terms of agreements rejected OSU’s final offer of—according to an email sent by Provost Edward Feser— “an increase of minimum salaries in year one by 10%, translating to an hourly wage of $27.93 and an additional 2% increase to the minimum salaries in years three and four, for a 14% cumulative increase to salary minimums over the term of the agreement.”
However, in an Instagram post breaking down the cost of living in Corvallis, CGE said the university’s offer is still below the minimum living wage.
“In the lowest paid departments, graduate employees are rent burdened, skipping meals and taking on debt to attend ‘fully funded’ programs,” the post said.
According to the same post, the living wage in Corvallis is $3,519.20 per month while Corvallis’ minimum wage pays $2,272 per month. The minimum stipend for a graduate employee at OSU is $1,762 per month.
“Graduate employees are independently teaching required core classes,” the post said. “Without labor, students’ degree progress stalls. And yet we are living on just over half of a regional living wage.”
According to an email from OSU Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Manager Lanesha Reagan, the university is “disappointed at this outcome but continue(s) to be open to additional bargaining sessions in order to reach a sustainable contract with CGE.”
Bosgraaf said that though CGE is striking, negotiations with OSU are still ongoing, and the next mediation will be Thursday, Nov. 14.
