Ashland, Ore. — Southern Oregon administrators have broken off contract negotiations with faculty on a salary increase and now the state’s getting involved.
Contract negotiations have been in the works since June. The chief negotiator for the SOU Faculty Union, Kemble Yates, says they’re asking for an eight and a quarter percent salary increase over three years, one percent more than what administrators think is appropriate.
Yates also says they’re getting stuck on a couple of issues regarding faculty workloads.
Yates says the school went through a trying time in 2014 with retrenchment, a no confidence vote in top administrators, and a declining enrollment rate. But now that the situation on campus has improved, the faculty believes they should get a better contract.
A mediation session will be held later this month or early next year. It will be facilitated by the state’s employment relations board.
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