The episode went like this: On Saturday, February 23, Governor Kitzhauber called Peter Gilkey, because he is President of the Oregon Conference, concerned that legislators were proposing to raid the Special fund set aside for increases in salary/benefits costs to higher ed. The plan was to cut the fund by 50% to use elsewhere in the budget. Gilkey prepared an Email informing key higher ed faculty interest groups that of the $100 million in the fund, $50 million was to be cut. The Oregon University System gets roughly $22 million of the $100 million salary package. While OUS represents only 6% of the total state budget, it represents 22% of the salary package. A cut of this magnitude in salary support for state employees would be a seriously disproportionate cut to higher ed in Oregon. Gilkey warned the faculties that if the legislature used the state salary dollars to balance the budget, salary increases promised at each of the OUS campuses would not be funded. In addition, all campuses, including those organized for collective bargaining with negotiated salary/benefits increases through 2003, would have to make significant program cuts. He urged the faculties to express their concerns about any attempt to further erode state support of faculty salaries which are already among the lowest in the nation and urged us to remind our legislators how cuts would impact the quality of higher cuts in Oregon.

By Monday, February 25, Gilkey had contacted all OUS faculty senates, the IFS, and all members of the Oregon Conference of the AAUP. The PSU-AAUP has 560 members and a well-organized legislative committee; they forwarded Gilkey's information to the members and added hyperlinks which allowed members to Email 24 key legislators directly.

The PSU-AAUP has been asking its members to contact legislators during all of the legislative sessions in 2001-2002. Sarah Andrews-Collier, recent past-President of PSU-AAUP urged all faculty to not remain invisible: "We cannot let the fact that we are employees of the OUS neutralize our right to a voice on the appropriation of state finances. Faculty have as much right as anybody to a voice in the public agendaÉIt has been years since state allocations have kept pace with higher education's operating budget. We have a responsibility to fellow taxpayers, but silence isn't one of them." (Unit Ties. Feb, 02. p1) PSU also matches its members with their legislative districts; this enables members who are constituents of key legislators to contact them with Emails and follow-up phone calls.

By Tuesday, February 26, Gilkey had Emailed the 24 key legislators involved in the higher budget decision; his Email urged all faculty groups to do the same.

By Wednesday, February 27, members from all of the alerted faculty groups were making follow-up phone calls and leaving voice mail messages to legislators.

We have only anecdotal evidence of the specific responses to this campaign. The University of Oregon lobbyist reported that several legislators said to him: ``Yes, I heard from Gilkey.'' Other higher ed lobbyists reported that legislators had heard from their constituents who are faculty and They Were Listening. In any event, the plan to raid the salary/benefit fund was scuttled. Gilkey reflects: "the important thing was that it was a faculty effort; we really made a difference; we can do it again."

Certainly we will have to do it again, probably centered on a proposed Special Session of the Legislature inJune, before this budget ride is finished and we emerge, shaky, but with our stomachs. This series of events demonstrated that faculties in Oregon need both professional lobbying in their interest and wide-spread grass-roots organizing by faculty members themselves. The Oregon Conference of the AAUP thanks our current members for their support and we urge others who want to play a significant role in building the future of higher education in Oregon to join today.

Jacqueline Arante
Vice-President for Collective Bargaining PSU-AAUP
State Conference Vice-President arantej@pdx.edu