Members of Eastern Oregon University's classified staff participate in a picket march in support of higher wages on Feb. 8, 2024, on the La Grande campus.

LA GRANDE — The specter of a possible strike by the classified staff at Oregon’s seven public universities, including Eastern Oregon University, is beginning to loom.

An informational picket march at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande made this apparent on Thursday, Feb. 8. The informational picket was one of seven conducted at each of the state universities in Oregon on Feb. 8 by SEIU Local 503, which is bargaining to boost salaries for the final three years of their current five-year contract.

At least 50 state employees, most of them part of Eastern Oregon University’s classified staff, participated in the La Grande picket.

Carrying signs with messages and chanting slogans, the marchers broke the midday quiet on EOU’s campus.

“It was a practice picket,” said Darryl Nobles, the president of EOU’s SEIU chapter.

Nobles explained that unless an agreement is reached that provides higher wages there is a possibility a future picket march may involve workers who are participating in a strike.

“This will help us prepare,” Nobles said.

He believes that if there is a state-wide strike, it likely would begin during the one-week spring break all of the state’s universities have in late March.

Nobles, an electrician at EOU, said he hopes there is not a walkout.

“We do not want to strike, but we will if we have to,” he said.

The classified staff at Oregon’s state universities are student services employees, including custodians, carpenters, plumbers, office specialists, information technology specialists and heating, air conditioning and ventilation system specialists. Eastern’s classified staff is made up of about 100 employees.

Nobles said all the classified staff’s union wants is a wage increase that will keeps up with inflation.

“We are just asking for a cost-of-living increase. We want enough to allow us to pay our bills,” Nobles said.

Negotiations involving the union and the state universities are now in mediation. The first session was conducted Feb. 8 in Corvallis.

Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice president for university advancement, said it is important that settlement is reached because of the critical role the classified staff employees play at the university.

“We greatly value and appreciate all of the hard work done by our classified staff. They are instrumental for us in being able to serve students,” Seydel said.

Steve Clark, director of communications for the seven state universities involved in the negotiations with the union for the classified staffs, said there is reason to feel confident that the current mediation sessions will be successful.

“Oregon’s universities, classified employees and SEIU have enjoyed a long and successful history of reaching agreement in contract negotiations,” Clark said. “Leaders at Eastern Oregon University and Oregon’s other public universities are confident that, working together with the SEIU bargaining team and the state mediator, remaining contract issues will be discussed productively and able to be resolved.”