Meeting called to order at 9:05 AM.  Present were Secretary-Treasurer Kemble Yates (SOU), Jim Etchison (OIT), Chuck Johnson (PSU), Greg Monahan (EOU), and Steve Gibbons (WOU).  Also present:  Mark Nelson and Danelle Romain.   

Kemble Yates called the meeting to order at 9:05.  The June minutes were approved as amended. 

Campus reports:

EOU:  Bargaining essentially delayed until September – a key issue will be Distance Education.  Many faculty make as much or more from Dist. Ed as from their regular contracts.

OIT:  Contracts are late.  One term adjuncts don’t get benefits. 

PSU:  Bargaining for “merit-based steps”.  Tuition plateau eliminated during last year.  Enrollment appears to be up 5-7%, but faculty hiring not keeping pace.

SOU:  Collective bargaining has begun.  A taskforce looking at faculty roles, responsibilities, and rewards will be working during the summer and reporting to the Senate in the Fall.  The union won a grievance related to the women’s basketball coach.

WOU:  Started bargaining.  Union lobbying for improved steps.  Honeymoon still going with new Provost.  President still in process of retiring. 

SEIU settlement:

2% + 2% COLA, plus a new step worth 4.75%.  AFSCME will now also get this.  Typical salaries of members will thus increase at least 8.75% (and as much as 18.25%) over the biennium. 

Legislative Update:

PEBB won’t offer Blue Cross/Regence in Benton, Linn, and Lincoln counties.  Premium increases came in at 6% and 6% for the biennium, well below the projected 12% and 12%.

Neil Bryant has pointed out that OUS faculty are disadvantaged to all other state employees by not having steps – whose costs are always rolled up going into the next biennium.  OUS’ share of state employee COLA amounts is $28.6 million.

The employer rate for PERS contributions this year has been announced as 18.99%.

House and Senate definitely in the endgame – approximately 60 of the 105 or so agency budgets have been agreed on.  The end is probably 2 – 3 weeks away.

Some technical fixes to PERS/OPSRP (HB 2189) have been passed and await the

Governor’s signature.  Two other bills (HB 3262 regarding delay of crediting and HB 2104 maintaining the contribution rate for ORP coupled to the PERS rate) have gotten through the Senate and are in the House.

We looked at an interesting study done by OUS on failed searches and other recruitment/retention issues.

Governor’s late game attempt to lock in percentages of general fund dollars for various sectors of education is a nonstarter (as is/was the Speaker’s).

PERS Litigation Update:

No big news here.  

Future Meetings: 

September 17  

October 15

November 12

The Board adjourned at 11:25 AM.