QuickTake:

The union that represents nearly 1,800 workers at the University of Oregon is at an impasse in bargaining and its member are prepared to go on strike Monday morning, Sept. 28.

Classified workers at the University of Oregon are prepared to go on strike if no contract agreement is reached by 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28.

At 10 p.m. Sunday, outward signs indicated a strike was imminent with no deal being reached. 

“The economic offer from university management leaves us with no other choice,” the Service Employees International Union 503 posted on its Facebook page. The union represents classified workers at the University of Oregon and other Oregon public universities. “Tomorrow at 6am, classified workers at Oregon’s public universities are walking off the job and going on strike. Our members need wages they can afford to live on. We won’t settle for less.”

The union represents nearly 1,800 staff at the University of Oregon. On Sept. 17, the SEIU said its members had overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike starting Monday, the first day of school, if a deal with suitable terms was not reached. 

“Negotiations went into the evening and management ultimately did not come to the table with an acceptable offer,” Jennifer Smith, the president of the SEIU’s UO chapter, said late Sunday.

Workers want higher cost-of-living wage increases and oppose universities’ efforts to change existing contract provisions for step increases and various worker protections.

The strike would apply to other state universities as well, stretching from eastern Oregon to Portland. Messages went out to workers, notifying them to prepare to go to picket lines in the morning. 

Though the strike appeared imminent, there’s still a narrowing window of opportunity. The university’s bargaining team could still, in theory, return to the table with an offer that avoids a strike — if it comes in before 6 a.m. Monday.

— Lookout reporter Grace Chinowsky contributed to this story.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.