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Update on OSEA-4J Contract Negotiations
With the neighboring Springfield and Bethel school districts in mediation as they bargain teacher contracts, Eugene School District 4J has fielded increasing questions about the status of negotiations with Oregon School Employees Association on forging a new classified employee contract.
After 13 sessions that started in April, the 4J and OSEA teams continue to make steady progress each session and work collaboratively and thoroughly through topics that OSEA has indicated are important, including changes for transportation employees and new steps for workplace safety. Key trends are as follows:
- The discussions have been collegial, respectful and productive.
- The teams have locked in seven tentative agreements on changes to contract articles.
- The teams are considerably closer on compensation than when bargaining started in April, as the district faces a $30 million budget shortfall for 2026-27.
“The teams are really getting to work; the pace is definitely picking up,” said Brooke Wagner, 4J’s assistant superintendent for administrative services and the staff’s lead on the 4J team. “We’ve made significant progress on complex topics in our recent sessions and are on the edge of a few more tentative agreements.”
Recent wage and insurance increase proposals are posted on the negotiations web page. OSEA on Dec. 1 proposed an 8% per year cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for a two-year contract. 4J increased its COLA offer to 4% per year for three years at the session on Nov. 21, noting that the amount is not a final offer.
"We can see a scenario where we can match the cost of living adjustments that we provided to the EEA bargaining unit over the course of three years," the district's lead negotiator, Chris Duckworth of CDR Labor Law, said during the Dec. 1 session.
The district settled a new, three-year contract with its licensed employees a year ago with a 5% COLA for each year, and agreed to the same COLA for managers, administrators, professionals and supervisors earlier in 2025.
The last contract with OSEA was ratified in 2022 and expired June 30, 2025. It included a minimum 22% cost-of-living increase over three years, and boosted the pay floor to $18 per hour. The previous contract terms remain in force during negotiations for a successor agreement.
The next session is scheduled for Dec. 11 at 9 a.m. at the 4J Education Center, 200 N. Monroe St. More sessions may be scheduled. Sessions may be viewed live over Zoom and are posted afterward to the negotiations web page.