Template 1 (students):
Dear [name of recipient/ UO leadership],
My name is [your name], and I am a student at the University of Oregon. I am writing to express my frustration with the way UO has handled negotiations with the University of Oregon Student Workers' Union and the ongoing strike. My learning experience has been greatly impacted by the university's failure to reach a satisfactory contract as services such as libraries and tutoring have been shut down. After seeing the UO bargain in good faith with United Academics and the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, I expected the same respect for my peers. It is clear that the university is capable of doing better and is choosing not to for one of the largest labor bodies on campus. You are setting a harmful precedent for the future of organized undergraduate labor, and I ask you to consider both the immediate impact of your actions on the entire student body, and the long term effect you will have on the academic community at large.
It is becoming apparent to me that the university cannot function without student labor, and the longer these conditions continue the more my trust in the administration will falter. At the next bargaining session, I hope to see more movement on the university's side so that the student workers can get what they deserve and we can return to a campus capable of serving its students.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Template 2 (non students):
Dear [name of recipient/ UO leadership],
I am deeply concerned with what I am seeing and hearing about the University of Oregon this week. The student employees on strike are not asking for the moon, and UO executives are allowing the campus to descend into chaos rather than agree to reasonable proposals at the bargaining table.
I am particularly shocked by what I have heard about the Grievance and Arbitration article. The student workers are requesting the right to appeal cases of harassment and discrimination to a neutral third party, while the University wants the final right to investigate itself. This is unprecedented and very suspicious. The fact that the University has not yet agreed on this article calls into question its good faith in other areas of bargaining.
As a [PROFESSOR/EUGENE RESIDENT/PARENT/GRAD STUDENT/STUDENT/UO EMPLOYEE/COMMUNITY MEMBER], I care about this school and want it to be the best version of itself. But if I knew that student employees would be treated this way, if I knew that students in the dorms would be left without supervision or support, that dining halls would be closing, that mail deliveries would be inconsistent, if I knew that campus streets would be full of picketers, I would think twice before recommending the UO to a prospective student.
You, the decision makers at the University, need to act fast and make a reasonable offer at the bargaining table to end this. The University's reputation in Eugene, in Oregon, and in the broader country can still be saved. Anybody who is receiving this email has a prominent voice in UO, so please do not think that there is nothing you can do. Talk to whoever else you can in the administration and make clear that this needs to stop.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Or select individual recipients
(pres@uoregon.edu)
Christopher P. Long, Provost and Senior Vice President
(provost@uoregon.edu)
Joseph Buck, Vice President for Advancement
(jebuck@uoregon.edu)
Kassy Fisher, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President
(kmfisher@uoregon.edu)
Jane Gordon, Vice President for UO Portland
(jgordon@uoregon.edu)
Robert Guldberg, Vice President and Executive Director of Knight Campus
(guldberg@uoregon.edu)
Kody Kelleher, University Secretary and Advisor to the President
(kkell@uoregon.edu)
Kevin Reed, Vice President and General Counsel
(gcounsel@uoregon.edu)