The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, the union that represents graduate employees at the University of Oregon, declared an impasse on Sept. 26. The University of Oregon and GTFF have been in negotiations over a new contract since November 2018 and moved into mediation in April. The parties will submit their final offers within seven days of the impasse declaration, and then a 30-day cooling off period will begin.

Another mediation session between the UO and GTFF session is scheduled for Oct. 8 and the parties have discussed scheduling additional mediations during the cooling off period. If agreement is not reached after the cooling off period, the GTFF can strike.

Graduate employees are graduate students who work part-time performing teaching and teaching-related duties, research duties, and administrative duties. Approximately 1,400 graduate students work for the university. Additional information about graduate student employment is available in this overview on the Human Resources website and information about bargaining is available on the Human Resources website.