February 2026 - CGE Newsletter

Protect funding for public education, health providers survey, and trash pickup event!
by Serena Frazee 20 Feb '26

20 Feb '26

*Dear CGE Members and Community,* *Quick Little Reminders* - We need your help to bring your healthcare providers in-network. Please share a list of providers you would like to bring in-network in this brief, anonymous survey <https://forms.gle/WZn9Dz528QZsJUxV6>. The survey also includes the option to provide more detailed information about your healthcare providers (both in-network and out-of-network with Cigna). This information will help provide further context for your bargaining team, and be part of creating a list of recommended providers for new grad workers and others looking for healthcare. - *Sign pledge in support of Portland Community College faculty * Part-Time Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Academic Professionals at Portland Community College (PCCFFAP) have declared impasse on their contract negotiations after being offered a cost of living adjustment equal only to a $3.50 increase for every thousand earned. Sign to support the hardworking faculty at PCCFFAP here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-YV0CkGpiTXvgZRF2VThEdo56ulTYQ3f…> . - *Fellows: Sign to support Fellows' Union Now!* Fellows at OSU are organizing to be recognized as a sublocal of CGE. This will allow Fellows to negotiate a contract for their rights, while uniting all grad workers to support each other and share resources. We are conducting a card counting campaign, the legal process to get union recognition in the State of Oregon. Fellows use this link <https://cge6069.knack.com/cge#fellows/> to sign your card in support! - *Steward nominations open though March 2nd 5pm* Stewards support workers in their department and make sure they are represented in CGE. There is no experience needed, just a commitment to supporting your coworkers! You can nominate yourself or others here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqP2zMOU74t8NB5_rDf0ZCgsoi5O7P3pv…> . Announcements - *Good news and further action on Fight for our Future* The Federal Disconnect bill (SB 1507), which would address Oregon's budget crisis through pulling from reserves and closing tax loopholes, has passed the Senate. This brings us closer protecting the state budget without cutting funding for K-12, higher education, and other important services. Thanks is owed to the hard work of many, including members of CGE who have provided testimony about how proposed budget cuts would impact us and our students. However, this isn't over, as the bill now passes to the House. In order to protect public universities like ours, we must show that we care. Some easy actions to take: - Email Governor Kotek to urge her to take action and prevent cuts with PSU-AAUP's letter action <https://actionnetwork.org/letters/gov-koteks-response-to-oregons-higher-ed-…> . - Find and email your lawmakers <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XsgVjW7QA7OSmjnMmxCgbqnLWhDoJGsyAfYM1bn…> about the importance of protecting education funding to prevent more layoffs and cuts. *Upcoming Events* - *Please join our Environmental Justice Caucus this Saturday 2/21 from 10am-12pm at Shawala Point for a Trash Pick Up Event!* We will be walking along the area picking up trash but also advocating for environmental justice in our collective efforts. It feels more important than ever to foster our sense of community and actively promote justice in any way we can. Gloves and trash bags will be provided, so come alone or bring your friends-- all are welcome! Please also help us spread the word. - *Fellows' Town hall, March 5th, 4-5pm at WestM* This town hall will be a chance for all Fellows to come together and discuss the Fellow's Union. Bring your ideas, priorities, and questions! *Committees and Caucuses that need your help* Grad workers are capable and passionate people who can together exercise great power. One of the ways we do that is through caucuses and committees. All meetings are at WestM unless otherwise stated. *Disability Justice and Mental Health Super Caucus*: Wednesday 2-3pm on zoom. Reach out to vp_membership(a)cge6069.org for the zoom link. *Grievance Committee: *A great opportunity for people to learn more about the contract and how we defend it. Meets Fridays at 4pm. Email vp_grievances(a)cge6069.org for more information. *International Caucus: *The CGE International Caucus is open to all graduate students regardless of CGE membership status and serves to represent the concerns of all international students at Oregon State University. The International Graduate Caucus recognizes that international graduate students attending OSU have unique needs and difficulties in comparison to US students. Reach out to president(a)cge6069.org. *Environmental Justice Caucus:* Every other Monday, 1pm at the Biere Library. Reach out to vp_politics(a)cge6069.org. In solidarity, Serena Frazee (she/her) VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069 PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University

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Fellows' Union, Craft Night, Steward nominations, and Fight for our Future!
by Serena Frazee 13 Feb '26

13 Feb '26

*Dear CGE Members and Community,* *Quick Little Reminders* - *Sign pledge in support of Portland Community College faculty * Part-Time Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Academic Professionals at Portland Community College (PCCFFAP) have declared impasse on their contract negotiations after being offered a cost of living adjustment equal only to a $3.50 increase for every thousand earned. Sign to support the hardworking faculty at PCCFFAP here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-YV0CkGpiTXvgZRF2VThEdo56ulTYQ3f…> . Announcements - *Fellows' Union Now!* Fellows at OSU are organizing to be recognized as a sublocal of CGE. This will allow Fellows to negotiate a contract for their rights, while uniting all grad workers to support each other and share resources. We are conducting a card counting campaign, the legal process to get union recognition in the State of Oregon. Sign your card by reaching out to solidarity(a)cge6069.org. OSU has not considered Fellows employees so they are not included in our bargaining unit. This means that the benefits Fellows receive, are not guaranteed by a contract and could be lost at any time, including with incoming budget cuts. Fellows deserve a say in their own workplace and protected workplace rights. Union recognition for Fellows is possible, it has happened at other universities, and CGE went through a similar process in 2007 to get Graduate Research Assistants included in the union. But we need you! Talk to your coworkers, and encourage Fellows to come to the upcoming town hall on March 5th (more below). - *Steward nominations are open* Steward nominations for each department are open from now until through March 2nd 5pm. Stewards support workers in their department and make sure they are represented in CGE. There is no experience needed, just a commitment to supporting your coworkers! You can nominate yourself or others here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqP2zMOU74t8NB5_rDf0ZCgsoi5O7P3pv…>. It is especially important to get nominations for department that don't currently have any stewards. If you want more information reach out to vp_organizing(a)cge6069.org. - *Call for brewers: beer, wine, kombucha, more!* Planning for the annual CGE Brew off has started. Brew off centers around on contest of home brews (of all kinds) and is also a very good party. Brew off will be in the summer, but now is the time to get brewing! *Upcoming Events* - *Craft and Study Night, February 17th, 4-6pm in the WestM student lounge* Join CGE Disability Justice & Mental Health Caucus for a cozy evening! - *Fellows' Town hall, March 5th, 4-5pm at WestM* This town hall will be a chance for all Fellows to come together and discuss the Fellow's Union. Bring your ideas, priorities, and questions! - *Upcoming actions you can take to support disconnecting the Oregon tax code from the federal tax code to ensure future state education funding* - *Wednesday, February 18th, 3-5pm* *Provide written Testimony for SB 1507* *Here is an **SB 1507 Testimony Submission Form <https://secure.ngpvan.com/f-cN9A-NkkembDc1Y_4djw2>* that leaders on this email can use, and *share with your locals,* ahead of the House Committee on Revenue Public Hearing! We need to have as much testimony prepared and ready to submit so we can come in hot as soon as the testimony link is live! Fill this out, and the coalition will submit it onto the record ASAP. *Verbal (In-Person or Online) Testimony for SB 1507* *We need to "pack the room" in Salem as much as we can. *Speak to the need to pass this bill and prevent the very worst of budget cuts to early learning, K12, and Oregon's higher education system. RSVP here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOwqzpuznEj9DiIrPFKLB0a9wSrIo_85K…> . *Email your Elected Lawmaker* *You can use this *new coalition link <https://secure.ngpvan.com/YxVIQPodWkmHVEv27y8C7g2?emci=4c1eca6d-8307-f111-8…> to send an email, or use AFT-Oregon's toolkit <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XsgVjW7QA7OSmjnMmxCgbqnLWhDoJGsyAfYM1bn…> to send a tailored email that is sure to pass by any spam filter a lawmaker might use. Both are good to use or share - both have an impact - we win through a *volume* of actions! *Phone-bank For Our Future** - February 19th at 6pm * *The Oregon Working Families Party is supporting AFT-Oregon members and the Fight For Our Future revenue coalition by organizing a phone bank with us and fellow advocates to call constituents in key target districts, tell them about this issue, and 'patch-them-through' to leave voicemails to their lawmakers. This will build bottom up pressure on key targets who need the biggest push. * Register for Thursday, 2/19 at 6pm at this link <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/3lS--l7YRp6VJpzAM7s6CA>" *Committees and Caucuses that need your help* Grad workers are capable and passionate people who can together exercise great power. One of the ways we do that is through caucuses and committees. All meetings are at WestM unless otherwise stated. *Disability Justice and Mental Health Super Caucus*: Wednesday 2-3pm on zoom. Reach out to vp_membership(a)cge6069.org for the zoom link. *Grievance Committee: *A great opportunity for people to learn more about the contract and how we defend it. Meets Fridays at 4pm. Email vp_grievances(a)cge6069.org for more information. *International Caucus: *The CGE International Caucus is open to all graduate students regardless of CGE membership status and serves to represent the concerns of all international students at Oregon State University. The International Graduate Caucus recognizes that international graduate students attending OSU have unique needs and difficulties in comparison to US students. Reach out to president(a)cge6069.org. *Environmental Justice Caucus:* Every other Monday (not next Monday!), 1pm at the Biere Library. Reach out to vp_politics(a)cge6069.org. In solidarity, Serena Frazee (she/her) VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069 PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University

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Bargaining updates, violence at last week's protest, support for public funding
by Serena Frazee 06 Feb '26

06 Feb '26

*Dear CGE Members and Community,* *Quick Little Reminders* - *Bargaining Committee (meets Wednesday 11-1pm @WestM):* *Like everything else CGE does, the impact bargaining team is made up of members - that’s you! *If you are interested in learning more about or even joining the Bargaining Committee please email vp_bargaining(a)cge6069.org with a non-OSU email indicating your interest. Anyone can attend bargaining committee meetings, even if you are not a member of the team. *We are especially interested in making **sure that we have representation from masters students, international **students, humanities students, queer students, students of color, and **any other group of students who face challenges that can be addressed **through contract negotiations.* No prior experience in research/negotiations is expected or required. Announcements - *Bargaining Update* CGE's bargaining team most recently met with OSU on Friday, 1/30/2026. In this meeting: - *OSU confirmed that student health services is IN NETWORK with Cigna.* Please disregard letters stating that your provider there is out of network; student health's billing office has made a mistake with claims from October and November, and they are actively correcting those claims. OSU has refused to send an email to grads notifying us of this mistake, so be sure to spread the word about this. - *OSU also has informed us that unexpected expenses resulting from our insurance swap are within criteria to apply for their hardship fund* (Financial Impact Hardship Award - FIHA); at least two applications have already been accepted on these grounds. Their wording for eligibility criteria for the award has been changed accordingly. You can apply for it here: ( https://graduate.oregonstate.edu/awards/financial-impact-hardship-award) - *We have compiled lists of the providers that were in-network with Pacific Source that are not in network with Cigna most visited by our grads (medical, mental health, and vision). OSU has agreed to contact Cigna to try to bring them into network.* They have said they will send our list of those providers to Cigna within a week. We will learn if any of those providers do enter network with Cigna by requesting a new Cigna provider directory in the months to come. - *Our bargaining team proposed that a student health representative should be invited to the Health Insurance Advisory Council* (HIAC), a joint body that meets quarterly to discuss the university's offered health insurance plans and administration. Our intent was to loop student health in to the issues related to our insurance since many grads use them for visits. OSU was averse to this idea for unclear reasons - regardless, we have reached out to student health to see if they would be interested in sending a rep. - If you want to read about this in more detail see the attached update! - *Statement from AFT-Oregon on ICE violence on 1/31* Last Saturday members of CGE joined dozens of other unions for a peaceful rally in Portland and were met by violence. I wanted to share with you the statement from AFT-OR (our state level parent union): "In coordination with the Oregon AFL-CIO, members of AFT-Oregon and dozens of other local unions gathered for a peaceful daytime labor rally on Saturday, January 30th, at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland. We marched to the ICE facility half a mile away, and were immediately met with flash bangs and chemical munitions deployment from officers on the roof. This rally was attended by thousands of workers and their families and children, some with babies, dogs, and elderly folks walking with assistive devices. This followed another incident earlier last week in Eugene, where federal agents also deployed chemical munitions against protestors. If there were any uncertainty regarding our stance on ICE in our cities, it is gone now. They inflict violence and unlawful, racially motivated detentions on our community, and have been doing so for far too long. Their conduct is shameful, and demonstrates disregard for due process, our constitutional rights, and the safety of our communities. We demand that they cease their operations in Oregon and everywhere else. We stand in solidarity with workers in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago and anywhere else where ICE is perpetuating unchecked violence. An injury to one is an injury to all. The violence perpetrated by ICE is escalating. The danger to our communities is growing. As workers, we will continue to stand up–in solidarity with our neighbors–to the bullies and undemocratic authoritarians of ICE. We will not be deterred." You can read more about this in the following news articles: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/31/labor-against-ice-portland-oregon-im… https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/02/federal-officers-use-of-tear-gas-on-… - *Sign pledge in support of Portland Community College faculty * Part-Time Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Academic Professionals at Portland Community College (PCCFFAP) have declared impasse on their contract negotiations. They have shared the following message: "The college is currently at best offering faculty a first year of Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) at 0.35%. To put that in perspective, that’s a $3.50 increase for every *thousand* earned. Please support our union as we may have to strike at the end of term." Sign to support the hardworking faculty at PCCFFAP here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-YV0CkGpiTXvgZRF2VThEdo56ulTYQ3f…> . - *Submit testimony to protect critical services* From Fight for our Future: "Last year, Trump signed into law $117 billion in new federal tax breaks for the richest 1% of Americans. As a result, everyone in Oregon who depends on funding for critical services - from our students and educators to patients, nurses, and first responders - could see devastating budget cuts. Lawmakers in Salem have the power to STOP Trump's tax breaks from getting copied into Oregon's state tax code, but they need to hear from US that we want them to take action." Submit testimony here <https://secure.ngpvan.com/QvgilOzUVUWqeFY8GcGU_A2>! *Committees and Caucuses that need your help* Grad workers are capable and passionate people who can together exercise great power. One of the ways we do that is through caucuses and committees. All meetings are at WestM unless otherwise stated. *Disability Justice and Mental Health Super Caucus*: Wednesday 2-3pm on zoom. Reach out to vp_membership(a)cge6069.org for the zoom link. *Grievance Committee: *A great opportunity for people to learn more about the contract and how we defend it. Meets Fridays at 4pm. Email vp_grievances(a)cge6069.org for more information. *International Caucus: *The CGE International Caucus is open to all graduate students regardless of CGE membership status and serves to represent the concerns of all international students at Oregon State University. The International Graduate Caucus recognizes that international graduate students attending OSU have unique needs and difficulties in comparison to US students. Reach out to president(a)cge6069.org. *Environmental Justice Caucus:* Every other Monday (not next Monday!), 1pm at the Biere Library. Reach out to vp_politics(a)cge6069.org. In solidarity, Serena Frazee (she/her) VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069 PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University

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