COCC educators to rally, call for end to ‘poverty wages’
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)-- For the first time in its 75-year history, Central Oregon Community College faculty and classified staff, represented by two separate unions, are joining forces to demand living wages.
Educators plan to rally Wednesday, January 14th at 5 p.m. outside the Boyle Education Center on the COCC Bend campus. The event, “COCC Workers Rally: United for Living Wages,” comes as faculty and classified staff say the college continues to pay wages that don’t meet the cost of living in Central Oregon.
WHO: Central Oregon Community College faculty and classified staff
WHAT: COCC Workers Rally: United for Living Wages
WHEN: Wednesday January 14 at 5pm
WHERE: Outside the Central Oregon Community College Boyle Education Center, 2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR 97703
WHY: The ongoing refusal of Central Oregon Community College (COCC) to pay its employees living wages has sparked the two unions representing educators at the college to come together for the first time ever in a massive joint rally protesting COCC’s poverty wages.
Union leaders accuse COCC of maintaining large financial reserves while employees struggle to make ends meet. A recent survey found that one in four classified educators at the college experiences food insecurity.
Classified staff, who handle custodial work, counseling, tech support, and specialized student services, have demanded state mediation after more than nine months of stalled negotiations. Faculty begin their own bargaining sessions with the college on Thursday, January 15th.
Both groups, now affiliated with the Oregon Education Association, say they are united in the push to end “poverty wages” and ensure all COCC employees can afford to live in the community they serve.
