The purpose of this page is to provide our members with information, support, and guidance on what steps you can take if you have concerns about your working conditions. Below you can find links for making official reports to the university’s Safety and Risk Services, the federal Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA), and the GTFF. You have the right to file safety concerns and we strongly recommend exercising it.
For a flyer about reporting safety concerns that you can easily print and post around campus, see here! If any UO community memvers would like to submit an anonymous testimonial for us to post publicly, please email president@gtff.net or communications@gtff.net, or message us on Instagram. If you would like union representation to file a grievance, please contact grievances@gtff.net. More details below!
OSHA
File a complaint with Oregon OSHA here or federal OSHA here. (OSHA allows you to file complaints at both the federal and state level, though the forms are separate.)
Read Oregon OSHA’s COVID-19 safety materials and guidelines here.
OSHA complaints are confidential unless you choose to be identified. They are also legally protected from employer retaliation. Workers are never targets of the investigation. If you have a complaint that seems like it might concern OSHA, we highly recommend filing it so it can be properly investigated and UO can address it.
If you are comfortable reporting your concern to UO as well, use the links at the bottom of this page to do so (the OSHA reporting form asks if you reported this to your employer first, although this is not a requirement for filing an OSHA complaint). Here are some potential concerns that could be OSHA violations.
- If an instructor in your workspace (e.g., in a class you are assigned to) does not wear a mask indoors [UO’s policy allowing some employees to not wear masks indoors when teaching may be in violation of Oregon OSHA Administrative Order 10-2021. Remember, OSHA only penalizes the employer, not fellow employees.]
- If you work in a building with students or employees who tested positive for COVID-19, but their presence in the building was not posted at https://coronavirus.uoregon.edu/cases [NOTE: In most cases, UO has not posted buildings that COVID-19 positive students were in. Our interpretation is that this policy may be in violation of OAR 437-100-0744(3)(j), which requires reporting of “individuals” with COVID in buildings, not only employees.]
- If you have reason to believe UO’s notification to you of COVID exposure took them more than 24 hours since they became aware of the exposure. [This may be in violation of OAR 437-100-0744(3)(j), which requires notification within 24 hours.]
Please email grievances@gtff.net after you file an OSHA complaint, so we can be aware of the problems being reported and can look into filing a grievance if desired/applicable.
GTFF
COVID Organizing: If you’d like to get involved with the GTFF’s response to the university’s response to COVID, we have a COVID strategy meetings every Friday at 10:30am on the GTFF Zoom. You can also send any additional questions or concerns to operations@gtff.net.
Grievances: You have the right to a safe work environment, and because of your union you have contractual protections like limits on work hours and a right to representation to bring grievances to the university. If you would like union representation to file a grievance or learn more about the grievance process, please contact grievances@gtff.net. If you’d like to organize to address issues in your department, we also recommend reaching out to your departmental stewards and organizing@gtff.net. (If you’d like to get involved in GTFF’s Grievances Committee, we meet Tuesdays @ 3pm on the GTFF Zoom.)
Communications: GTFF has been collecting GE and students’ concerns and stories and posting them on our social media accounts. If you would like to submit a testimonial, please use this form, message us on Instagram, or email us at communications@gtff.net. (If you’d like to get involved in COVID communciations efforts, Communications Committee meets Tuesdays @ noon on the GTFF Zoom.)
GTFF’s testimonials are posted with identifying information removed. The form above has an added layer of confidentiality, since the UO ID field confirms your GE status but is not stored.
In addition to protections for concerted union activity, we have legally protected speech as public employees speaking to issues of public concern.
Confidentiality is more complicated and case-dependent in the grievance process since it involves negotiations over specific issues with university management; we tend to strive for as much confidentiality as possible and work with the aggrieved GE to make sure we’re all on the same page regarding who will have access to what information.
UO
Health and Safety contacts to email: here.
Report a Safety Concern: here.
Report Indoor Air Quality Concerns here.
Complaints directly to UO are not typically confidential; their forms ask for contact information. Reporting to UO may still be effective for getting some issues addressed soon and letting UO know how widespread our concerns are.