Klamath Community College in Klamath Falls.
Courtesy of Gary Halvorson/Oregon State Archives
A two-day hearing with the state Employment Relations Board concluded this week, with the union alleging the college has refused to bargain in good faith. The college denies those claims.
The Klamath Community College Association of Classified Employees represents support and administrative workers, like library and bookstore employees. Formed in 2024, the union is negotiating its first contract with the college.
The union’s complaint alleges the college cut employees’ hours because of union activity and failed to collect union dues from employee paychecks.
“The college had made its intentions regarding bargaining clear. It did not intend to meaningfully bargain with the association,” union attorney Evianna Colvin said in her opening statement. “Coupled with this refusal to bargain, the college continued to engage in blatant harassment and retaliation of employees.”
But the college said there’s no evidence of this, and it had no bad intent toward the union.
KCC attorney John Stellwagen also frequently objected to documents Colvin introduced during the hearing, saying those events were outside the scope of the complaint.
“It’s basically just trying to bootstrap old allegations and old complaints into the current unfair labor practice,” he said.
The union filed a complaint against the college last year that was settled in September. The union now alleges the college is violating that settlement agreement, while the college argues the union is dragging up old matters that have already been resolved.
“This is like relitigating the original petition,” Stellwagen said.
The hearing comes as the two sides continue to negotiate their first contract. Witnesses said bargaining has entered mediation, and the parties have reached tentative agreements on several points.
Alex Howe, a statewide organizer with the Oregon Education Association, testified about the college’s actions during bargaining.
“The impact that it had on our bargaining team was that it gave us the impression that the employer had no interest in negotiating with us and was staking out an abnormally hostile stance,” he said.
But KCC General Counsel Joshua Guest disputed that characterization, saying college representatives worked hard to be responsive during negotiations.
“We regularly went to the table,” he said. “We tried not to leave any of their articles unresponded to. We always would have a counter. We tried to kind of have always the ball be in their court as we approached any table.”
Lawyers for both sides now have until Oct. 16 to submit their final arguments. Administrative Law Judge Martin Kehoe will then make a ruling, which could take months.
Jane Vaughan is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
