After months of bargaining over wages, workload, and job protections, the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees, Oberlin’s last large union, reached a new three-year agreement with the College in mid-August. The contract was approved by the union’s negotiations team and later ratified with strong support from the membership. 

OCOPE President Julie Weir said the outcome reflected broad satisfaction among members. 

“We did complete negotiations in mid-August,” Weir wrote in an email to the Review. “The contract was recommended by the negotiations team and overwhelmingly voted for by our membership. I think that is a good measure of members feeling it is a good contract.” 

Deputy Human Resources Officer Maggie Nieves also emphasized the collaborative nature of the process. 

“We are happy to announce that the College and OCOPE agreed to a three-year contract,” Nieves wrote in an email to the Review. “All parties were able to agree on a number of both economic and operational issues that will benefit the institution and OCOPE staff. We thank the OCOPE bargaining team and leadership for approaching these negotiations with the utmost professionalism.” 

Founded in the ’70s, OCOPE represents secretarial, clerical, and technical staff across the College. As one of Oberlin’s oldest unions, it has consistently fought for equitable pay, benefits, and protections for its workers. The union entered the summer with three priorities: “relief from inflation, protections during the winter shutdown, and preserving bargaining-unit work,” (“OCOPE Union Prepares for Key Contract Negotiations with College,” The Oberlin Review, May 9, 2025). 

According to Weir, inflation was a central concern, as members explained last spring that wage increases had not kept pace with the rising cost of groceries, utilities, and rent. The new contract addresses this by guaranteeing annual wage increases for all members and step increases for many members over the life of the contract. In addition, staff working outside normal hours and those with more than 35 years of service will see small but notable financial gains. 

Another long-running issue was the winter shutdown. In past years, employees were forced to use their personal or vacation time to cover days when the College closed. According to Weir, many members said this policy was particularly burdensome for newer staff who had little time accrued, effectively penalizing them at the start of each year. The new agreement makes a major change: all staff now have the shutdown period fully covered without having to dip into their own paid time off. Weir said this shift was one of the most meaningful outcomes of the negotiations, and she described it as a victory that benefits every member. 

Weir said job protections were a major topic during the talks. Last semester, OCOPE leaders pointed to the gradual erosion of bargaining-unit work and the reassignment of duties as an ongoing threat to staff job security. The new contract maintains language that protects bargaining-unit work and adds provisions to address workload concerns, including a process for reviewing additional responsibilities to ensure fair compensation. 

Unlike some past rounds of bargaining, which union members have described as contentious, Weir said the process was marked by cooperation. 

“I think these negotiations went well, with both sides working to find solutions that worked for both of us,” Weir said. “We didn’t agree on everything, but I think in the end we reached an agreement that addresses concerns for both management and labor.” 

She also pointed to the longer-term security provided by the contract, noting that benefits, raises, and layoff procedures cannot change without negotiations. Weir said the agreement also took steps toward addressing workload concerns, with new language allowing for review of additional responsibilities and compensation. 

“Once negotiations are complete, the role shifts to making sure the agreed upon language is upheld and the rights of our members are respected,” Weir said. “We also will continue to address concerns of our membership related to their working conditions and experiences here at Oberlin as an employee.”