Compensation Comparison for Oregon’s State Universities

The Service Employees International Union Local 503 (SEIU) is a public sector union that operates in Oregon. SEIU retained Anderson Economic Group to conduct a study comparing public sector higher education employee compensation with that in state and local government and nonprofit higher education in Oregon.

We analyzed data from the University of Oregon’s job classification website, Oregon Public Employee Retirement System actuarial valuation reports, and Oregon Public Employee Benefit Board health insurance premium information. We also collected and analyzed similar data from Oregon State and local governments and analyzed data from PayScale and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employer Cost of Employee Compensation Survey.

We then created data tables summarizing salary and bonuses, employer-paid health insurance costs, and employer-paid retirement costs by occupation. We also calculated the ratios of salary and benefit costs between Oregon public colleges and universities and 1) the private sector and 2) select local governments.

We submitted these data tables to the client in a memorandum.