A quick and dirty update from our bargaining session on Friday.
1) We came with a show of force. Over 20 bargaining members showed up to show their upset about MSU's bargaining platform. This effort was much appreciated by the bargaining team, and definitely gave MSU something to consider! Can you come out to our next bargaining session on April 1st? Members were grading, dissertating, and doing other TA related things while showing support.
2) There was a lot of time spent hashing out anti-discrimination language. We're not sure why MSU is so reluctant to incorporate additional language. The only argument they presented to us was "because it is long, if someone doesn't see their particular discrimination on the list they will feel left out." Our argument to that was that if we provide a comprehensive anti-discrimination list in our contract, it will be capacious enough to support any member should they feel discriminated against. They are bringing in the 'big gun' from the office of inclusion to explain to us their concerns.
3) There was a lot of time spent on our mandatory reporting MOU. We don't want to close down the line of communication between us and our students. If they open up to us about sexual violence, we are required to report it, even if they aren't ready to do so themselves. There is a bunch of literature that says this kind of thing is terrible for victims. And there is evidence that mandatory reporting opens up MSU for additional risks in terms of liability. And our friends at UofM managed to remove mandatory reporting for TAs. There are so many negatives on this issue, and it was clear that the administration had no idea what the mandatory reporting requirements were, saying that TAs were federally mandated to report.
a) this is bad for survivors. MSU has a bad track record for supporting survivors. This would be a step forward for them.
b) this is bad for us. When we held a town hall on the issue, the various departments had different marching orders as to when we needed to report and when it was outside the scope of our jobs. And some say that if our friends, other TAs, or undergrads we don't teach who work in our labs, were to speak out, we would be required to report their experiences.
c) The enforcing agency, the MSU police, at that same town hall, provided contradictory information. They also assured us that all that would happen if a report was made would be an email to the victim. Regardless of the problems associated with possibly sharing an email or password with the person perpetrating the violence, some have come forward saying the MSU police have reached out to the accused and asked for 'their side of the story.'
Again, MSU is bringing in someone from the office of inclusion because they didn't do their research on the issue.
In positive news, we settled on language regarding compensation during jury duty and are keeping our bulletin boards!
The next bargaining meeting is April 1st, 10-3p.m. If you have questions about the process or want to come as a bargaining team member or observer (here's looking at you faculty and undergrads), let us know!
In Solidarity.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Stewards share their stories
During the stewards council meeting tonight, the bargaining team presented updates 'from the trenches' about the platforms and memorandums of understanding being presented by both MSU and the GEU. If you've been following, you'll note that we've shared some highlights in previous posts. As we share these updates, we are asking stewards and active members to share stories about how these changes would impact them. You.
One thing the bargaining committee is asking you to do is to talk to your graduate director about 1) how much time they would like in order to effectively assign teaching assistantships, and 2) how the changes MSU is proposing would impact their departments.
It's clear that the over 40 stewards in attendance at the stewards council tonight are not happy. And many have already talked to their colleagues who are also not happy.
Let us know specifically how tuition changes might impact you, how healthcare impacts you. We can use these stories to provide examples for the bargaining team to use in negotiations. Email them to GEU at MSU.edu.
Also, we need YOU to come out to our general membership meeting, hear the details of ALL the proposed platform changes. Bring your colleagues! The meeting is April 10th, at 5 p.m., in the Erickson
KIVA.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Upcoming Bargaining Meeting Dates!
Upcoming bargaining meeting dates:
March 27th - 1-5pm
April 1st - 10am-3pm
Tentatively Scheduled Meetings, times to follow!
April 6th
April 13th
April 15th
April 28th
April 29th
April 30th
Securing non-economic issues in our contract
MSU is old school. They believe that issues like better diversity language and childcare subsidies are frivolous and unnecessary. They believe that some of the non-economic issues we have brought up say that we are not taking our responsibility as a bargaining team seriously.
Yet, the economic platform they presented reduces our compensation package drastically.
1) It removes any subsidies for spouses/dependents on healthcare.
2) It puts increases in healthcare costs on us, while making increasing vague the language of what they will cover, providing us with a lower quality plan to begin with and reducing services. Plan would be the one they select, and quite likely would not include perks like a prescription plan.
3) It further reduces our already very limited tuition compensation. Many departments require us to hold 10 credits (MSU only pays for 9) in fall/spring and ALREADY incur a cost. The GEU maintains a pool for providing for people who have to take on additional credits. This pool will be REMOVED.
4) If you ever go on a leave, you must be subjected to a medical evaluation before you return to work, and you may be put on unpaid medical leave.
MSU is trying to weaken the union. We are fighting hard to prevent that, but it is a possible reality. Please let us know how these changes might affect you, personally. Here is an example from a graduate student in geological sciences on how these changes may affect her:
"After my MS, I was employed at a non-profit. The pay wasn't great, but I had amazing healthcare. Then 2008 hit, and we incurred a drastic change in provided healthcare. Then, we incurred the costs of rising healthcare. I could no longer afford to pay my student loans and be a working adult. I had to leave that position.
Additionally, our department requires that we not take more than one 999 (PhD research credit) per semester until we've passed our comps. If I take 2.5 years to pass my comps, I only have 5 999 credits. I then have 1.5-2 years, according to our graduate handbook, to finish my degree. It is not possible to get the required 24 research credits without paying MSU out of my own pocket. These changes will impact my fiscal bottom line so much so that I would not be able to complete this degree without taking out student loans. I would never choose to attend MSU, when other universities would offer me so much more."
Is this the university you want to work for? One that devalues TAs, is working to weaken the union, and limit our abilities to educate our students? One that forces us to choose, as 20 and 30 somethings, to further delay starting or growing our families?
The next bargaining meeting is this Friday, March 27th. Come out and join the growing group of people who will stand with bargaining to tell MSU that this contract is morally reprehensible.
#StandUpForTHIS
#GEUisU
Yet, the economic platform they presented reduces our compensation package drastically.
1) It removes any subsidies for spouses/dependents on healthcare.
2) It puts increases in healthcare costs on us, while making increasing vague the language of what they will cover, providing us with a lower quality plan to begin with and reducing services. Plan would be the one they select, and quite likely would not include perks like a prescription plan.
3) It further reduces our already very limited tuition compensation. Many departments require us to hold 10 credits (MSU only pays for 9) in fall/spring and ALREADY incur a cost. The GEU maintains a pool for providing for people who have to take on additional credits. This pool will be REMOVED.
4) If you ever go on a leave, you must be subjected to a medical evaluation before you return to work, and you may be put on unpaid medical leave.
MSU is trying to weaken the union. We are fighting hard to prevent that, but it is a possible reality. Please let us know how these changes might affect you, personally. Here is an example from a graduate student in geological sciences on how these changes may affect her:
"After my MS, I was employed at a non-profit. The pay wasn't great, but I had amazing healthcare. Then 2008 hit, and we incurred a drastic change in provided healthcare. Then, we incurred the costs of rising healthcare. I could no longer afford to pay my student loans and be a working adult. I had to leave that position.
Additionally, our department requires that we not take more than one 999 (PhD research credit) per semester until we've passed our comps. If I take 2.5 years to pass my comps, I only have 5 999 credits. I then have 1.5-2 years, according to our graduate handbook, to finish my degree. It is not possible to get the required 24 research credits without paying MSU out of my own pocket. These changes will impact my fiscal bottom line so much so that I would not be able to complete this degree without taking out student loans. I would never choose to attend MSU, when other universities would offer me so much more."
Is this the university you want to work for? One that devalues TAs, is working to weaken the union, and limit our abilities to educate our students? One that forces us to choose, as 20 and 30 somethings, to further delay starting or growing our families?
The next bargaining meeting is this Friday, March 27th. Come out and join the growing group of people who will stand with bargaining to tell MSU that this contract is morally reprehensible.
#StandUpForTHIS
#GEUisU
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Beginning of economic issue bargaining
Yesterday our awesome bargaining team presented our initial economic bargaining platform. It included a wage increase, better subsidization of dependent healthcare, a full tuition waiver for the duration of our degree program, subsidized childcare, and fully subsidized bus passes.
Then we saw MSUs platform...if you look on Twitter, or browse the feed at the right of this blog, you'll see the live tweets from the meeting.
A few highlights (or should we say lowlights) from MSUs platform:
- removing all contributions to dependent healthcare. We would assume 100% of those costs.
- putting predicted significant healthcare rises incurred during the duration of the contract on us.
- continuing the 9 credits per semester (5 in summer) tuition waiver that we currently have until we complete our comprehensives, then reducing it to 3 (1 in summer)
- change our compensation from a 2 tiered system to one based on merit. A pool would be developed to give merit based raises each fall, and TAs only working in the spring would have no opportunity to accrue merit raises. Additionally, who would be evaluating us?
- they have not mentioned wage increases.
It's true that in bargaining both parties start divided and work toward a central, amenable contract. However, everyone was surprised by just how little MSUs initial platform provided.
The next bargaining session is March 27th. Do you want more from MSU? Email us if you would like to attend a bargaining session and stand up for THIS.
#GEUisU
A reminder of what collective bargaining can do
As bargaining talks continue with MSU, it's important to remind ourselves of how much we, and our predecessors, have achieved for graduate teaching assistants on campus. Many of the things that make our work life reasonable and some perks we take for granted are only here because we bargained successfully in the past. Here's a list of some hard-earned rights MSU TAs have under our outgoing contract:
1. Health insurance – platinum-level coverage
2. Tuition waiver – 9 credits for both fall and spring semester, 5 in
summer.
3. Parking – access to faculty and staff parking south of the river.
4. Protection from overwork – stipulated maximum hours, clearly
defined employment periods.
5. Definition of levels – higher pay for more experience.
6. Mandatory increases in stipends – yearly raises.
7. Due process (grievance procedure) – employees cannot be arbitrarily
fired; right to free legal representation.
8. Access to teaching resources – teaching materials, workspace, safe
working environment.
9. Guaranteed course-specific training.
10. Extended library privileges, deadlines for appointment notices,
and much more!
2. Tuition waiver – 9 credits for both fall and spring semester, 5 in
summer.
3. Parking – access to faculty and staff parking south of the river.
4. Protection from overwork – stipulated maximum hours, clearly
defined employment periods.
5. Definition of levels – higher pay for more experience.
6. Mandatory increases in stipends – yearly raises.
7. Due process (grievance procedure) – employees cannot be arbitrarily
fired; right to free legal representation.
8. Access to teaching resources – teaching materials, workspace, safe
working environment.
9. Guaranteed course-specific training.
10. Extended library privileges, deadlines for appointment notices,
and much more!
We're sitting in meetings to ensure we keep these rights and gain a few things to combat the increasingly difficult position we're in as educators in a workplace with shrinking funds, increased students, and less support. Want to help? Want to sit in on a bargaining session, see what it looks like, and lend some solidarity to the bargaining team? Have any questions? Shoot us an email geu at msu.edu!
#GEUisYOU
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Bargaining Update - A Lengthy Roundup
Here is a beautiful roundup of the 3+ meetings that have already happened in bargaining. We haven't yet moved from non-economic issues (like parking, access to breastfeeding locations, diversity and harassment language, etc) to fiscal issues (like our stipends), but the bargaining team has put together a lovely update for us all. Scroll for the full update, or just check out the bolded highlights.
And remember, if you want to attend a meeting and see how this stuff goes down in person, we'd love to have you stand (or sit, technically) in solidarity with us across from MSU administrators. Tomorrow we begin bargaining economic issues, so if you have free time and want to sit in on a meeting, please let us know!
At our first bargaining meeting we established ground rules. The university pushed to rush the
process by asking us to submit our full proposal at the following meeting. We found this
unfeasible in part because we needed considerable amounts of information from the university
and in part because we are trying to develop our bargaining plans with the feedback from all
TAs. The university also made rules that limit the openness of the bargaining process. That said,
we secured a space for up to two outside observers in each bargaining session and we can add
members (even if you can only come once) to the bargaining team. If you are interested in
coming, please let us know; having numbers at the table lets the university know that we care
enough to push our proposals through!
- We need numbers sitting across the table from MSU to be heard. Will you come to a bargaining session?
In the following sessions we exchanged non-economic proposals including language updating
our contract for Right to Work, expanding our access to parking, guaranteeing spaces for
breastfeeding mothers to express breast milk, improving our anti-discrimination language,
requiring better data from the university, and guaranteeing reimbursement for Mental Health
First Aid, first aid, AED, and CPR training.
Many members have expressed concern that they do not have the training to help a student
experiencing a mental or physical health crisis. The American College Health Association
reports that eight percent of college students seriously consider suicide in any given year and
suicide remains the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 34. The numbers of
students (both graduate and undergraduate) who struggle with mental illnesses is heart-rending.
When students approach us with their concerns, we need to be able to support them from a place
of compassion and knowledge as we direct them to appropriate resources. Responding in time
during a physical health crisis is equally important. While the university is equipped with
Automatic External Defibrillators (AED), few of us know how to use them. Heart disease is the
fifth leading cause of death for the same age group. Mental Health First Aid, CPR, and AED
training should be available and free for those who want to volunteer their time learning how to
help keep our students, coworkers, faculty, and staff safe on campus. The Office of Employee
Relations (OER) initially implied that this should be considered as part of our compensation
package and that if we want reimbursement for these trainings we should ask for less elsewhere
in our contract. When asked directly if they thought we should trade our raises for the safety of
students they backed away from using this as an economic bargaining chip, but their interest in
this proposal remains non-committal.
Our anti-discrimination proposal expands the categories protected in our contract to include
(among other things) pregnancy status, gender identity, and gender expression. University
responses to this have been, frankly, comical. The university insists that because some of these
categories are covered either by university policy or law they should not be in our contract.
When we explain that we want to help build on the university’s vision of diversity as listed in the
policy, they imply that wanting this in our contract reflects a lack of trust. They have expressed
concern that our proposal will hurt the feelings of those who wrote the language for the
university policy. Instead, the university would like to remove all anti-discrimination language
from the contract and replace it with a requirement that employers follow university policy and
law. They claim that for anti-discrimination language, “less is more.” Given the challenges any
attempt to expand the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act to cover LGBT issues has faced, this is
inadequate.
- MSU doesn't want to expand our anti-discrimination language in the contract since it is 'law.' However, many graduate students have the ability to file a grievance, but not the time or $ to file litigation. Wouldn't it be better to resolve issues in-house? And show the world that MSU won't tolerate discrimination? We think 'Yes.' Do you?
In order to protect the inclusion of breast-feeding mothers in the workplace, we have pushed for
language requiring employing units to provide access to any spaces available for other categories
of employees and to provide sanitary, private spaces in our office buildings and buildings where
we teach. While the Affordable Care Act protects these rights, we would like them to be in our
contract so that it is easier for breast-feeding mothers to explain their needs to supervisors (with
as little awkwardness as possible) and so that any problems can be managed with a grievance
procedure instead of lawsuits. Surprisingly, the university is digging in its heels on this. They
maintain that the spaces are already available. However, as we start a survey of available rooms
on campus it is becoming clear that many are inadequate or inaccessible because of outdated
information. Some of the listed spaces included on the family resource page are not private (one
had a picture window without coverings facing a student dorm), some are used for other
purposes i.e. as copy rooms, and some of the contacts listed for access to locked rooms are
outdated. One of the representatives from the Office of Employee Relations suggested that new
mothers should spend their maternity leave planning for these issues. New mothers should not
have to spend maternity leave exploring campus to insure that university policy is, in fact,
carried out.
Because this is our first Right to Work contract, we have had to radically shift contract language
for fee-payers. We are trying to establish a new category of voluntary fee-payer for those
members of our bargaining unit who would still like to contribute to the services provided by the union but do not want to become full members. The university also proposed language, but
without the fee-payer status. Given that other unions on campus have built this language into
their contracts, it seems unlikely that the university will raise too much opposition to our
proposal.
The university has also submitted a variety of proposals. In addition to updating the contract for
Right to Work and changing our anti-discrimination language, they are looking to remove
requirements that employing departments notify us in a timely manner about our employment
status for upcoming semesters, and change the dates and language of our employment period.
The university’s suggestion that we eliminate our employment notification dates will not provide
the necessary financial stability and planning time for graduate students. Currently, many
departments respond to the requirement that they notify TAs of their employment status by April
19th by simply telling all applicants that there is no position available for them and then rehiring
later. They say this is because they are unable to know which classes will have high enough
enrollment for a teaching assistantship. Enrollment information is often available late in the
summer so we have started a conversation about changing the notification into a two part
system- an earlier date ensuring that applicants have a position as a teaching assistant and a later
date confirming the specific course number. We are interested in your thoughts on this idea. If
we were to propose a solution along these lines, how would the later notification of course
specifics affect you?
The university’s other important, non-economic proposal would change the language of our
compensation in the contract from stipend to salary and adjust the pay periods for each semester so that they do not overlap in the middle. Their concern about the overlapping dates stems from the overlap grievances that university settled with GEU in the last year. Rather than updating their payroll system to handle two TA-ships at the same time, they would like (it seems) to pay us by course. They claim that the current contract language of “salary” requires that we be paid
for as long as we work while “stipend” would allow the end of pay date to precede the
completion of work. We are concerned about the way these proposals categorize our work and
will continue to research the effects they might have.
Conversations on all of these topics will continue as we work to negotiate our economic
proposals. Each group will submit their economic proposals in negotiating sessions on
Wednesday, March 18. In addition to making our proposal for health insurance and raises, we
will propose childcare stipends and access to dining halls at faculty rates among other things. All
new proposals (not including counter-proposals) must be submitted by April 1 so if you have
ideas for language you don’t see here or would like to be involved in drafting contract language
please send us an email!
- TOMORROW we begin economic bargaining! Send positive vibes, or come out in solidarity!
Finally, we will submit a letter of understanding to the university removing our status as
mandatory reporters until the system has been improved. At present the university has designated
all employees (including research and teaching assistants) as mandatory reporters of sexual
assault and relationship violence. While we all want the university to be aware of the extent of
sexual assault on campus and begin appropriate investigations, we fear that the overlap of
categories as both students and employees will confuse the reporting process and that
designation of all employees as mandatory reporters will create an environment in which
students feel unable to approach teachers because they are not ready to report. Having safe
spaces to share their experiences and the ability to communicate the effect it has on their
coursework is necessary for survivors’ well being and their ability to succeed at MSU. Anything
that impedes that will be detrimental to survivors and make it more difficult to direct them to
campus resources. Anything that promotes silence is not an option. Teaching assistants can then
have a voice in improving he reporting process and creating a system that allows us to help our
students.
Throughout the bargaining process the bargaining team needs to know what your bottom line is. What would make an acceptable raise? What are acceptable conditions for those returning from maternity leave? What do you need to be an effective educator? Stewards will be reaching out to learn what it is that you are unwilling to move on for this contract. Furthermore, we need to
make plans to make refusal to move by the university untenable. Bargaining works because of
things that happen outside the room. Rallies or grade-ins may be necessary to make the public
aware of the work we do and the issues we care about. If you have ideas or are willing to
participate- let us know!
What will you stand for?
In Solidarity,
Your bargaining team
And remember, if you want to attend a meeting and see how this stuff goes down in person, we'd love to have you stand (or sit, technically) in solidarity with us across from MSU administrators. Tomorrow we begin bargaining economic issues, so if you have free time and want to sit in on a meeting, please let us know!
At our first bargaining meeting we established ground rules. The university pushed to rush the
process by asking us to submit our full proposal at the following meeting. We found this
unfeasible in part because we needed considerable amounts of information from the university
and in part because we are trying to develop our bargaining plans with the feedback from all
TAs. The university also made rules that limit the openness of the bargaining process. That said,
we secured a space for up to two outside observers in each bargaining session and we can add
members (even if you can only come once) to the bargaining team. If you are interested in
coming, please let us know; having numbers at the table lets the university know that we care
enough to push our proposals through!
- We need numbers sitting across the table from MSU to be heard. Will you come to a bargaining session?
In the following sessions we exchanged non-economic proposals including language updating
our contract for Right to Work, expanding our access to parking, guaranteeing spaces for
breastfeeding mothers to express breast milk, improving our anti-discrimination language,
requiring better data from the university, and guaranteeing reimbursement for Mental Health
First Aid, first aid, AED, and CPR training.
Many members have expressed concern that they do not have the training to help a student
experiencing a mental or physical health crisis. The American College Health Association
reports that eight percent of college students seriously consider suicide in any given year and
suicide remains the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 34. The numbers of
students (both graduate and undergraduate) who struggle with mental illnesses is heart-rending.
When students approach us with their concerns, we need to be able to support them from a place
of compassion and knowledge as we direct them to appropriate resources. Responding in time
during a physical health crisis is equally important. While the university is equipped with
Automatic External Defibrillators (AED), few of us know how to use them. Heart disease is the
fifth leading cause of death for the same age group. Mental Health First Aid, CPR, and AED
training should be available and free for those who want to volunteer their time learning how to
help keep our students, coworkers, faculty, and staff safe on campus. The Office of Employee
Relations (OER) initially implied that this should be considered as part of our compensation
package and that if we want reimbursement for these trainings we should ask for less elsewhere
in our contract. When asked directly if they thought we should trade our raises for the safety of
students they backed away from using this as an economic bargaining chip, but their interest in
this proposal remains non-committal.
Our anti-discrimination proposal expands the categories protected in our contract to include
(among other things) pregnancy status, gender identity, and gender expression. University
responses to this have been, frankly, comical. The university insists that because some of these
categories are covered either by university policy or law they should not be in our contract.
When we explain that we want to help build on the university’s vision of diversity as listed in the
policy, they imply that wanting this in our contract reflects a lack of trust. They have expressed
concern that our proposal will hurt the feelings of those who wrote the language for the
university policy. Instead, the university would like to remove all anti-discrimination language
from the contract and replace it with a requirement that employers follow university policy and
law. They claim that for anti-discrimination language, “less is more.” Given the challenges any
attempt to expand the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act to cover LGBT issues has faced, this is
inadequate.
- MSU doesn't want to expand our anti-discrimination language in the contract since it is 'law.' However, many graduate students have the ability to file a grievance, but not the time or $ to file litigation. Wouldn't it be better to resolve issues in-house? And show the world that MSU won't tolerate discrimination? We think 'Yes.' Do you?
In order to protect the inclusion of breast-feeding mothers in the workplace, we have pushed for
language requiring employing units to provide access to any spaces available for other categories
of employees and to provide sanitary, private spaces in our office buildings and buildings where
we teach. While the Affordable Care Act protects these rights, we would like them to be in our
contract so that it is easier for breast-feeding mothers to explain their needs to supervisors (with
as little awkwardness as possible) and so that any problems can be managed with a grievance
procedure instead of lawsuits. Surprisingly, the university is digging in its heels on this. They
maintain that the spaces are already available. However, as we start a survey of available rooms
on campus it is becoming clear that many are inadequate or inaccessible because of outdated
information. Some of the listed spaces included on the family resource page are not private (one
had a picture window without coverings facing a student dorm), some are used for other
purposes i.e. as copy rooms, and some of the contacts listed for access to locked rooms are
outdated. One of the representatives from the Office of Employee Relations suggested that new
mothers should spend their maternity leave planning for these issues. New mothers should not
have to spend maternity leave exploring campus to insure that university policy is, in fact,
carried out.
Because this is our first Right to Work contract, we have had to radically shift contract language
for fee-payers. We are trying to establish a new category of voluntary fee-payer for those
members of our bargaining unit who would still like to contribute to the services provided by the union but do not want to become full members. The university also proposed language, but
without the fee-payer status. Given that other unions on campus have built this language into
their contracts, it seems unlikely that the university will raise too much opposition to our
proposal.
The university has also submitted a variety of proposals. In addition to updating the contract for
Right to Work and changing our anti-discrimination language, they are looking to remove
requirements that employing departments notify us in a timely manner about our employment
status for upcoming semesters, and change the dates and language of our employment period.
The university’s suggestion that we eliminate our employment notification dates will not provide
the necessary financial stability and planning time for graduate students. Currently, many
departments respond to the requirement that they notify TAs of their employment status by April
19th by simply telling all applicants that there is no position available for them and then rehiring
later. They say this is because they are unable to know which classes will have high enough
enrollment for a teaching assistantship. Enrollment information is often available late in the
summer so we have started a conversation about changing the notification into a two part
system- an earlier date ensuring that applicants have a position as a teaching assistant and a later
date confirming the specific course number. We are interested in your thoughts on this idea. If
we were to propose a solution along these lines, how would the later notification of course
specifics affect you?
The university’s other important, non-economic proposal would change the language of our
compensation in the contract from stipend to salary and adjust the pay periods for each semester so that they do not overlap in the middle. Their concern about the overlapping dates stems from the overlap grievances that university settled with GEU in the last year. Rather than updating their payroll system to handle two TA-ships at the same time, they would like (it seems) to pay us by course. They claim that the current contract language of “salary” requires that we be paid
for as long as we work while “stipend” would allow the end of pay date to precede the
completion of work. We are concerned about the way these proposals categorize our work and
will continue to research the effects they might have.
Conversations on all of these topics will continue as we work to negotiate our economic
proposals. Each group will submit their economic proposals in negotiating sessions on
Wednesday, March 18. In addition to making our proposal for health insurance and raises, we
will propose childcare stipends and access to dining halls at faculty rates among other things. All
new proposals (not including counter-proposals) must be submitted by April 1 so if you have
ideas for language you don’t see here or would like to be involved in drafting contract language
please send us an email!
- TOMORROW we begin economic bargaining! Send positive vibes, or come out in solidarity!
Finally, we will submit a letter of understanding to the university removing our status as
mandatory reporters until the system has been improved. At present the university has designated
all employees (including research and teaching assistants) as mandatory reporters of sexual
assault and relationship violence. While we all want the university to be aware of the extent of
sexual assault on campus and begin appropriate investigations, we fear that the overlap of
categories as both students and employees will confuse the reporting process and that
designation of all employees as mandatory reporters will create an environment in which
students feel unable to approach teachers because they are not ready to report. Having safe
spaces to share their experiences and the ability to communicate the effect it has on their
coursework is necessary for survivors’ well being and their ability to succeed at MSU. Anything
that impedes that will be detrimental to survivors and make it more difficult to direct them to
campus resources. Anything that promotes silence is not an option. Teaching assistants can then
have a voice in improving he reporting process and creating a system that allows us to help our
students.
Throughout the bargaining process the bargaining team needs to know what your bottom line is. What would make an acceptable raise? What are acceptable conditions for those returning from maternity leave? What do you need to be an effective educator? Stewards will be reaching out to learn what it is that you are unwilling to move on for this contract. Furthermore, we need to
make plans to make refusal to move by the university untenable. Bargaining works because of
things that happen outside the room. Rallies or grade-ins may be necessary to make the public
aware of the work we do and the issues we care about. If you have ideas or are willing to
participate- let us know!
What will you stand for?
In Solidarity,
Your bargaining team
GEU Bargaining Platform - Stand Up for THIS!
As we return to our regularly scheduled teaching appointments, saying goodbye to the time to relax, get some hardcore research done, or catch up on grading, and hello to students filled with spring-induced twitterpation (Bambi, not the app), the GEU wants to remind you that we value your commitment to your students' education.
The general bargaining platform for the 2015 contract is "Stand Up For T.H.I.S. - Tuition, Healthcare, Inclusivity, Salary."
The general bargaining platform for the 2015 contract is "Stand Up For T.H.I.S. - Tuition, Healthcare, Inclusivity, Salary."
As we move into Right-to-Work (for less), the Graduate Employee Union
will work for an overall improvement of the quality of life of its graduate
students.
We are emphasizing the mental, physical, and emotional well-being
of graduate employees.
We will fight for improved access to workplace and scholarly
resources, healthful activities, and transportation.
Teaching assistants deserve affordable and accessible health care for
themselves and their families.
Campus health resources are currently under-supported, especially
mental health services. Additionally, coverage for families is
prohibitively expensive. The student contribution to cover a spouse is
4,521 dollars. The cost to cover a spouse and all children approaches
the minimum stipend for graduate students. These are problems we
seek to fix.
Teaching assistants at MSU often live on tenuous financial footing.
GEU is fighting for a full tuition waiver.
We are pushing the University to not settle for being in the middle of
the pack, but instead offering increased stipends that put MSU at the
top of Big 10 schools for TA compensation.
To function at its best, GEU wants to ensure better access to information
about our membership, and is requesting a consistently formatted CBU
list from the university on a regular basis. This will also help ensure that all
our contract is being enforced everywhere on campus, and that all GEU
members are protected and empowered in the workplace.
GEU believes in its members, and as we form our new
contract, we pledge to stand up for THIS.
will work for an overall improvement of the quality of life of its graduate
students.
We are emphasizing the mental, physical, and emotional well-being
of graduate employees.
We will fight for improved access to workplace and scholarly
resources, healthful activities, and transportation.
Teaching assistants deserve affordable and accessible health care for
themselves and their families.
Campus health resources are currently under-supported, especially
mental health services. Additionally, coverage for families is
prohibitively expensive. The student contribution to cover a spouse is
4,521 dollars. The cost to cover a spouse and all children approaches
the minimum stipend for graduate students. These are problems we
seek to fix.
Teaching assistants at MSU often live on tenuous financial footing.
GEU is fighting for a full tuition waiver.
We are pushing the University to not settle for being in the middle of
the pack, but instead offering increased stipends that put MSU at the
top of Big 10 schools for TA compensation.
To function at its best, GEU wants to ensure better access to information
about our membership, and is requesting a consistently formatted CBU
list from the university on a regular basis. This will also help ensure that all
our contract is being enforced everywhere on campus, and that all GEU
members are protected and empowered in the workplace.
GEU believes in its members, and as we form our new
contract, we pledge to stand up for THIS.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
GEU Bargaining 2015
Welcome to your source for GEU@MSU bargaining 2015 updates!
The bargaining committee has already begun meeting with MSU administration to start ironing out non-economic parts of our contract. Things like contractual guarantees for spaces for nursing mothers, education about mental health first aid, and when and how we are contacted regarding our TA appointments.
There's room for you!
Upcoming bargaining dates are scheduled as follows:
If you'd like to attend a bargaining session, or if there is an important issue you'd like to come in solidarity to support, please contact us! geu @ msu. edu
And if you have questions about the Graduate Employees Union at Michigan State, visit our website geuatmsu.org, email us, or swing by our office at 319 1/2 E. Grand River, above Modern Skate and Surf.
The bargaining committee has already begun meeting with MSU administration to start ironing out non-economic parts of our contract. Things like contractual guarantees for spaces for nursing mothers, education about mental health first aid, and when and how we are contacted regarding our TA appointments.
There's room for you!
Upcoming bargaining dates are scheduled as follows:
3/5 - 12 to 2:30
3/9 - 1 to 5
3/18 - 1 to 5
3/27 - 1 to 5
4/1 - 10 to 3
If you'd like to attend a bargaining session, or if there is an important issue you'd like to come in solidarity to support, please contact us! geu @ msu. edu
Stay tuned for more updates!
And if you have questions about the Graduate Employees Union at Michigan State, visit our website geuatmsu.org, email us, or swing by our office at 319 1/2 E. Grand River, above Modern Skate and Surf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)