Get Informed About Contract Negotiations!

An Urgent Message for Saluki Grad Assistants, Fellows and Students:

On Tuesday March 8th at 8:27 the University bargaining team representing the Board of Trustees conveyed their “final offer” to the GA United bargaining team in the latest round of bargaining for the grad assistants’ union contract as SIUC.

By invoking the “final offer” they have expressed that they will not move on any of the substantive issues we have brought to the bargaining table to help graduate assistants. This is a brazen move by the administration because the board essentially wants the status quo: the ability to freeze our stipends, raise our fees, and keep our health coverage at a $1000 deductible with no option for dependent coverage. Even proposals that we have made that cost the University no money such as GAU access to orientation to present the contract to graduate students and a non-replacement clause to keep us from being used as replacements for furloughed, laid off, or striking workers (e.g. staff, instructors or faculty) have been flatly rejected.

What will our response be? It is time for grad assistants and others to stand and be heard: to become visible. GA United is holding bargaining update and organizing sessions to discuss where we are at and where we want to go:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 in the Student Center. You can come to either one of two meetings:

11 am to 12:30 pm in the Student Center Ohio River Room

or

7-8:30 pm in the Student Center Ballroom A.

Will we leave this University better off or will grad assistants continue to be exploited more and more every year? Given that the civil service workers, non-tenure track faculty and tenure track faculty are all in negotiations, the University administration seems to be trying a power grab where the management can unilaterally decide on furloughs, layoffs or worse–we may have no other choice but to conclude the current administration is trying to bust the unions and destroy any shared governance on this campus. We have unions for a reason. Without unions we lose many rights such as the ability to negotiate our pay, conditions and file grievances. Unions are part of preserving democracy on campus. It is the way that grad assistants were able to win more rights and better stipend pay in our union drive five years ago. Those grad assistants left this campus better off. Now it’s our turn to fight for this University as well as our livelihood.

We have choices: accept the status quo and yield to the administration’s intent to control pay, fees and healthcare, try to reinstate negotiations giving up some of our key needs, file an intent to strike to show our commitment to our needs, or some other reaction that we decide.

In the bargaining update and organizing sessions we will discuss where we are at and where we want to go. It is up to you to make something happen collectively with all of us who are building this union and fighting for our rights.

Please join us and bring two other grad assistants. Looking to other grad assistants to save your interests is not resulting in the show of strength necessary for the administration to take us seriously: BECOME VISIBLE…and spread the word!

The Bargaining Team