Strike Warning #7

Strike Warning #7
October 10, 2011

Number of days without a contract: 466
Last bargaining session with the SIUC administration: September 30, 2011
Next bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 14, 2011

Fellow graduate assistants,

GAU leadership is getting ready for our next bargaining session on Friday. Our goals remain the same: a fee freeze or a stipend increase that compensates for current and future fees and health care change that begins with a university commitment to follow the Affordable Health Care Act.

Given the amount of communication coming from the Chancellor’s office in the past week, we can safely say the four successful strike authorizations votes are having an effect — in public. We have yet to see if there will be a substantive effect at the bargaining table. However, despite the intimidation and scare-tactics within those university communications, your GAU bargaining team has found something to be hopeful about:

“Any conversation about enhanced healthcare benefits and related costs must be considered in the context of compliance with federal health care reform (ACA) and affordability for all of our students.” (from Friday October 7)

Given that one of our goals is “university compliance with federal health care reform,” we believe this communication may be the first sign the university’s bargaining position of “no” is changing.

We will find out if there is any follow-through on Friday. I will provide a bargaining update Friday afternoon when our bargaining session concludes.

But please remember, this public statement – one of the first the Chancellor has ever made about graduate assistants, only came AFTER we voted to authorize a strike. The administration is feeling the effects of our pressure on them. We need to keep that pressure up!

There will a student organized solidarity action on Wednesday October 12 in front of Anthony Hall at 4:30

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256763871032702

We are also asking for your help in setting up department meetings! If GAU has not visited your department yet, or if we have and you’d like to come back and talk some more, please contact us!

You can stay informed by reading our webpage (http://gaunited.org), joining our Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6789631853&ref=ts), following our brand new Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/SIUCGAUnited), or subscribing to the blog for all four IEA-NEA unions on campus (http://siucunions.wordpress.com).

A “strike warning” means conditions are favorable for a strike for GAU and our sister unions, the Association of Civil Service Employees, the Faculty Association, and the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association. The administration can solve this crisis today by settling our contracts. Make your voice heard by joining GAU!

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications