Strike Warning #8: Bargaining Update

Strike Warning #8
October 14, 2011

Number of days without a contract: 470
Last bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 14, 2011
Next bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 21, 2011

Fellow graduate assistants,

I wish to thank everyone who showed up outside of Anthony Hall today during our bargaining session. Your bargaining team heard the cries of “What do we want? A contract!” and “Settle!” The administration’s bargaining team certainly did as well. That pressure we all have been putting on the administration has finally got us to the point where we are having real conversations about our issues surrounding fees, stipends, and health care. We need to keep the pressure up to get what we want: a fair contract!

Today’s bargaining brought one gain we have been pushing for since 2010: the university administration now seems willing to make a commitment to follow the guidelines of the Patient Affordable Care Act.

This change comes from your hard work: your letters to the editor, calling the administration, calling the board, showing up for rallies, and everything else you have done up to this point.

But GAU needs to ask you to keep doing that — and more! We still have not heard any sort of concessions to changing and improving our health care benefit, freezing fees, or a change on their previous economic offer.

Your GAU bargaining team is putting together a comprehensive economic proposal we plan on delivering to the administration’s team at our next session. Once this proposal has been presented to their team, we will make the text publicly available on our website.

We are also going to be organizing another open meeting coming shortly to discuss this proposal, what it might mean to you, and what you can do to ensure we get it — including a strike and strike dates. More information on this meeting will be coming soon!

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