Meeting Recap

November 9, 2010 by Leave a comment

Thanks to all who helped fill the Student Center auditorium tonight!  GAU, the SIUC Faculty Association, the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, the SIUC Association of Civil Service Employees, and Local #878 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 signed a declaration of mutual support.  The text of the document is as here: Joint Declaration of Mutual Aid and Support.  We oppose the administration’s furlough policy and heavy-handed, autocratic approach to its responsibilities.  With your help, we can make SIUC a university with a real commitment to shared governance, not one that merely pays lip service to the idea.  Stay tuned for more developments as they become available.

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The Chancellor’s Email

November 3, 2010 by Leave a comment

By now, you’ve read the email from the Chancellor regarding furloughs, or as she chooses to call them, “administrative closure days.”  You probably noticed that TA, GA’s, and RA’s have been exempted from furloughs (for now).  Despite this, we have unfinished business with the administration:

  • We need adequate health insurance, not just for us, but for our families
  • We need a stipend increase
  • We need a fee reduction or a fee freeze, because every time fees go up, we take a pay cut

As an reminder, on Tuesday, November 9th, at 4:45 at the Student Center auditorium, there will be a meeting for members of all the unions on campus; there will be an update on the budget, and where the unions are in their negotiations with the administration, among other items.  We need your support and we plan on filling the room.  See you there!

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Flier for November 9th meeting

October 29, 2010 by Leave a comment

Here’s a flier, please feel free to copy and post as you see fit, but everywhere is preferable :)

STUDENT%20CENTER%20AUDITORIUM%20final

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October 29, 2010 by Leave a comment

Please come to an informational meeting involving all the unions on campus on November 9th at 4:45 p.m. at the Student Center Auditorium.  You don’t have to be a member to attend, and you can find out what is being done to fight furloughs and budget cuts, and how together, we can make a profound difference in the lives of the SIU community’s members.  By all means, bring someone with you, and I’ll see you there.

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Thank You

October 22, 2010 by Leave a comment

First, let me thank everyone who came out to tonight’s meeting.  From where I was standing, the room might as well have been standing room only.  With your energy and your ideas, in the not-too-distant future, it will be.

Besides the crowd, what surprised me the most were the thoughtful and intelligent questions raised by members of the audience.  I thought the questions were intelligent, and revealed an ability to get to the key point of an issue.  Let me tell you, after staring at contract language for months, a fresh pair of eyes is great.

I hope you take this opportunity to participate more in your union.  We have a lot of work to do, and the more hands we have, the easier it will be.  Five people and some listserv messages got the crowd out tonight; imagine what more people can do.

Anyway, thanks for coming out, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Jim Podesva

President, GAU

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We have unfinished business!

October 18, 2010 by Leave a comment

General Meeting 10/21/10

Chancellor Cheng has announced her “student-friendly” agenda. We appreciate her forward thinking, but as part-time graduate student employees and full-time students, we still have unfinished business.

WE ARE COVERED BY A UNION CONTRACT THAT HAS EXPIRED.

Resolved issues:
 - No administrative closure days for graduate student employees

Major unresolved issues include:
- Stipend levels
- Insurance coverage
- Fee reimbursements

Other issues include:
- Leave benefits 
- Workloads
- Work schedules during SIUC breaks

All are encouraged to attend the union meeting and learn more about ongoing negotiations and our action plan in response to the slow pace of bargaining.

*Light refreshments will be served.
*The first 20 attendees will receive a free flash drive.

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General Membership Meeting on October 21st

October 12, 2010 by Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to the revamped Graduate Assistants United website. We’re designing this website to be your “one-stop shop” for information regarding GAU and what we’re doing to help make SIUC a better place to learn and work for all graduate, teaching, and research assistants here in Carbondale. As you may know, our contract with SIUC has expired, and we are in the process of negotiating a new contract with the administration. This is a difficult endeavor, and we need your help. We are having a general membership meeting October 21st at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center auditorium and we really want you to attend because we need your input on how to address the administration’s refusal to budge on issues like fee reductions, improvements to our health insurance plans, and more. If I or anyone in GAU’s Executive Committee can help you with a problem, or you need information that you can’t find here, don’t hesitate to let us know and we’ll bend over backwards to get it to you. Please join us and make SIUC a better place for all of us.

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