FA Strike is Over!

November 9, 2011 by Leave a comment

Dave Johnson, the chair of the Faculty Association’s Department Representative Council (DRC) and FA spokesman announced tonight that the DRC voted to end their strike. They do not have a tentative agreement yet but the faculty believe there are close.

GAU is pleased with the progress the FA has been able to make in calling for accountability and transparency at SIUC and wish to thank all of you for the support and help you gave our faculty during this strike.

As the FA is no longer striking, GAU will be starting our ratification process for our tentative agreement. You — the dues-paying members — have the final say whether our contract is acceptable or not! We will be looking to schedule a vote for next week. In the meantime, we recommend you join us for our final “Know Your Contract” session tomorrow at 12pm at the Newman Catholic Center at 715 S Washington. Our evening session tomorrow is unfortunately cancelled. You can also find an executive summary online (http://bit.ly/vUL22Z) as well as the full-text of the proposed contract available online as a PDF (http://bit.ly/u42VJl). More information about the ratification vote will be available soon.

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under bargaining, strike

Notification of Location Change

November 7, 2011 by Leave a comment

GAU apologizes for the short notice however the locations of the activist meeting tonight at 6pm and “Know Your Contract” session from 5-6pm and throughout the rest of the week have been changed to The Newman Center at 715 S Washington.

There is also a student-sponsored solidarity rally TODAY starting at Anthony Hall at 3:30pm. We encourage you to attend and support our striking faculty.

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under events, meetings, strike

Get to Know GAU and Your Contract

November 7, 2011 by Leave a comment

Fellow graduate assistants,

We hope that you will join GAU leadership tonight, at Strike Headquarters (888 W. High, the old Carbondale High School), from 6-7pm to discuss where GAU should go next. We have gained a lot of momentum and power over the last few months during the labor crisis. Now we need to decide ways to continue that growth and what we want to do to use that power! In the short term, we can use it to help the faculty but what about the long term? What changes do you want to see to make the situation better for graduate assistants? To make the university better? Come to this meeting and help us brainstorm ideas and goals for the future to make our union stronger.

We are also having informal “know your contract” sessions throughout the week. This is a great chance to learn what we’ve gained through our hard work and activism. Currently, these sessions are also scheduled at Strike Headquarters so we are not crossing the Faculty Association’s picket line. Should their strike end, we will make arrangements to move these sessions back on campus. Sessions are currently scheduled for:

Monday:
12-1pm
5-6pm

Tuesday:
12-1pm
6-7pm

Wednesday:
12-1pm
5-6pm

Thursday:
12-1pm
6-7pm

As of early this morning, the Faculty Association was still bargaining. FA President, Randy Hughes, send out this notification: “Bargaining resumed at 3:00 p.m. Sunday in the Wabash/Vermilion Rooms in the Student Center. The two bargaining teams are working with a mediator. Up to now, there has been no breakthrough in bargaining. At this hour, your FA team remains in the Wabash Room and is committed to staying through the night working towards an agreement.” There have been no other updates since that announcement. We all hope for a speedy resolution and a fair agreement for the faculty. In the meantime, keep up your presence on the picket lines, continue calling and emailing members of the administration, writing letters to the editor of the Daily Egyptian and the Southern in support of the faculty. Even stopping for five minutes to talk to faculty on the picket lines and let them know you support them provides a boost. Our actions and activities have made the difference both in faculty morale AND in showing the administration this is NOT business as usual. Keep up the pressure and we can help the faculty achieve accountability, transparency, and fairness.

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President of Communications

Filed under bargaining, events, meetings, strike

Demonstrations and Standing in Support of the Faculty Association

November 4, 2011 by Leave a comment

Fellow graduate assistants,

As an employee represented by GAU, there is a No Strike/No Lockout clause in your tentative agreement. This is not a new clause; this clause was in the previous GAU contract. Under this provision in the tentative agreement, there should be no refusal to perform work that is part of your regular duties or intentionally interrupt the normal operations of the university.

However, you do have the right to refuse work outside of your regular job duties. If you are approached by a supervisor or any member of the administration with a request to perform work outside of your regular job duties, please contact a member of GAU leadership immediately.

You are allowed to demonstrate in any picketing or free speech activities on behalf of the Faculty Association before and/or after work, on your lunch hour, or any time you are not regularly scheduled to work.

If you choose to support the FA in their endeavors, you do have a right to:

Wear buttons or clothing
Pass out supportive literature
Place signs in your vehicle
Or any other type of supportive action that does not interfere with your job duties or the normal work flow of the University

If you chose to picket, we advise you do not carry a sign indicating that YOU are on strike; however, you can carry a sign that indicates:

I support the FA
Settle the FA Contract Now
Fair Contract for Faculty
Any other type of FA support sign

If you are approached by a member of the administration about demonstrating your support for the FA through any of these activities, contact GAU immediately!

In Solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President of Communications

Filed under events, strike

GAU Statement of Support for the FA

November 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

This statement of support for the Faculty Association was delivered tonight by Kristi Brownfield at 5:30pm:

GAU is pleased to have come to a fair tentative agreement with the administration. We are also excited to see that our sister unions, the Association of Civil Service Employees and the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, were also able to reach agreements this morning.

We managed this by the hard work and activism of our members, community support, and the extraordinary volunteer efforts and help of our fellow graduate assistant unions GEO at the University of Illinois-Chicago and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, and TAA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

There is also one other group that deserves recognition for GAU being able to reach a fair settlement: the tenure and tenure-track faculty here at SIUC.
Members of the Faculty Association have consistently supported GAU’s fight to have our legitimate needs addressed. Unfortunately their needs HAVE NOT been addressed yet and the FA has gone on strike.

GAU stands with the quality faculty who mentor and support us through our time at SIUC. GAU stands with the people who we came to this university to learn from and work with. GAU stands in solidarity with the Faculty Association and we will be delaying any ratification vote by our members until the FA has reached a fair tentative agreement.

Further, GAU urges the administration to work even harder and do even better to reach a fair agreement. We believe that this is the duty – the job – of the administration: to treat employees with respect and fairness. The best way to do that now is to settle with the FA.

Filed under bargaining, events, strike

GAU Reaches Tentative Agreement

November 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

Fellow graduates assistants,

Your GAU bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement we are willing to recommend to our dues-paying members for ratification. Our goal has always been to reach a fair settlement and we believe this tentative agreement will meet our primary interests and will provide a first step in advancing the rights and benefits of graduate assistants at SIUC. We were able to reach this point because of your hard work and activism.

Due to this agreement, all graduate assistants should report to work to carry out your work assignments. If you have no work assignments from your direct supervisor, we recommend you then report to your Chair or Director. As a student, the choice to attend your classes while the Faculty Association (FA) is on strike is one you will ultimately have to make yourself but we hope you will all keep in mind issues of solidarity.

As the FA, covering tenured and tenure-track faculty, have announced their intention to go on strike, we hope you will join us on the picket line during breaks, lunches, or after your scheduled hours or work duties are completed to support them and help end their strike quickly with a fair settlement. We also do NOT expect the administration to ask GAs to take up the duties of striking faculty. If you ARE asked to, please contact the union immediately!

We will provide an executive summary and full text of the tentative agreement on the website ASAP. We will also be announcing a date for the ratification vote at that time.

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under bargaining, events, strike

Emergency Meeting TOMORROW

November 1, 2011 by Leave a comment

GAU is organizing an emergency meeting tomorrow (11/02) at 6:30PM. We want to give you the most up-to-date information on the bargaining situation before the strike date! This will include information on GAU proposals AND the university’s most current offer. We want to hear what you think!

The meeting will be at our strike headquarters (map: http://wp.me/p1vXJd-en). Join us to get informed!

Filed under bargaining, events, strike

Strike Warning #14

November 1, 2011 by Leave a comment

Strike Warning #14
November 1, 2011

Number of days without a contract: 489
Last bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 31, 2011
Next bargaining session with the SIUC administration November 1, 2011

Fellow graduate assistants,

GAU met with the administration for bargaining yesterday afternoon and there was still not much movement on the issues that take money out of our pockets — fees, health care, and stipends.

Your GAU bargaining team is continuing to try and find a fair settlement that allows you to keep more than you have to give back in fees and medical expenses. We will be meeting with the administration daily to try and find an acceptable agreement without a strike.

That may not be possible.

What can you do?

If you haven’t already, JOIN! Each new union member is a message to the university administration to do better and to settle this in a fair and mutual manner.

If you have already joined (or even if you haven’t!), get in touch with your union leadership for more information on what you can do to volunteer and get active. There are a lot of jobs for people who are willing, from being on the front lines as picket captains to providing support for picketers at comfort stations or at the strike headquarters.

We’re also interested in what you have to say! We’ll be taking video testimonials – “I don’t want to strike but I will because…” – tomorrow at the strike headquarters from 12:30-2:30pm and 4:00-6:00pm. If you’re interested in having your two cents featured, join us!

There will also be a mass meeting Wednesday night at the strike headquarters at 8pm. While we all hope the news there will be “tentative agreements reached for all for unions!” this will be a last chance to get informed about strike plans and organization, in case the news isn’t so good.

You can (and should!) also contact members of the administration and tell them to settle:

Ms. Misty Whittington
Executive Secretary of the Board
Office of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees
(618) 536-3357

Rita Cheng: rcheng@siu.edu
SIUC Chancellor
(618) 453-2341

Glenn Poshard: poshard@siu.edu
SIU President
(618) 536-3357

Communications will be more frequent as we countdown the days until the strike deadline.
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).

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under bargaining, events, strike, strike watch

Strike Warning #13

October 31, 2011 by Leave a comment

Strike Warning #13
October 31, 2011

Number of days without a contract: 488
Last bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 28, 2011
Next bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 31, 2011

Fellow graduate assistants,

GAU has added a strike-specific FAQ to our website for international graduate assistants: http://wp.me/P15BvZ-9i.

The main information we want you to be aware of is that your visa WILL NOT be effected should you choose to strike. Any graduate assistant engaging in legal strike actions will not have their assistantship status changed! A striking employee is still considered an employee. The university has threatened this in previous communications simply to scare you out of exercising your legal rights to strike. There is nothing to be afraid of when we stand together.

Your GAU bargaining team did have sessions with the administration on both Thursday and Friday. We have managed to come close to agreements on most of our minor issues. However, we have made little or no progress on the issues most important to us: fees, stipend, or health care. The university is going to make us fight for every inch of movement on those three issues — all of which affect our livelihoods and take money out of our pockets. GAU is still fighting for fee payments by the university, more comprehensive health benefits including a written commitment to following the Affordable Care Act, and a stipend raise that keeps pace with the increasing cost of living.

But we need your help to do that. We need as many people as possible to participate in pre-strike activities and, should a strike become necessary, be on the picket lines demanding the university do better. You don’t have to be a member to participate in a strike though joining GAU now sends a strong signal to the university that GAs are tired of paying more and more every year in fees and being offered inadequate health insurance! If you are interested in joining or helping, contact us as soon as possible!

Communications will be more frequent as we countdown the days until the strike deadline.
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).

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under bargaining, strike, strike watch

Strike Warning #12

October 27, 2011 by Leave a comment

Strike Warning #12
October 27, 2011

Number of days without a contract: 484
Last bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 21, 2011
Next bargaining session with the SIUC administration: October 27, 2011

Fellow graduate assistants,

GAU will be bargaining both today and tomorrow with the administration. We are still doing our best to secure a fair contract that works for graduate assistants in dealing with fees and health care. Our intention is to continue bargaining to try and reach a tentative agreement so graduate assistants don’t have to strike.

But please realize we have significantly more power standing together than your bargaining team has sitting alone at the table. We may have to act together by going on strike to get our legitimate needs addressed.

GAU is hosting an informational meeting TONIGHT in the Student Center Ballroom A from 5-6pm for international students. This is a great time to come talk to us about your concerns and get the real facts about striking.

We, along with the Association of Civil Service Employees, the Faculty Association, and the Non-Tenure Track Association, are hosting an open house at our new strike headquarters tomorrow from 4:30-6:30pm, with a brief presentation by each union about the bargaining situation at 5:00pm. This is where you’ll be able to get the most up-to-date information about bargaining! Food and drink will be provided. The strike headquarters are located in the old Carbondale High School on the corner of Oakland and High Street. You can find a map of its location here: http://wp.me/p1vXJd-en

Finally, GAU has been communicating with the administration about statements made in The Southern and their threatening FAQ. You can read our lawyer’s analysis of their illegal actions on our website here: http://wp.me/p15BvZ-92 Our communication with the administration telling them to cease and desist is available here: http://wp.me/p15BvZ-96

Communications will be more frequent as we countdown the ten days until the strike deadline.
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).

In solidarity,
Kristi Brownfield
Vice-President for Communications

Filed under bargaining, events, strike

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