Contract negotiations continue, with the bargaining process beginning in
earnest.
If you’ve been following along with the contract negotiations thus far, the
GAU contract negotiations team has already held a few preliminary meetings
with the representatives from URI, along with NEARI, to work on the new GA
contract. The previous pair of meetings kicked off the contract negotiations
process, with representatives sitting down to present the proposals that they
are bringing to the table for this contract cycle.
In the last meeting, GAU and the University’s representatives began
the next steps in the negotiations process: looking for areas of the
contract where there is common ground to begin ironing out tentative
agreements and beginning to deliberate over proposals that will need to be
negotiated before an agreement can be reached.
This is where the negotiation process is going to take some time, because
the proposals will need to be considered, the terms of the proposals
discussed, the language clarified or amended, and eventually both sides will
need to come to tentative agreements about each proposal on the table.
(And after that, the proposals must be sent to the general membership to be
ratified before the contract is finalized and enacted.)
During the last meeting, GAU and URI were able to come to some mutual
understandings about the spirit and purpose of initial proposals for
consideration. However, while there was some mutual understanding of the
rationale behind the proposals under consideration for this meeting, there is
currently an ongoing discussion about the language and content of the
proposals, which needs to be deliberated and amended as both teams work
through each proposed change. In other words, there are certain items that
GAU and the URI reps seem to agree on in “spirit” but that we need to work
on an agreement on formal contract language (such as updating current
language to help clear up certain processes governed by the contract).
And there are other items discussed in the last meeting that we have not yet
come to an agreement upon, and that will require more review and revision.
For example, the teams came to some initial agreement on language for Pay
Levels for graduate students, but still need consideration of clarifying issues
such as how students advance pay levels or how departments can be
allowed to enhance stipends for TAs (establishing a salary floor, rather than a
ceiling).
There was also a significant discussion of the grievance procedure
for graduate students. The GAU is looking to establish a more thorough,
codified process for formal grievances, to improve the grievance process and
outcomes for graduate students. This proposal was on the table for an
extended time during the meeting, with consideration given to the current
grievance process, proposed changes, where the current grievance process
is weakest, and what needs to be improved to encourage graduate students
to be able to accurately and efficiently use the process to address grievances
with the help of GAU and the University. However, the structure of the
process and the language for the contract are still under review and
consideration, so this is an issue for ongoing negotiations.
So, here’s an opportunity for our GAU members to have an impact
on the current set of negotiations. If you have undergone the grievance
process at URI and want to share your story with us, we want to hear from
you! Tell us about your experience with the current process and give us your
thoughts on what would have made the process work better for you. Did you
find the process easy to understand or was it a difficult process to navigate?
Did you feel that you received adequate support and consideration and did
your grievance had a satisfactory conclusion? What else would you like us to
know, when we return to the negotiations table to continue negotiations on
this issue? Please email us at uri.gau@gmail.com! We want to hear
from you!
Since the last meeting, the GAU Contract Negotiations team has been
considering the proposals put forth by the University and constructing
potential counter proposals. The time between meetings provides both
teams involved in contract negotiations time to look over proposals more
closely and consider how the negotiations will proceed.
For the next meeting, the next issues on the docket should include unpaid
holiday time, bereavement, and additional employment hours, as well as
delving into improving the commitment to anti-discrimination for graduate
student workers.
Are you interested in getting involved with helping to support GAU
throughout the continuing negotiations process? Come on board for
the Contract Action Team (CAT)! There are opportunities for different levels
of involvement – from participating in events to spreading the word to active
organizing – so all members all welcome! You can contact GAU directly at
uri.gau@gmail.com or contact our Chief Negotiator Jacob Green at
gree9242@uri.edu to get involved. We’re stronger together, so let’s
continue to show up for each other.
In Solidarity,
URI Graduate Assistants United
To stay on top of what’s happening with GAU this summer, don’t forget to
check out GAU’s website blog and our socials:
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