7.13.2007
As many of you may have heard, USF-GAU reached a tentative agreement
with USF administration on June 28 on Articles 3, 12, and 23 that were
part of this round of
contract negotiations. WE NEED YOUR RATIFICATION
VOTE before these
changes officially become part of the contract. First,
here are some
of the major changes to the contract, which will be followed by
information related to voting (when, where, etc.):
1. Article 23 (Stipends and Health Insurance): We made major gains
for the unit in this article. First, we raised the minimum stipend
for Master's students by $300 (raising it from $7,800 to $8,100).
This is for .50 FTE employees, so as always the minimum for .25 FTE
will raise proportionately, or in this case by $150. We raised the
minimum for Doctoral students by $1,000, from $8,580 to $9,580.
Perhaps most important, the
administration agreed to pay $940 per year
towards the student health
insurance premium, up from $600
(they will now cover about 75% of the total
premium instead of about 50%).
2. Article 12 (Fees and Tuition Payment): The administration has
agreed to form a committee with GAU to investigate the possibility of
spreading out fee payments over the course of the semester.
Currently, fees must be paid within the first week of the semester,
which can be a major financial hardship. Under our proposed plan, any
balance remaining after that first week would be deducted from your
payroll check in equal amounts throughout the semester. The committee
will research the logistics of implementing such a plan and will
release a preliminary report by Dec. 1st of this year.
3. Article 3 (Performance Evaluations): The administration opened
Article 3 in an effort to standardize the evaluation process that each
graduate employee is supposed to have annually. The major change now requires
the signature of the graduate program director (or equivalent) on the
evaluation form stating that the employee is making satisfactory
progress towards degree completion.
The ratification vote will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday (the
17th and 18th) in the Marshall Center study lounge (the room with the
fish tank, right next to where the USF Card center is). On Tuesday,
you can vote from 10:00 until 2:00, and on Wednesday from 1:00 until
5:00. There will be a member of the bargaining team on-hand to answer
any questions you have or to discuss anything else GAU or bargaining
related.
Note that the next round of negotiations opens on or before January
15, at which time the entire contract is open. We will be speaking
with as many of you as possible over the coming months to learn what
YOU think should be in the contract.
2.6.2007
Our next meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, February 7th at 5:00 in the Marshall Center lounge (outside the ID Card office, also known as the "fish tank lounge"). Please come and discuss some ways that we can improve the quality of life for graduate employees at USF. We hope to provide some pizzas or other refreshments, so encourage any GA, RA, or TA you can find to join us!
1.15.2007
The first meeting of the new semester went well. We covered lots of business, both new and old. The minutes can be found here.
