------------------------------------------------------------ Graduate Assistants United eNewsletter Vol. 2, No. 7, February 12, 2003 http://www.ufgau.org ------------------------------------------------------------ You are being sent this newsletter because GAU represents you in employment matters as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Florida. ============================================================ IN THIS ISSUE: Petition Status Faculty Union Also Challenged Pay Raise Post Docs International Student Issues Undergraduate Course Load Job Hunting? Other Graduate Assistant Unions GAU Happy Hour ============================================================ PETITION STATUS As the result of the transfer of control from the State level to the local UF Board of Trustees, the status of our bargaining unit certification is in question. Because our bargaining unit is essentially the same as it was before, we expect the Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC) to certify the UF Board of Trustess as the new employer, with GAU as the certified bargaining agent, as a routine matter. However, the UF Board of Trustess has opposed our certification, and we have information to lead us to believe the UF Board of Trustees will try to exclude research assistants from our bargaining unit. Taking research assistants out of the bargaining unit would remove the contractual protections they currently receive from our contract. We do not think the UF Board of Trustees will be successful. A hearing with PERC is set for March 6. We intend to pass along information to you as we have definitative information. In the meantime, we are having an informal question and answer discussion on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, at 6:00 PM, at the Everyday Gourmet, at 17 NW 17th St (near the corner with University Ave and next to The Swamp resturaunt). All are welcome. FACULTY UNION ALSO CHALLENGED The UF Board of Trustees is also challenging the faculty union at UF. While GAU has always bargained a separate contract at the university level, the faculty have always bargained a contract at the state level. Thus, with the transfer of power to the local Board of Trustees, the bargaining unit for the faculty did change. To meet this challenge, the faculty union has collected signature cards from over 70% of the faculty at UF, each authorizing the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) to be the collective bargaining agent for them. Despite the overwhelming support for the protections a union contract provides for the faculty here, the UF Board of Trustees still refuses to recognize the faculty union. In contrast, at the University of Central Florida, the Board of Trustees there recognized the faculty union with fewer cards signed by the faculty. More information is available from the UF faculty union website: http://grove.ufl.edu/~uff Like the faculty union, GAU is also affiliated with the United Faculty of Florida. PAY RAISE For the 1,200+ people who were affected by the pay raise grievance we recently settled (those graduate assistants with appointments at or above 0.25 FTE, in the Fall and Spring, who did not receive the pay increase on October 1), you should have seen this raise on your January 24 paycheck. This raise should have been retroactive to December 20. So your February 7 paycheck should have been a few dollars less than your January 24 paycheck, to reflect that your January 24 paycheck included the retroactive amount. We have a report from one graduate assistant that she did not receive the retroactive portion. We brought this matter to the attention of the Assistant Provost, who is currently reviewing the computer files to assure that all eligible graduate assistants got the full raise retroactive to December 20. Stay tuned, we'll pass along more information as we get it. POST DOCS Post docs at UF were recently re-classified as faculty, and are now eligible for health benefits with the State Health Insurance Plan. We applaud the administration for this. However, there are at least 2 implimentation problems that we know about. First, at least two post docs were told that the university contribution (approximately $3,000 per year for a single person, and $6,000 per year for a family) would be taken out of their salaries! We also have reports of at least two professors who have stated that they will no longer hire married post docs, because they cost more to insure than sinlge post docs! Without a union to protect them, the post docs are very vulnerable to these and other abuses. These health insurance problems are causing to post docs at UF to organize, and GAU is offering them some assistance. There is now a post doc website from GAU's homepage http://www.ufgau.org/postdocs , a listserve, and a weekly Happy Hour on Tuesdays at 5:30 PM at the Everyday Gourmet. Please let the post docs in your department know about this new development and encourage their participation. INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ISSUES As the result of our online petion signed by over 1,300 people, our rally in the Fall, and our presentations to the UF Board of Trustees and the Graduate Council, the administration changed the requirements for an international graduate student to be considered "full-time" for INS reporting purposes from 12 credits to 9 credits, for graduate students without an assistantship. Thanks to everybody who participated in these efforts! Collectively, we are much stronger than any of us working individually are. We have been told that a student committee is being set up to advise the International Center on health insurance issues. We are told that GAU will be able to have a seat on this committee. We also have a committee that is still working to have the $50/semester registration fee waived. UNDERGRADUATE COURSE LOAD We have recently re-analyzed the Student Evaluation of Instructor database from UF, with the most recent data. In 2002, graduate assistants at UF were listed as the instructor for 42.3% of the undergraduate course sections. This is a 26% increase in the undergraduate course load since 1996, when graduate assistants taught only 33.4% of the undergraduate course load. Further, the Summer 2002 semester is the first time graduate assistants taught more than 50% of the undergraduate course sections in a given semester. We expect this figure to increase in the upcoming year given the State budget problems. A chart of these data is available online: http://www.ufgau.org/fg/undgrad.pdf JOB HUNTING? When conducting your job search, you might consider the reputation your potential future employer has regarding academic freedom, tenure rights, etc. The American Association of University Professors, founded in 1915, maintains a list of administrations who have been investigated and found to violate the AAUP's principles regarding academic freedom and tenure. This list is available online at: http://www.aaup.org/com-a/index.htm GAU is not affiliated with AAUP. The AAUP does have graduate student memberships available for $10 per year, which includes a subscription to their magazine, "Academe". OTHER GRADUATE ASSISTANT UNIONS Interested in what is going on with other graduate assistant unions across North America? The Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions (CGEU) maintains a website that is an excellent resource for information. The site includes news and links to the homepages for the other graduate employee unions. The site: http://www.cgeu.org/ GAU HAPPY HOUR GAU still maintains the Happy Hour, at 6:00 PM on Thursdays at the Everyday Gourmet, at 17 NW 17th St (near the corner with University Ave and next to The Swamp resturaunt). Come and meet your peers and discuss union and social activities. ----------------------------------------------------------------- You are being sent this email because Graduate Assistants United represents you in University employment matters. If you would like to be added to the list, please send an email to frank.goeddeke@cba.ufl.edu -----------------------------------------------------------------