UF WORKS BECAUSE WE DO!

Graduate assistants at the University of Florida have been unionized since 1972. If you are a teaching assistant or a research assistant at UF, Graduate Assistants United is your voice on campus! Together, we use our collective power to improve the lives of graduate assistants. 

GAU FIGHTS FOR GRADUATE WORKERS!

BARGAINING

Your union has the legal right to directly negotiate the terms of the employing contract for all graduate assistants, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Through these negotiations, your union has won for you a CBA that includes: 

• Guaranteed minimum stipend all departments must meet or exceed in their letters of offer 
• Low premium ($12/month), high quality health insurance 
• 8 weeks of paid family/medical leave 
• Fee relief (saving GAs ~$875/year in fees)
• Tuition waiver
• Workload limitations 
• Academic freedom protection 
• Protections for GAs from working conditions unsafe for a GA's physical or mental health

You can read our entire CBA here. Bargaining sessions are open to the public and occur in a hybrid format on Zoom and in-person. Notices for bargaining sessions come straight to your email, so be sure to mark emails from us as important so they do not end up in your spam folder. Members additionally receive a link to the debrief session, which we use to privately make decisions during the bargaining session. 

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EVENTS

GAU hosts a variety of events each month to bring the graduate community together and connect workers across departments. Last year's events include: 

• Payday Parties 2x/month for members where the union caters dinner in a mutual aid effort to support food insecurity amongst our members
  
• Hardship Fundraiser: Battle of the Bands event to fundraise for our Hardship Fund, a small grant program by the union supporting GAU members experiencing extreme circumstances
• Protests and rallies on campus as a direct action strategy to support our organizing goals 
• Speaking engagements with scholarly experts in a wide variety of topics, including mental health, syndicalism, and contemporary Florida social politics
• Block Party with live music and water activities at Maguire Village to oppose the closing of Maguire and University Village South, two affordable graduate family housing communities on campus 
• Happy hours at local breweries to build community amongst our members and blow off some steam 

CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT

No one ever imagines unexpected changes will happen to their employment, but they do, and the union is here to help members through this stressful time. For members, GAU is able to enforce the terms of the contract through the grievance process. If you are a member and the terms of your employment change in a way that violates the CBA or your letter of offer, GAU has an escalation ladder we will follow until we find a solution fair to you:

1. Departmental meeting where you, your supervisors, and the union attempt to informally resolve the issue. Most grievances are resolved at this step. 
2. If the issue cannot be solved informally, GAU will send the grievance to the UF Administrative Chief Bargainer, who will evaluate the situation for contract violation and suggest solutions if one is found.
3. If the UF Administrative Chief Bargainer rules against GAU, GAU will push the grievance to arbitration, where a third party evaluates the situation for contract violation and suggests solutions if one is found. 

Additionally, GAU will represent any member in any meeting they are called into with their department as part of union members' Weingarten Rights. The union has your back! 

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RESOURCES

GAU is passionate about expanding resources to graduate assistants. In the past year we have advocated for and achieved: 

• Assistive equipment rental programs for disabled students 
• Elimination of student government fees for graduate assistants (resolution passed, awaiting SG budget approval)
• Graduate student position on Rate-Setting Committee for planned new off-campus graduate family housing community
  
• Local discounts for union members 
  
• "UF-GAU Weekly Deals" collecting and disseminating local grocery coupons to aid with GA food insecurity 

We continue to advocate for: 

• Final semester funding from the Graduate School 
• Graduate assistant position on the Board of Trustees 
• Expansion of free dental visits from one to two per year at Faculty Dental Practice 
• Expanded housing options for RECs 
• Graduate Student Appreciation Week activities for GAs at RECs

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

With Love Since 1972

Graduate Employees Are The Real Foundation of The Gator Nation