<![CDATA[Graduate Assistants United at UF - Bargaining Blog]]>Sat, 09 May 2026 08:13:04 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Bargaining Session Notes 10/21/2024]]>Tue, 22 Oct 2024 01:28:07 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-notes-10212024GAU presented a counter offer on Article 7 (workload). UF presented counter-offers on Articles 8, 16, and 9. 
​
Article 7: Workload (GAU counter-offer): 
  • GAU proposed adding clear definitions of work for cases where there is overlap between a GA’s academic work and paid workload. 
  • GAU seeks to remove the word “average” from article 7: “No employee shall be assigned employment responsibilities during a semester that exceed an average of [X] hours..." The word “average” obfuscates potential grievances and potentially conflicts with federal law restricting the amount of hours that international students can work. 
  • UF wants to argue that because GA’s with different skillsets may complete tasks slower or faster, it is not in the interest of the university to provide a clear definition on work hours.
  • ​GAU argues that despite differences in workers’ efficiency, at the end of the day, their work is work regardless. GAU seeks to add mechanisms to ensure GA’s are just working the amount of time they are being paid for.
​
Article 8: Paid Leave, and 16: Use of Facilities (UF counter)
UF re-asserted their previous offers from 9/30/24 regarding:
  • paid leave (they propose 2 days paid leave for bereavement in which the family member is domestic and 5 days for cases when the family member is international), and
  • use of facilities (they want to get rid of release time employees [RT]).
​
Article 9: Academic Freedom (UF counter): 
On Article 9 UF agreed to some of GAU’s changes in language, but UF doesn’t want to create a sentence that protects a GA’s research from University-level regulations on what can be taught.


]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session Notes 10/7/2024]]>Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:44:32 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-1072024Article 9: Academic Freedom 
We debated language in this article regarding the definition of academic freedom, when GA’s are acting as individual versus when we are acting as UF employees, the responsibility of the university for protecting research, and the university’s ability to prohibit lines of research. 

Article 16- Use of Facilities
GAU has made a concession on the FTE for Release Time employees (RT) that we requested in the past. We leave it at 4.5 FTE.
  • GAU has also removed the request for a parking space and has left in language from UF on reporting orientations to us “as practicable” - we recognize this is a necessity since these events pop up last minute.

Article 8- Paid Leave
  • Much of this discussion was around how to make this article more practical. 
  • GAU removed the waiver for mental health care verification, and decreased our previous request on bereavement days from 5 (for a domestic relative) / 10 (for an international relative) to 4 / 8 days, respectively. 

Article 10 - Stipends
  • GAU removed the language demanding partial ratification – or asking that a raise be ratified separately from the rest of the contract, which could take a while to bargain in its entirety. 
  • GAU left its proposed minimum stipend amount at $28,000 for 9 month employees and $37,334 for 12 month employees. 
  • Left in language regarding an automatic increase with J-1 visa-holding GA’s because UF hasn’t given a good explanation as to why to remove it aside from “not interested.” 
  • GAU decreased merit raise amounts slightly - they are now proposed as $1,425 for 9 months and $1,900 for 12 months. 
]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session Notes 9/30/2024]]>Mon, 21 Oct 2024 23:39:49 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-notes-9302024UF brought several counterproposals today. 

Aticle 3- Consultations:
  • UF has stricken out the president meeting with us again.
Article 7- Workload:
  • ​GAU wants to clarify language around the difference between work and academic work in 7.2. It's very hard to tell the difference between needing to work hard and being overworked. In order to file grievances, we must have a clear sense of what constitutes overwork.
  • UF said that the burden of evidence rests on GA to prove that their supervisor is expecting them to work beyond their hours. Essentially, to confirm they’re being overworked, GA needs to put themselves up for discipline to the point where they make their advisor upset enough to give them a note that says they’re not doing enough. This is unrealistic and unsafe for GA’s to do, especially international GA’s. 
    • ​​UF acknowledges that a definition of work expectations is something they should provide, but don't want to provide it because they think the overwhelming majority of GA’s know what is expected of them.
  • GAU wants a distinction for overwork in the contract so that the GA does not need to shoot themself in the foot to prove it, and will return to this. 

Article 8- Leaves of Absence
  • When it comes to bereavement, UF wants to return to the lower amount of paid leave from 9/23/24: They propose 2 days paid leave for bereavement in which the family member is domestic and 5 days for cases when the family member is international. 
  • GAU maintains it is unreasonable to expect someone to travel in this time, and since we don’t get PTO or anything to extend this time, it’s very little. 

Article 16 - Use of Facilities
This is another article we’re super far apart on.
  • UF wants to eliminate release-time employees (“RT”, GA’s who get released from their academic department work in order to work their hours for GAU). UF has not brought an article that doesn’t remove RT since the beginning of the bargaining session 
    • UF thinks RT only benefits GAU, and argues that the university is not supposed to be involved in reducing the administrative burden of the union. 
  • GAU maintains that if GAU is helpful for GAs, and having someone to sweep through emails about potential grievances etc., is necessary for the union, then RT should be of interest. 

Article 10- Stipends
UF brought a new counterproposal to GAU’s counterproposal at the end of 9/23/24 session. 
  • UF proposed a minimum stipend of $20,400 for 9 month appointments / $27200 for 12 month appointments
    • Rejected GAU’s language to automatically increase the 9-month stipend minimum in accordance with UF’s J-1 visa requirements 
    • UF proposed merit raises  of $700 for 9 month and $933 for 12 months appointees.
    • Focused on the “B” style on both minimum and raises (see UF’s proposed chart of 9/23/24). 
  • GAU will return with counterproposals on automatic raises to minimum stipend, and raising the minimum stipend amount to be closer to the J-1 amount.
]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session Notes 9/23/2024]]>Tue, 24 Sep 2024 02:18:30 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-notes-923GAU initially brought 2 proposals to the table - 3 (Consultations) and 8 (Leaves of Absence) 
  • For Article 3, UF has tried to remove GAU’s ability to meet with the UF president, claiming they’re “not interested” in it since GAU is permitted to meet with UF designees 
    • GAU reinserted language to meet with the UF president in line with language from FSU’s Collective Bargaining Agreement 
  • For Article 8, GAU added a “carve out” for leaves of absence (paid and unpaid) for GAs who are experiencing a sudden need for leave due to extreme mental health concerns 
  • The other issue on Article 8 is settling on an appropriate length of leave for GAs that experience a death of a close family member (i.e., bereavement leave)
    • ​UF previously offered 2 days paid leave for bereavement in which the family member is domestic and 5 days for cases when the family member is international 
    • For this counterproposal, we proposed paid leave of 5 days for domestic and 10 days for international travel 
    • GAU does not agree that this is enough time to travel to and from any location, manage family affairs, and deal with the emotional toll taken 
  • UF then offered three counterproposals for Article 10 (Stipends) in the form of a table
Picture
  • UF offered one proposal in which their main move was to increase the minimum stipend and did not change their previous offer on merit raises (A), one in which they made a bit of a move on both (B), and one where they doubled their previous merit raise offer and left their previous stipend increase alone 
  • UF also removed the previously proposed language to put Article 10 into effect as a Memorandum of Understanding before the entire ratification of the new article - which we did for Article 12 (Health Insurance) last month and newly proposed language to automatically increase stipend amounts to ensure every 9 month GA on the minimum stipend is able to meet J-1 visa requirements (currently equivalent to about $27,200)
​Since there was a significant amount of time left, the two parties met privately - during this time, GAU wrote another counter proposal for Article 10, which we subsequently presented 
  • GAU reinserted language to put Article 10 into effect earlier than the entire full book ratification, but through a pull out ratification process as opposed to an MOU 
  • GAU also reinserted language to automatically increase the 9-month stipend minimum in accordance with UF’s J-1 visa requirements 
  • GAU conceded slightly on our last minimum stipend offer, proposing $28,000 for 9 month GAs and $37,333 for 12 month GAs 
  • We also decreased our previous merit raise amounts to $1,500 for 9 month GAs and $2,000 for 12 month GAs 
Overall, GAU will continue to fight for increases to the minimum as our top priority, as a majority of GAs are paid according to the minimum stipend amount, for GAs to make a living wage in Gainesville, and for international students to not have to supplement their stipends to be eligible to be a graduate student at UF
]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session 9/16/2024]]>Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:27:17 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-9162024Today GAU presented articles 7 (workload) and 10 (stipends): 
  • For article 10, we framed our argument in two ways: 
    • First, to be in line with the cost of living in Gainesville (and to be higher than minimum wage in the area, as we are skilled workers)
    • And second, for the 9-month stipend to cover the costs of J-1 visa requirements (and to automatically rise to meet this threshold in the future)
      • The exact minimum stipends we asked for are $29,250 for 9-month GAs and $39,000 for 12-month GAs
      • We also asked for a $1,725 merit raise for 9-month GAs and a $2,300 raise for 12-month GAs 
  • For article 7, we adjusted some previous language included in the article by both GAU and UF to:
    • Help clarify the amount of work which should be done by GAs registered in credit hours that are related to their assistantship (i.e., teaching or research credits). We had previously said 3 additional hours of work is appropriate per credit hour, but we reduced this to 1 hour for each credit based on a document we found with clearer guidance
    • We also removed the word “average” in relation to hours worked per week (this is in our current contract), as international students are held to a weekly amount, not an average weekly amount of hours worked (i.e., they have a hard 20 hour limit per week)
    • We are also continuing to push for departments to review GA positions, and clarify the overlapping employment duties and academic work of their students and (separately) for there to be a proposed list of solutions in the case a GA is favored in their grievance over a workload dispute - for them to be paid more, their FTE to be changed, etc. 
​UF's response:
  • UF was tightlipped on their opinions of the articles presented today, but they were clear that there would be no chance to implement article 10 as an MOU (i.e., without ratification by the BOT and bargaining unit) and there is slim to no chance of ratifying article 10 outside of the full book contract  
    • GAU wants to ratify article 10 outside of the full book contract in order to get stipend increases out sooner, and although UF refuses to implement without a vote (i.e., ratification) for sound reason, their reason for not pulling out the article for ratification separate from the full book contract is unclear - seemingly, it is to keep it in play for more bargaining power in the future ​
]]><![CDATA[Healthcare UPDATE (Article 12)]]>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:04:28 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/healthcare-update-article-12Major changes:
  • We will now get Out-of-Network (Tier 3) Coverage: Appendix F- Modified - UF 8.20.2024.pdf
    • We are now getting the best GatorCare plan available to any UF employee for the cheapest premium and the best version of GatorGradCare since we first won it in 2014
    • Gainesville/Jacksonville tier 3 plan:
      • Individual/family deductible (CYD): $1000/$2000
      • Individual/family out-of-pocket (OOP) maximum: $6000/$12000
      • Coinsurance: 40%
    • Out-of-Area (OOA) tier 3 plan (i.e., for GAs working in RECs)
      • Individual/family deductible (CYD): $400/$800
      • Individual/family out-of-pocket (OOP) maximum: $4000/$8000
      • Coinsurance: 30%
  • Reduced emergency care per-visit deductible by $100 in all tiers
  • Cheaper coverage for dependents
    • Individual premiums will increase by $5.65/month (to offset tier 3 costs and also to reduce premiums for dependents)
    • For spouses, premiums decrease by $48.90/month
    • For children, premiums decrease by $46.45/month
    • For family, premiums decrease by $170.27/month
    • All premiums are locked in until another agreement is reached. The university can no longer increase premiums for dependents unilaterally by up to 5% (currently allowed).
  • Vision: Appendix Y-UFSelect-Humana-2024.pdf
    • Optional add-on available to other UF employees now available to us
    • Employee only: $5.61/month
  • Dental: 
    • We have kept the free allowance for the faculty dental practice that is already in the contract
    • Optional add-on available to other UF employees is now also an option:Appendix X- eagles-dental.pdf
      • Not the best plan
      • Expensive, you pay upfront and get reimbursed
    • A university committee, which will include 2 GAs, will be set up to rebid better dental coverage for GAs that better fits our needs with the idea of implementing by 2026
  • Annual reopener on the health insurance article
Minor changes:
  • GAs will now be automatically enrolled into GGC, unless they opt out. This should make things easier for international students as well. (Still need to fill out the health insurance waiver form)
  • The Health Insurance Committee in charge of rebidding the health plans (including dental) will now have 2 GAs instead of 1
  • People on the OOA plan will be informed through their letter of appointment.
  • We moved a provision relating to continuing health coverage for 9-mo employees. This was originally in article 20 and now it has been moved to article 12 (no change in actual contract language)
  • GAs on unpaid leave will continue paying premiums (no change to actual practice but now codified in the contract)
]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session 06/06/2024]]>Wed, 12 Jun 2024 20:01:01 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-06062024This bargaining session, UF brought back proposals on Article 3 and Article 13. For both of these articles GAU had proposed new language to add clarification and protections for GAs. UF brought both of these articles back largely crossed out and with little suggestion or feedback. During an at length discussion on Article 13, we went section by section hear the university's reasoning for striking the provisions. Below outlines the university's general position.

The university feels that the extensive provisions GAU has added to extend discrimination protections for GA’s are not in their interest. In order to keep the protections the same for “all employees” they refuse to add additional protections to our contact. In short, UF crossed out the vast majority of our proposal and refuses to consider adding any part of it to this article. They feel that the CBA will not be used in discrimination cases as much as legal precedent and regulations - i.e. GA’s can file a grievance but, they will probably make more progress outside of the grievance process. As far as sexual harassment, UF similarly crossed out all additional clauses that specified forms of harassment or further protected GAs from different forms of sexual harassment. GAU argues that most of the added language throughout this article is to clarify what protections GAs have under the law and university policy and what their recourse could be for each type of infraction. ]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session 05/02/2024]]>Thu, 09 May 2024 21:16:50 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-05022024If you are interested in more detail please check out our youtube for the full session recording!

Article 16 - Released-Time 
GAU reinserted current contract language for Article 16 after UF tried to completely erase released-time appointments. GAU also increased FTE of these appointments to 0.5 and changed our previous parking permit proposal to ask for a commercial parking permit. This would allow GAU leadership to transport materials back and forth from the GAU office directly.

Article 8 - Leaves of Absence 
UF offers 2 days of bereavement leave for the death of an immediate family member, and 5 days if the family member lives internationally. This is in addition to the paid and unpaid leave we are already entitled to. They also left room for ambiguity using the language “requisite leave request form” to refer to the form needed to request any type of leave. GAU plans to respond to this proposal to ask for a more reasonable allotment for bereavement leave.

Article 28 - University of Florida Regulations and Policies
UF makes a distinction between impact bargaining and the articles intent to allow bargaining if the university makes a decision to implement a policy that has an impact on GAs wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. It is only considered impact bargaining if there is a managerial right on UFs part. (This article was created to ensure the University fulfills their collective bargaining obligation before making a change that has an effect on our employment). There are three options when a change occurs - to reopen the article, decline to reopen until next full book bargaining and to waive the right to bargain on the change altogether.

Article 9 - Academic Freedom
GAU previous proposed language to clarify both what is allowed both in and outside of the classroom in regards to academic freedom. UF brought back a response to this proposal that struck most of these clarifications stating that they did not want to create a “legal test” in regard to relevance or the scope of activities. This includes striking out the phrase “expression of opinion as a citizen cannot constitute grounds for dismissal”. These arguments against broad language seem to directly contradict with language they have kept in their proposal in terms of what is not considered academic freedom. GAU will return a proposal that holds firm on our belief that clarifying these points is essential to protecting our rights as GAs.

Article 4 - Appointments, Reappointments and Terminations
In summary there were four substantive differences that UF and GAU have not yet come to agreement on. GAU wanted to structure this article to give GAs as much job security as possible and this includes setting 12 month appointments as the default unless there is a reason the department or advisor cannot fund a 12 month appointment. UF does not want to make this the default and wants to keep an explicit statement that an appointment only guarantees works for the term of the letter of appointment. While GAU wanted to include language that encourages continual reappointment, UF wants to keep the current contract language. Most of UF’s arguments against our proposed changes rest on “external checks”, meaning they believe students wont come here if other schools continually offer better. GAU feels UF should do better, AND be much more explicit about appointment terms and contract stipulations in letters of offer which are not binding.

​]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Update (04/25/24)]]>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 19:11:59 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-update-042524If you are interested in more detail please check out our youtube for the full session recording!

UF brought forth Article 23 (Totality of Agreement) with minor changes. They added a reference to Article 25 and modified a reference to Article 28. This was the only proposal UF presented this session. They plan to come back to Article 28 next week and plan to bring an Article 12, Health Insurance proposal next session, though they are not positive this will happen.

GAU brought forth changes in Articles 3, 4, 8 and 9.

Article 3 (Consultation) - 
GAU presented a proposal that holds firm on our position that the union should be able to meet with the University President when a decision may impact our employment conditions. GAU clarified that this is not to bargain but to share perspectives. The provision to meet with the president is already in the contract, but the current contract allows the president to appoint a designee to meet with us. We are trying to establish limited circumstances in which GAU could demand a meeting with a president and not a designee.

Article 4 (Appointments, Reappointments and Terminations) - 
GAU spent the most time this session with Article 4. They proposed some minor language changes, and accepted a few of UF’s strikeouts. Most significantly, GAU reworked the language of this article to create rules for all terminations and non-renewal of appoints to be treated the same, and added in protections where PIPs (Personal Improvement Plans) are required for non-renewal/termination for performance and set distinct timelines for them. The reasons for non-renewal and termination were also consolidated.

UF debated with GAU the most over their reinsertion of a severance provision, which would be required if a GA is being terminated/non-renewed due to no fault of their own. UF’s position is that if the GA is getting paid they should be working until the last day of pay. GAU emphasizes that this would not give GA’s time to search for a new position, and deal with their affairs.

Article 8 (Leaves of Absence) -
 GAU added bereavement leave as a form of paid leave. With the proposed language a GA could take up to the full 8 weeks for bereavement and there was some discussion around the issue of time allowed for this form of leave. A GA attending the bargaining session shared her personal experience to speak on the importance of bereavement leave, especially for international students that must travel far. UF agreed to include some form of bereavement leave but will likely not allow the current language to stand as is.

Article 9 (Academic Freedom) -
​Lastly, GAU made some minor changes to Article 9, reinserting a clauses regarding a GA’s right to academic freedom in the classroom and in their research as well as a GA’s right to speak freely and engage in political activity outside the university without fear of institutional repression. GAU also added language that would specifically allow GA’s to prohibit recording of class discussion, as protection against laws like HB7

]]><![CDATA[Bargaining Session 04/11/2024]]>Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:29:40 GMThttps://www.ufgau.org/blog/bargaining-session-04112024This past bargaining session was focused primarily on 4 articles the updates for each are detailed below. If you are interested in more detail please check out our youtube for the full session recording!

Article 8 - Leaves of Absence
UF’s proposal added the option of unpaid leave for internships related to a GA’s academic program.  GAU will request the addition of paid bereavement leave to our contract in the next counterproposal. 
Article 3 - Consultation
UF removed GAU proposal language that would allow the union to request a meeting with the university president under special circumstances. The provision to request a consultation with the president already exists but the current language allows the president to appoint a designee instead. GAU’s previous proposal defined special circumstances under which GAU could request a consultation, in which the president could not appoint a designee and would be obligated to meet with the union directly.
Article 16 - Use of Facilities
UF wants to eliminate the Release-Time (RT) positions from our bargaining contract, in which GA’s can be released from their normal duties to work for the union. These positions have existed since the union got bargaining rights (since the creation of our collective bargaining agreement). UF claims these positions are no longer in the interest of the university, however discussion made it clear that the UF team is not fully aware of the purpose of the RT position and what it exists to do. All Florida graduate assistant and faculty unions have these positions in their contract as they are essential for enforcement of the contract, which is a joint responsibility of the union and the employer. For this reason, these positions are included in other contracts because they benefit the university as well. UF has not adequately explained its sudden change in position on this article after multiple proposals had already been exchanged.
Article 9 - Academic Freedom
UF’s latest proposal kept many of the new provisions proposed by GAU. However, their proposal struck out a proposal that would specifically protect a GA’s right to discuss pertinent subjects in the classroom that students might find controversial as well as a proposal protecting GAs from employment-related consequences due to speech and political activity outside the university.

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