Weekly Newsletter - Dec 4th!

12/4/23 UF GAU Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Events
12/5 Tuesday    - Tabling at Reitz Union 11am-2pm
12/6 Wednesday     - Tabling at Reitz Union 11am-2pm
    - Tabling on 6th floor of Library West 2:30pm-5:30pm
12/7 Thursday     - Tabling at UFGI 11am-2pm
    - Organizing Meeting at Civic Media Center and             Zoom 5pm-7pm 
12/8 Friday     - Tabling at the Horticulture Dept 12pm-3pm
    - Bargaining Session at Weimer G030 and Zoom 9:30am-11:30am
            
Bargaining Updates
from Friday, Dec 1st
See YouTube for Full Recording

On healthcare, GAU proposed:

• Opt-in coverage for dental and vision plans 
  
• GAU provided example plans and proposed employee costs were based on existing plans currently available to UF and Shands employees
  
• Dental and vision plans would offer GAs a copayment schedule, which is a comprehensive list of treatments and how much each would cost. This includes some free, preventative services, in addition to more costly / substantial treatments. 
  
• Reducing emergency care deductible 
  
  • GAU proposed reducing the tier-1 deductible to $150 and tier-2 and 3 to $250, in line with other GatorCare plans 
    
  • Our tier-1 deductible currently STARTS at $250 - it is the highest of all the other plans we found while researching 
    

• Address out of network coverage:
  
  • We proposed comprehensive tier-3 coverage for all services
    
  • For GAs working at a REC, we proposed the out of area plan should have tier 3 coverage at tier 2 costs. In addition, we proposed having a  dedicated GatorGradCare rep who can serve as a point person for these coverages and for information to be provided to remote students about the out of area plan in their Letter of Appointment (LOA). 
    

• Cheaper dependent coverage 
  
  • We proposed, with the addition of out of network coverage specified above, a slight increase to the employee only cost (to $17.65 from $12 monthly) while decreasing the costs for employees that also pay for their spouse (to$146.25 from $211.75) , child (to $162.85 from$192.70) , or family (to $224.53 from $394.80)
    

On housing (Article 27), GAU proposed:

• Waive application fees (currently, GAs pay a $50 fee to even VIEW on-campus listings)
  
• GAs should receive a $25 credit towards their utility bill
  
• Ensure GAs living on campus are not rent-burdened by having UF pay any rent charges (not utilities) above and beyond 33% of the GA’s monthly stipend
  
• Some renter’s rights be provided that currently are not:
  
  • The ability to have a roommate (currently UF does not allow GAs to have roommates that are not their spouse or child) - this will increase how many students can live on campus AND help in decreasing rent burden
    
  • Allow GAs to have pets, specifically cats and dogs
    
  • For GAs to retain their on campus housing unit until the end of their lease even if main person on lease graduates 
    
  • For GAs to retain their on campus housing unit for up to 6 months or until the end of their lease if that student graduates and transitions to a post-doc position AT the university 
    

• Ensure GAs are not being discriminated against for having these benefits 
  
  • GAU wants a GA on the Campus Student Housing Committee (this semester, this was not being followed) 
    
  • If not being followed, we want to trigger a meeting with the president as per Article 3
    

Additionally this session, UF provided three counter-proposals to GAU, on Articles 16 (GAU Rights), 23 (Totality of Agreement), and 24 (Severability). 

• GAU’s previous proposal on Article 16 (GAU Rights) was fairly well received and there were only a few updates:
  
  • UF agreed to increase release time (RT) GAs to 0.5 FTE, but they want to leave our total FTE for the year at 4.5 (it is currently 4.33)
    
    • This would reduce our total RTs per year to 9 positions, as opposed to the 13 we have now at 0.33 FTE
      
  • UF is willing to share information about GA office locations with us as they are doing something similar with UFF 
    
  • UF is also willing to try to provide GAU information about departmental orientations
    
    • GAU specified for this to be in a timely fashion, but UF recognizes this may not always be possible 
      

• Article 23 (Totality of Agreement) and Article 24 (Severability) 
  

The main concerns of GAU at this time are: 

• In Article 23, UF has changed some language about when they are required to loop in GAU when changing the terms and conditions of our employment 
  
  • GAU will work to clarify this language to ensure UF is not able to make these changes without proper inclusion of our bargaining team 
    
• In Article 24, UF has removed current contract language which states that when previously unenforceable language (for example, in the case of dues deductions, which became unenforceable as of July 1 as a result of HB 256), should this language become enforceable again, that it would go back into effect 
  
  • This means that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) could contain language that is not enforceable
    

 AND 

• This language has a “trigger” to go back into effect based on Article 24
  

• GAU plans to work on ensuring this right, as per the current contract, remains in the next version of the CBA. This is incredibly important as legislation continues to attack the rights of GAs at all levels. 
  

Studio Art Dept Ceasefire Petition
The Graduate Assistants (GAs) in the Studio Art program within the College of the Arts (COTA) have developed and circulated a petition in their department, which has garnered the signatures of a majority of the GAs there. They have requested that Graduate Assistant United (GAU) informs other GAs about their initiative, with the hope that it might inform similar efforts in other departments. You can find the text of the petition here. GAU is willing to promote initiatives by our members. Our sharing of this petition does not imply our official stance on it, however, see below for a related official GAU statement.

Related to this petition: On Thursday Dec 7th at 12pm, JVP and SJP will be holding a press conference at City Hall to raise awareness about a proposed ceasefire resolution and a proposal for the city to divest from companies that profit from Isreali apartheid. This will be during a city commission meeting. At 12:45pm, those attending the press conference are encouraged to enter the meeting an participate in general public comment to make a 1-3 minute statement on the topic. Please see the linked pages for details of the commission meeting agenda and information about making a comment in person, via email, or online comment. 

GBM Recap and Election Results
So many of you turned out for our General Body Meeting last Thursday! We heard committee updates, ate amazing food, sat on the floor when we ran out of chairs, and voted on some important matters! :)  

Election results: 

• Membership elected Brandon Silva as our new treasurer! 
  
• Membership approved our budget
  
• Membership approved an official position statement titled UF Graduate Assistants United Stands Against Attacks on Freedom of Speech and Student Safety to address recent attacks from UF on freedom of speech and the impact of UF’s political stance on student safety.
  
  • This statement was written in collaboration with impacted members to address the hostile climate UF has created for Palestinian, Arab, and pro-Palestinian GAs and students.
    

Organizing Updates
We reached 880 members, and got 1,000 cards signed! We need around 800 more cards to go and need to reach ~1,776 by early Febuary! 
To help the card campaign: if you are attending end-of-semester or holiday events, let us get you some blank cards! Even taking 15 minutes at an event to gather to get a few GA’s to sign cards makes a huge difference. 

We are doing another blitz! This upcoming Thursday we will be having our regular organizing meeting at the Civic Media Center 5-7pm. We will be starting to plan a blitz for early January. The goal is to get our membership numbers up and finish the card campaign. We do not yet have set dates and times but, we do want to get the word out and get an idea of how many people would be willing to lend a hand. GAU needs all the help we can get, if you can join us for a shift or two let us know! HELP NEEDED


Committee Help Needed
Our Healthcare and International committees need your help! Do you have thoughts on how to improve GatorGradCare? Please join our Healthcare Committee by emailing chair Nathan Ardnt, [email protected]. Have concerns about issues affecting international students? Join our international committee by getting on our discord and letting us know! 


Connect With Us
Email us: [email protected]
Join our office hours: M 11:30-1:30, T/W/R 8:30-11:30 (12/04-12/08)
Find us at a tabling event: Tues/Wed Reitz 11-2pm, Wed Library West (Grad Floor) 2:30pm-5:30pm, Thurs Genetics and Cancer Institute 11am-2pm, Fri Horticulture 12pm-3pm
Join discord.