Bargaining Session 9/16/2024

Today 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 ​