UI-Chicago graduate employees receive certification

The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Sept. 3 certified the Graduate Employee Organization/AFT at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as the bargaining agent representing more than 1,200 graduate employees, making it the first campus union certified under the new Illinois “card check” law. Under card check recognition legislation that Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed last year, filing a majority of cards confers automatic recognition once the state labor board certifies the unit.

GEO-UIC co-president Eric Smith noted that many “knew the precedent we were setting and what we were up against” in being the first union to come under the card check law. For the graduate employees, it was a long and frustrating process as the university stalled at seemingly every corner. At one point, the university revised the list of graduate employees eligible for the union, giving the GEO only hours to submit enough additional signatures to constitute a majority.

For the size of this unit and its diversity, this was a trying process, but the union was able to gather more than enough signatures to satisfy the university and the labor board. In the end, the GEO-UIC filed cards signed by 629 of 1,236 eligible graduate employees and the board was able to certify the bargaining unit.

Smith hopes that in future cases, there will be “better protections throughout the card check process” so that more unions can gain certification.

But now, after nearly a decade-long campaign for recognition, the graduate employees at UIC are looking to enter into their first contract negotiations with the university in November. Smith says the members are “anxious to start negotiations” and are thankful for the organizing help they got from other groups, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the GEO at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Dowling full-timers win raises

On the heels of the recent success of Dowling College adjuncts, who won their first contract and significant salary increases over the summer, full-time faculty at the Long Island, N.Y., college recently ratified their own agreement for pay raises and increased influence over school governance and curriculum.

Negotiations for the three-year contract, says AFT Local 3890 president Michael Shapiro, were swayed, in part, by an informational picket line that featured signs declaring, “No Contract, No Work” and “Bargain in Good Faith.” It was enough to capture the attention of an administration that initially proposed conditions far from those the faculty had in mind.

Working from a proposed pay increase of just 2 percent, the final contract provides 4 percent annually, plus a possible 3 percent annual bonus tied to the university’s growth. The increase helps make up for a disappointing decision on workload: The contract maintains a 24-credit-hour load instead of the 21 hours requested, but includes the opportunity for a three-credit release time to be used for research and development. Shapiro says the 4 percent per year salary increase helped make up for the loss.

Other negotiated issues include health benefits. Deductibles and co-pays rose but, Shapiro says, “we were willing to share [health costs] in keeping with other schools; we didn’t put ourselves out on a limb.”

There was better news for those most concerned with governance issues. Substantial changes will lead to more department-level responsibility for programs and personnel. “We set the stage for growth,” says chief negotiator Susanne Bleiberg Seperson, who says governance was put in the hands of individual schools, including arts and sciences, business, education and aviation. “It was very important for us to retain control of the curriculum.” The new arrangement is more responsive to the needs of students, she says, and maximizes faculty involvement.

Shapiro says he kept faculty input in mind as well, making sure each discipline felt represented as bargaining proceeded. Both Shapiro and Bleiberg Seperson point out the diversity of the bargaining team—it was the first time so many departments came to the table, and the input from academics as diverse as arts and sciences, business, education and library helped create a more knowledgeable base from which to work. Also present were New York State United Teachers representatives and an outside attorney. “It was a very impressive team,” says Bleiberg Seperson. “Our message of unity and strength got across to the other side.”

Reflecting on the compromises, Shapiro says, “there’s a limit when you ... draw a line in the sand.” He is sure that when the contract is up, workload will be revisited.

“I’m satisfied with the final outcome,” says Shapiro.

New unions have to fight for paychecks

Having just ratified their organizations, grad workers at the University of Florida and the University of Illinois were ready to start fresh this fall. Instead, their unions were put right to work fighting for their paychecks and untangling tuition remission and dues deductions.

Graduate Assistants United/AFT at the University of Florida in Gainesville recertified over the summer, but when the first payday arrived, hundreds of paychecks didn’t come through. Blamed on a still-unfamiliar computer system and tardy payroll submissions from departments, the glitch nevertheless left graduate assistants with no pay just hours before Hurricane Frances hit on Sept. 3. Thanks to the union, some paychecks were issued, but not to all.

Two weeks later, the problems lingered. On Sept. 17, fed-up workers staged an action on the steps of the administration building. One sign read, “Will Work For Food.” The university responded with emergency paychecks, but workers are bitter and some are still owed back pay while the university straightens its books.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Graduate Employees Organization/AFT fought similar paycheck issues and filed an unfair labor practice complaint for violations regarding tuition waivers, union dues and notification of employees about the union. Like Florida, Illinois has claimed technological difficulties—tuition waivers did not go through, and no system was in place to deduct union dues from paychecks.

GEO officers say employees at Student Accounts blamed the new union contract for the delays, which were actually due to a new and unfamiliar computer system. And, though two e-mail messages were sent as union notification, the union was refused a platform at a teacher assistant orientation. All this just two weeks into a newly ratified contract.

As a result of a demonstration and subsequent negotiations, the administration has promised that paycheck problems will be cleared up by the October pay date, and is issuing emergency checks up to $1,000 for those missing their pay.

In such a climate, “it’s incumbent upon unions that are older—not only graduate unions, but faculty and teacher unions—to make sure these newly formed unions and campaigns are able to thrive and gain a foothold,” says Chris Goff, a member of the 27-year-old Graduate Teaching Fellows/AFT at the University of Oregon and liaison to the AFT Higher Education program and policy council.

What’s new from AFT Higher Education

The AFT has released three new publications this fall to advance its commitment to members and the academic community.The inaugural issue of American Academic, the union’s new academic journal, explores the theme “Market Values, Academic Values: The Shifting Balance.” It looks at the influence of market forces on all areas of higher education and debates whether we are truly in a “crisis” situation. Articles range from market practices in research, teaching and institutional procedures to market values within the disciplines, in particular, the humanities, composition studies and university presses.

To counter the continuing national trend toward the exploitation of graduate employees in higher education, the AFT has released Standards of Good Practice in the Employment of Graduate Employees. The report outlines a coordinated program to improve the financial and professional circumstances of graduate employees. It offers suggestions on issues such as setting standards for compensation, establishing fair employment practices, promoting standards of professional responsibility and ensuring full rights for graduate employees in their union.

The AFT’s new Political Action Tool Kit contains nuts-and-bolts information on everything from establishing a Committee on Political Education (COPE) and raising funds to building community coalitions and getting out the vote for an election. This extensive 100-page binder is organized into easy-to-use sections based on the components of a political action program, with sample union communications, forms and other resources.

For more information on any of these publications, visit the higher education Web site at www.aft.org/higher_ed.