At about 2:30am on Saturday morning, the GEU and PSU bargaining teams signed an outline of a complete economic agreement.

Here’s the gist:

• 3-year contract, no reopeners

• $184 one-time bonus for all GAs in the Spring, (equals 40% fee remission, before taxes).

• Annual raises for everyone, based on the Portland-Vancouver-Salem CPIU, with a floor of 1.5% and a ceiling of 3.5% (same deal AAUP has)

• 0.3 minimum FTE starting in the Fall, up from the current 0.15.

• Increase to minimum hourly rate of 5.64% this summer, 3.33% in Fall 2018, 3.22% in Fall 2019, 3.19% in Fall 2020.  This (plus the new minimum FTE) takes the minimum monthly salary from $355/month now to $825/month in Fall 2020.

• Mandatory fee subsidies (excluding matriculation fee) for all GAs at 45% starting Fall 2018, 60% starting Fall 2019, 80% starting Fall 2020

• Joint health insurance working group empowered to access census, claims data, write requests for proposals, etc., which will produce a report just in time to inform the next round of contract negotiations.

Although this contract is a compromise, there is a lot to be proud of in the work that we ALL did to create a contract that sees immediate monetary benefits for GAs. To put this first contract into context, CGE’s first contract in 2001 established (regarding economic issues) only a minimum salary rate and an annual $330 per GA per year for health insurance (for more info on CGE’s contract evolution, click here). In addition to establishing a minimum salary rate and a working group to do the leg work for future health care coverage, our contract includes a Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA), a minimum FTE, annual increases to the minimum salary rate, and a large percentage of fees remitted.

We’re working on an analysis of the total cost to PSU of the contract, and will send that information out when we have it.