Bargaining update: May 26, 2021
Quick bargaining update!
We just concluded our first bargaining session with PSU over our contract extension and limited economic reopener on three topics: fee remission, minimum hourly rate, and cost of living adjustment.
GEU opened the day with the following proposal:
- 100% student fee remission, including the $350 one-time matriculation fee (previous contract: 80% remission for AY2020-21, excluding matriculation fee)
- $18.86 minimum hourly rate (based on the MIT’s Multnomah county living wage calculator; previous contract AY2020-21 had a $15.87 minimum)
- Cost of Living adjustment of 3.9% based on Western CPI (the metric we use in our previous contract to determine COLA; our last COLA raise AY2020-21 was 1.4%)
PSU administration countered with the following proposal:
- 100% student fee remission, except the $350 one-time matriculation fee
- $16.25 minimum hourly rate citing budgetary restrictions.
- Cost of living adjustment of 0.75% citing budgetary restrictions.
There’s clearly a big gap between these two proposals. After a year of hardship and remote work, it’s more important than ever to bring up the minimum wage for our lowest-paid GAs, and make sure we get a cost of living increase so we don’t in effect take a pay cut every year.
How can we get a fair contract? We need our members to show up to support us at bargaining as observers, and check your emails or reach out to organizing@pdxgeu.org and bargaining@pdxgeu.org to get involved in our union.
Our next bargaining session tomorrow May 27 at 10am.
To join the bargaining session as an observer, look for a Zoom link and password in your email before 10am tomorrow!
If we aren’t in the bargaining Zoom, we are our caucus room. This is a private room for the GEU team to talk amongst ourselves and our members. Contact info@pdxgeu.org for details how to join the bargaining session as an observer.