The next step in our campaign to build a strong union of graduate employees is for a majority of us to sign cards authorizing GEU to represent us for the purposes of collective bargaining with the PSU administration. We’ll then submit these cards to the Oregon Employment Relations Board, which will count them and certify that a majority of eligible graduate employees support unionizing. Then, we will sit down with the PSU administration to negotiate a contract — known as a collective bargaining agreement — covering our wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Here are the ways you can sign a card today:
- Ask a co-worker. If one of your fellow grad employees has talked with you about our union before, they’ll probably have a card you can sign.
- Stop by the GEU office. We’re in Smith Memorial Student Union room 1 (in the basement, down the hall from the game room), and this term we’re holding office hours Tuesdays 3 to 5pm, Wednesdays 11am to 1pm, and Friday noon to 2pm. We’re often there at other times though — just let us know beforehand so we can make sure the office is open.
- Contact us to arrange an appointment. If you can’t make it to our office, we’re happy to meet you elsewhere on campus, or if you don’t often make it to campus, let us know and we’ll work something else out!
Here’s what the card looks like — we hope you can come sign one today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will know that I’ve signed a card?
Your signature is confidential, and your supervisor and other administrators at PSU will never know if you signed a card or not. GEU organizers will submit the cards to the Oregon Employment Relations Board, which will destroy the cards after the certification process is complete.
Who is eligible to sign a card?
We encourage all PSU graduate employees to sign cards. After we file the cards, we’ll work with the PSU administration and the Oregon Employment Relations Board to determine the final list of who exactly is eligible, but in the meantime, we strongly urge all graduate employees to sign.
When will the cards be filed?
We need a majority of graduate employees to sign cards, so the sooner we get to that point, the sooner we can file the cards and start the important work of negotiating a contract to improve our wages, health care, and working conditions. By law, authorization cards are valid for 180 days from the date of signing.