Graduate Employees Union of Portland State University

Bargaining Weekly on Mondays 11 am – 3 pm: https://pdx.zoom.us/j/89575632910

Admin’s Healthcare Anti-proposal

Hey GEU folks! It’s that time of the week where we share disappointing news from the university administration. You may recall that last week, GEU proposed combining a small emergency fund with healthcare subsidies, making it PSU’s turn to make a counter-proposal.

Well, we have no proposal from PSU this week. What we do have is their assurance that they are absolutely not willing to give healthcare subsidies to GAs. Whatever is in their next proposal, it will not be the most straightforward means of giving employees health benefits.

Every week they offer a fresh excuse, but the real reason is simple: they would rather placate us with one-off benefits that they can retract or hold hostage later. We will not be placated. As the Fall term approaches, we are ready to fight for healthcare!

Multi-year Contracts

PSU continues to resist granting GAs employment stability in the form of a right to be reappointed. But, they have made some movement by offering that departments can voluntarily offer appointments longer than one year. This is not enough for GAs in the many departments that will not offer such appointments, but it is a start; negotiations continue.

Next week

All of the remaining articles are in PSU court, we will hear their counters next week and continue to push for needed GA benefits and rights! 

What you can do

In the past month, you wrote letters to President Percy. If your experience was anything like ours, all you got was a lousy, copy and paste email – so, let’s get louder. Sign our open letter calling on PSU to give GAs the benefits we deserve: Open Letter to President Percy

In the coming weeks, you will be hearing more from the Contract Action Team about in-person actions around the start of the Fall term. We will show PSU that we will not quietly accept the status quo. Stay engaged, stay hopeful, and stay mad.

Bargaining Weekly on Mondays 11 am – 3 pm: https://pdx.zoom.us/j/89575632910

This week

PSU presented their counters to Articles 17 (Appointments) and 21 (Health and Wellbeing). While there was some movement towards consensus, PSU Admin seems to hold a fundamental misunderstanding about the circumstances of many GAs. 

As GAs well know the combination of rising prices and rent, a limited FTE, no affordable childcare, and health insurance costs that take a significant proportion of wages, result in a chronic state of emergency.  

Therefore, while the Bargaining Team does think an Emergency Fund would be helpful for struggling GAs, it does not address the baseline needs that many GAs face, chief among them, unaffordable health care costs.   

Next week

In short, the GEU Bargaining Team will continue to push for appointment protections, health insurance support, and union information rights. Discussion at the table is moving towards the bottom line: money. Is PSU too poor to support GA health insurance costs, or is that a convenient excuse? That remains to be seen as the Bargaining Team presses PSU Admin for their reasons for not contributing to GAs health insurance premiums.   

What you can do

The Contract Action Team is going to be reaching out to our bargaining unit to gauge interest in different types of actions starting next week. So, be on the lookout for us to give you a ring! 

Next, be sure to come to next Monday’s bargaining session from 11am-3pm, as we are making the case that GAs need immediate support, and waiting to hear PSU’s reasons for why it can’t be done.

Memes

An interesting aside, our memes seemed to have ruffled some feathers. The Bargaining Team wants to be clear that no personal offense was meant to any PSU administrator; however, when a joke strikes a nerve perhaps it’s time to reflect on why.

Truth Hurts

This Week

A tentative agreement on Article 9 (Discipline and Discharge) was reached between GEU and PSU pending final review and signatures! While it is always great to reach agreement and move things forward, we are far from done when it comes to healthcare and reappointment rights. 

This week, GEU presented our updated proposal on Articles 17 (Appointments) and 21 (Health and Wellbeing) which include more accountability for departments not offering GAs reappointment, subsidized health insurance for GAs, and a response to PSU’s proposal for yet another taskforce to tell us what we already know: GAs need affordable healthcare NOW.

Next Week

PSU will be bringing their counter proposals on Articles 17 and 21. Based on what we have seen so far, we are anticipating they will bring more “creative solutions” without much weight or meaningful impact for GAs who already struggle to maintain financial stability and afford healthcare.

What You Can Do!

First, take a break from hearing about PSU’s refusal to give GAs what they deserve and come hang out with the GEU bargaining team! Meet your fellow GEU members and enjoy free appetizers and free GEU swag on the back patio at Rogue Hall this Thursday from 4pm-7pm!

Thursday, August 4th

4pm-7pm

Rogue Hall

1717 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97201

Next, be sure to come to next Monday’s bargaining session from 11am-3pm https://pdx.zoom.us/j/89575632910 and observe PSU’s latest proposals on healthcare and reappointment rights.

Think you’ll be impressed with what they have to offer? We don’t either, but showing up tells PSU that GAs are serious about getting the healthcare support we deserve!

Bargaining Weekly on Mondays 11 am – 3 pm: https://pdx.zoom.us/j/89575632910

How much does PSU value GAs?

Good news! We can finally put a number on how much a single GA’s needs are worth to PSU administration. By dividing their proposal of a $10,000 emergency relief fund – that’s right, you counted those zeros correctly– with the number of GAs, we can give a precise measure of how much your university cares about you. $18 per year…

Feel valued yet? Keep in mind that this offer is in lieu of any health benefits, any childcare support, or any support for DACA and international GAs. We would normally say something here to get you riled up, but as they say, a picture says a thousand words.

However, if you’d like to express your feelings on how $18 a year will cover your needs as a GA, we are continuing our letter writing campaign until the end of the 27th. The form to complete a letter is here: https://forms.gle/6iwa22MSxNgNF2RP9 

You can also send your own letter directly to info@pdxgeu.org. And of course, if you’d like to see the minor miracle of our bargaining team holding back our eye rolls, you can attend bargaining sessions at the link above!

Weekly on Mondays 11 am – 3 pm:https://pdx.zoom.us/j/89575632910

Still no firm proposals from PSU

Hi GEU folks! Let’s dig into what’s going on in bargaining. We’re getting into the big issues today: healthcare, childcare, and assistance with DACA and visa fees. Three crucial issues, which happen to live in the same part of the contract: Article 21. You’ll be hearing about Article 21 a lot!

After over a month with no reply from PSU, it’s apparent their team had not even looked at our last proposal for article 21. They had even forgotten that the GEU team had presented it! Once PSU had finally reviewed the proposal, they suggested a vague “creative solution” rather than consider it. Details are sparse, but here’s the gist: still no healthcare support, still no childcare support, still no fee assistance… but instead, a single pool of money to use as an assistance fund for GAs with acute needs. Rolling all of these important and unique issues into a single blanket fund? Acute solutions for chronic needs? Consider us skeptical.

We’ll need to see the details, but there’s likely a long way to go in these negotiations. Perhaps this can be the start of a more fruitful conversation on all of the issues. Especially if all GAs stand up now to let PSU know how important the issues are for us.