The 6th session of RA Bargaining took place Wednesday, and GEO was able to pass 6 different proposals across the table. (UIC was ready with at least one thing by the end of the session, but ran out of time to pass it to us. Session 7 will begin with this.) As it stands, this is the state of bargaining:
Tentatively agreed upon pending GEO member ratification (i.e. “TA’ed”):
- Article II. Recognition
- Article VI. Training
- Article XIV. Expenses
Part of the current version of “Incorporation No Changes” (i.e once UIC signs as well, they will stay the same with the addition of RAs):
- I. Purpose
- IV. Management Rights
- V. Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment
- VII. Evaluation
- IX. Additional Employment
- XVI. Dues Deduction
- XVII. TA/GA Work Rules
- XVIII. Access to Personnel File
- XIX. Health and Safety
- XX. Labor-Management Meetings and Consultation
- XXII. Grievance Procedure
- XXIII. Electronic Availability of the Agreement
- XXIV. No Strike/No Lockout
- XXV. Savings
- XXVI. Entire Agreement
- XXVII. Duration
Currently in discussion:
- Article III. Appointment Terms
- Article VIII. Hours of Work
- Article X. Employee Rights
- Article XI. Union Rights
- Article XV. Leaves and Holidays
- Article XXI. Discipline and Dismissal
Only two Articles have yet to be discussed:
- Article XII. Wages
- Article XIII. Health Care
To start off the session, we passed back the “Incorporation no change” document with our signature as listed above, as well as Article III (Appointment Terms) and VIII (Hours of Work). For the former, we let UIC know that we are not comfortable opening up required assistant documentation to any documents, as we have heard from a few international workers that OIS has a history of asking for unnecessary documentation. For the latter, we acknowledged that UIC would not accept our initial proposal as it was, so we changed the limit on average hours worked per week for research assistants to factor in credit hours. In our suggested calculation, 1 credit hour = .83 work hours, totalling to a maximum of 30 required hours per week for a grad worker with a 50% FTE enrolled in 12 credit hours.
After discussing in caucus, we came back to pass three more proposals: Articles X (Employee Rights), XI (Union Rights), and XV (Leaves and Holidays). For Employee Rights, we stepped down on our request for computers to be bought for assistants, and instead are asking for a one time $800 technology stipend for all new assistants. We also further explained what assistive technologies are since it didn’t seem that UIC fully understood the last time we discussed this Article. For Union Rights, we maintained that we should have the right to request RA office information and added “Materials pertaining to international assistants, posted in the Office of International Services” to the list of permitted union notices and bulletins. International workers often face more exploitation and precarity than domestic students, so they should be made aware of their right to organize around these issues. This issue is particularly salient for RA bargaining because international students make up a large portion of RAs. And, when their supervisor and academic advisor happen to be the same person (which is the case for many RAs), their job stability and therefore Visa status are more vulnerable. Finally, we passed our Leaves and Holidays proposal, which would guarantee 8 personal days for a 9-month RA appointment and 24 days for a 12-month RA appointment because we have seen many RAs being grossly overworked, and they have a right to have time off.
As we approach the final phase of bargaining, it is imperative that members show up and participate in caucus more than ever. Bring your opinions on what you want us to continue to push for, and bring your experiences to explain to UIC why RAs need these protections. Please join us at our next session on Tuesday, October 22nd from 11:30-1:30pm. We will be discussing wages and healthcare! Invite your coworkers!
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