• Grievance is a procedure by which GAU can help union members resolve violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Current and past versions of the CBA can be found here. Examples of common issues that can be resolved through the grievance process, or that GAU might be able to otherwise help with, include:

    • A supervisor is giving you tasks and responsibilities that are clearly beyond the amount of weekly hours you are supposed to work for (FTE). These tasks can include teaching responsibilities like grading or research responsibilities like lab work, for example.
    • Your contract has been terminated or changed unfairly. For example, maybe your supervisor told you that you could no longer be a graduate teaching assistant because your work as a teacher was unsatisfactory when this was not the case.
    • You believe that your academic freedoms have been unjustly curtailed. For example, you were disciplined for the political implications of a research project.
    • You have not been given paid leave when you are entitled to it. For example, a supervisor refuses to grant you leave for the death of a loved one.
    • You are having problems with your stipend or health insurance. For example, if you suspect that your paychecks and insurance subsidies are incorrect.

    We can make sure that you are forwarded to the right people who can help if, for example, you are suffering from discrimination or harassment. GAU can also help you by combining your story with those of others in order to file ethics complaints or grievances when abuses are systematic. GAU can bring certain troubling patterns of behavior to light, for example, when certain faculty or departments are inappropriately abusive, exploitational, or fail to treat graduate assistants with dignity.

    NOTE: Submitting an issue through this form does NOT open a formal grievance. Your information will be kept confidential, and we will only file a formal grievance with your consent. Filing a grievance is legally protected under Florida law. Retaliation of any sort by your supervisor or by USF is illegal.