On November 19, USF-GAU (Graduate Assistants United) reached a tentative agreement with the USF administration on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Please come vote for your new contract on Wednesday, December 3, 2014, 9:30am-3:00pm in the Library Starbucks. Votes will be counted immediately after voting ends on December 3, and the count will be made public immediately.
All Graduate Assistants are are eligible to vote, and all GAs will be welcome and encouraged to vote on the new contract.
If you vote YES to ratify, and the University Board of Trustees does so as well, the new 2014-2017 CBA provisions will go into effect immediately. The Board of Trustees will vote on the issue on December 4. A “NO” vote means that any changes or contract improvements will not go into effect, and the negotiators must return to the bargaining table.
Complete details regarding the tentative changes to the contract (i.e. CBA) will be posted to the USF-GAU website as soon as they are available; however, some of the big changes include:
- A $500, one-time, tax-free bonus in January for GAs on a 0.50 FTE appointment (prorated for lower assignments, maxed at $500 for higher assignments)
- Six (6) weeks of unpaid family medical leave
- Inclusion of verbiage in appointment letters informing GAs of the availability of a subsidized health insurance policy
- Official office space for USF-GAU
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Christy M. Foust
Bargaining Chair
Secretary
USF-GAU