The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, the University of Oregon’s graduate student union, held a rally outside Johnson Hall to kick off its bargaining cycle with UO for the 2023-24 year. 

Members from local unions joined in on the rally. 

During the rally, members chanted “UO works because we do” and “What time is it? Union time.” 

“By fighting for better working conditions, we are fighting for the learning conditions of ourselves and our students,” Kisa Clark, president of GTFF, said. 

From Johnson Hall, GTFF members marched to McKenzie hall for their first bargaining session. 

“No GE is paid a living wage, and dozens are under the federal poverty line,” Cy Abbott, GTFF’s VP for grievances said.

The current contract for GTFF and the UO expires on June 15, 2023. The new bargaining cycle will begin next term according to the GTFF website. 

According to GTFF’s presentation during the session, GTFF plans to bargain for better health and wellbeing services for graduate employees, better professional working conditions and strengthen sexual harassment protections. 

The union will be having negotiation meetings with the university every other week, according to its website.

“But tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, we will join together with all workers on this campus and beyond to support, learn from and struggle alongside each other in order to ignite real social transformation,” Clark said.