GTFF VP of Membership Lissie Connors, GTFF Bargaining Team member Ben Mannix, GTFF President Leslie Selcer and GTFF VP of Communications Rose Inocencio-Smith pose in front of the GTFF office on Nov. 29. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
On Monday, Jan. 15, GTFF announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with the University of Oregon on a new 3-year contract, avoiding a large-scale graduate employee strike that was slated to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
According to GTFF, the deal will bring a substantial pay raise to graduate employees, raising the minimum wage of half-time GE’s to $2,550 a month in the first year. Those raises are set to be retroactive to the beginning of fall term back in September 2023.
“The deal we secured today will bring the minimum salary of all [half time] graduate employees … up to $2,550 a month in the first year,” GTFF’s announcement said. “The cumulative increases of GE salaries range from 18.98 percent to 45.32 percent over the life of the 3-year contract, depending on GE level and rate.”
Other topics agreed upon in the new contract include the continuation of tuition and fee waivers for GEs, more summer employment opportunities for GEs, continued health care coverage and more.
A statement from the University of Oregon read in part, “We are very pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that demonstrates commitment to GEs and the critical work they do supporting academic and research excellence and invests financially to maintain graduate programs that are successful and competitive now and in the future.”
The new contract comes after 10 months of contract negotiations between GTFF and UO, dating back to March 2023. Many parts of the contract, including medical leave and health care coverage, had been agreed upon in the prior months; however, GTFF claimed that the UO’s financial compensation for GE’s was inadequate to cover the cost of living in Eugene.
In the prior weeks, GTFF felt that going on strike would be the only way to win the contract they wanted from UO.
A tentative agreement avoids a strike for the time being, but is not final until members of GTFF pass a ratification vote.
A GTFF general membership meeting is expected to be held later in the week to discuss the tentative agreement with members and then begin the ratification vote process.
The ratification vote is set to take place via email and is open for member voting for a minimum of one week, meaning the potential new contract will not be finalized until the end of next week.
With a strike averted, GTFF thanked their members and supporters for their work in helping win the new contract they wanted.
The announcement said that the tentative agreement halts its strike plans, and is a testament to the “enormous amount of energy, preparation, and passion” that GTFF members devoted to the months leading up to the threat of a strike.
“We hope and expect that our members will be eager to ratify this historic contract, and we look forward to continuing to fight for worker power on our campus — as well as celebrating the powerful changes we have pushed forward at this institution already,” the statement read.
Information about specific pay raises and other tentative agreements can be found here.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
