[Editors’ note: This article has been amended to better reflect the deliberations between the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation and the University of Oregon. The article had mistakenly indicated that a contract had been secured when negotiations are still ongoing.]
On behalf of graduate employees at the university, the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation isnegotiating a new contract with the UO administration to secure increased wages, benefits and better working conditions.
The branch of GTFF that is working to improve the conditions of GEs is the bargaining team, which was assembled in the spring of 2022. The bargaining team has reached out to GEs across campus through summer and fall bargaining feedback surveys, as well as conversations from town hall meetings and online council meetings.
According to GTFF Co-Lead Negotiator Cy Abbott, one of the main concerns of the GEs was the issues they faced over the summer.
“A lot of GEs don’t actually get positions in the summer, so they have no pay,” Abbott said. “But they also have to pay more fees than they would normally pay during the academic year. So [they’re] kind of being squeezed on both ends.”
According to Abbott, the bargaining team has been trying its best to communicate with as many GEs as possible to hear out their wants and needs.
“For over a year now, the bargaining team has been polling GEs, talking to GEs, hearing problems that come up with the contract, grievances and organizing,” Abbott said. “We’ve been trying to keep track of all these things so that we can address them in times when we have the space to address a large swab of problems.”
The GEs extended their contract with UO due to the effects of COVID-19 that did not allow in-person attendance for GEs to be able to analyze their treatment as employees, according to Abbott. Their original contract was for three years, but they had it extended to four years.
This extended time has given the GEs more time to see a lot of the issues they face in their positions, and how these problems can be fixed, said Abbott.
“We’ve had four years for problems to compound for lack of pay and the disparity between what we’re paid and then what we’re getting with inflation,” Abbott said. “We’ve had four years to see a lot of these things not get resolved, so there’s a lot of stuff on the plate.”
A main concern is that the GE salary does not keep up with the cost of living in Eugene, according to Abbott.
According to Numbeo, the average cost of living for a single person in Eugene is $1,103 per month without apartment rent. With rent, that would be an additional average of $1,475 per month. That would be a combined $2,578 per month average cost to live in Eugene.
According to UO, GE’s salaries are based on their level of appointment and full-time equivalency, with Level I, Level II and Level III.
For Level I, the salary ranges from $755.33 to $1,850.57 per month. For Level II, the salary ranges from $853.31 to $2,090.61 per month. For Level III, the salary ranges from $901.02 to $2,207.50 per month.
With an average cost of $2,578 per month to live in Eugene, the Level III highest-tier GE salary, at $2,207.50 per month, would not cover that cost.
Additionally, GEs want to secure health insurance benefits, reduce excess fees and secure autonomy in the workplace.
According to Abbott, the bargaining team began assembling in spring of 2022 and had their first meeting with UO administration to establish ground rules on February 27 and their first negotiation meeting on March 17. Since then, the bargaining team has been exchanging proposals with the UO administration.
GEs at UO receive waived tuition. But there are hidden fees that GEs must pay in order to continue to be a graduate employee, such as a quarterly $61 survey to assess their term, Abbott said.
“It is like an employer charging money to employees to work at the place that you work,” she said. “From our take and a GE perspective, a GE should not be assessed any fees to work where they’re working.”
One of GTFF’s proposals is the full removal of all unnecessary fees for GEs, while still keeping tuition waived and earning pay as employees.
“We want to see more grad students be able to be GEs because there’s plenty of need and work and lots of classes that need teaching,” Abbott said. “We hope that there becomes greater benefits to being a GE.”
Rally attendees hold signs as the rally gets underway. Members of Oregon’s Graduate Workers Union rallied with community members outside of McKenzie Hall ahead of their next bargaining session on June 2, 2023. (Molly McPherson/Emerald)
