On Monday, we had our 9th bargaining session. Being able to have 3 meetings in the past 3 weeks has allowed us to make faster progress, but the administration will not meet us again until February 22nd. Without more frequent meetings at the table, it will be more difficult to bridge the gap that still exists between us and the administration on many issues you have told us are important to you. We have only six remaining sessions this semester . We continue to demand more bargaining time. If you haven’t done so, sign our petition here. The numbers are growing.
Nondiscrimination and harassment: After weeks of listening to member voices, the administration maintains that the only recourse a student worker survivor ought to be granted is their Title IX process. In addition to reasserting our proposal for a third party neutral grievance procedure, today, we made progress on affirmative measures protecting members from being misgendered and their confidentiality disrespected.
Appointment security: Many student workers are frustrated by unpredictable pay and unclear work expectations. The administration acknowledges the issues that student workers face but are not willing to do what it takes to provide job security. We propose that student workers can access central job postings to find work, do not lose work unexpectedly, and know what is expected from them when they are working.
Health and safety: We put pressure on the administration on ergonomics and we saw positive results. We have some work to do to ensure that our contract will guarantee the safe environment that student workers need, but we feel hopeful that this is something we will resolve in the upcoming sessions.
Workplace and materials: The administration wants to remain the sole arbiter determining what student workers require to do their best work. We voted for a union to have a seat at the table, and we will keep pressing on this issue.
Union access and rights: We are still working on this proposal to ensure that every worker on campus can find out about their rights and are granted fair representation.
The administration has yet to respond to several key issues we have proposed to address: We have raised our voice about lack of pay for the labor that goes into making our university a safer space, we have raised our voice about the insecurities faced by international student workers, and we have raised our voice about lack of resources.
It is still the start of the semester but if we want a contract for this year, we all have to get to work.
Please sign the petition for more time at the bargaining table.
Reach out to us with testimonials on discrimination and harassment and workload.
Get involved with organizing for our Union by emailing hgsu.general@gmail.com or contact your local department leaders!
