Bargaining Steps
Questions about how bargaining works? Below is an outline of the main steps.
Once our union is certified, we will elect our bargaining committee. This committee will consist of graduate workers from Boston University, elected by the BU graduate worker membership, who are willing to take on the commitment of helping to negotiate our first contract.
The bargaining committee will circulate surveys that members will use to tell the committee what they want to see in a contract. This is an opportunity for all workers to describe the changes they would like to see in their working conditions and compensation, as well as to emphasize which current aspects of their work that they would like protected.
Based on bargaining survey responses, the bargaining committee will create a list of bargaining goals, which will be broad and all-encompassing. These goals must then be ratified by a vote of the membership.
With the priorities established in the bargaining survey, the committee will bargain a contract with the administration.
The bargaining committee will negotiate a draft contract, called a “tentative agreement,” with the administration. The membership will then vote on the agreement. If they ratify it, then we have our first contract. If they choose to reject it, then the bargaining committee will return to the negotiating table.
Graduate workers do not pay dues until we have voted to ratify our first union contract.
Once we have our first contract in place, we will elect our officers and stewards, whose responsibility is to enforce our contract. We will also vote on a set of bylaws which will determine how we govern our local and how we spend our dues.
