University, TA union talks continue

Editor’s note: The following is an update from the University administration regarding the TA union situation.

Last December, the University of Washington and the Graduate Student Employee Action Coalition/United Auto Workers (GSEAC/UAW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding-Recognition Agreement regarding the University’s teaching assistants, readers, graders and tutors.

The agreement recognized GSEAC/UAW as the majority representative for teaching assistants who had signed authorization cards and committed the University and GSEAC/UAW to meet and confer on terms and conditions of employment. Since December, the process of meeting and conferring was established and has been ongoing.

The University and GSEAC/UAW also agreed to propose jointly and work for passage of enabling legislation to govern a collective bargaining agreement. A bill that had been working its way through the Senate fell victim to the cut-off date and did not pass in time. While there is a possibility of the bill being resurrected, its chances of passage appear to be diminished as of this printing.

The Dec. 4 agreement was to have extended until the end of the 2001 legislative session, or until the demise of the enabling legislation bill, unless extended by mutual agreement. On March 16, two days after the bill stalled in the State Senate, the University and GSEAC signed an extension of the agreement through May 28.

Between now and then, the union and the University have scheduled a series of meet-and-confer sessions in an effort to reach agreement on issues related to wages, hours, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment. The March 16 extension provides that should the University and the union not reach an agreement by May 15, both parties will ask the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for assistance in reaching an agreement.

The University’s goal in these meet-and-confer sessions is to identify issues that can be addressed and agreed to between the union and the administration under existing policy and procedure or adoption of amended or new University policies. At least 10 sessions are scheduled between now and the end of May.

Meanwhile, efforts continue to secure passage of the collective bargaining legislation. All employee unions at the University bargain within such a legal framework. This framework defines the limits to what can actually be bargained, establishes a process to resolve disputes short of litigation, prohibits strikes and lockouts, and provides a mechanism for guaranteeing exclusivity to the bargaining unit. The University remains committed to working for passage of such legislation.

To see the Dec. 4 agreement, the March 16 extension, and other information regarding TA union issues, go to http://www.grad.washington.edu/taunion.htm