GEO unwilling to extend contract deadlines again

The Graduate Employees Organization's contract extension with the University is scheduled to expire - again - tonight at midnight.

Although GEO agreed to extend its agreement - originally deadlined Monday at midnight - at its meeting earlier this week, GEO spokesperson Chip Smith said this will not occur at tonight's bargaining session.

"No more contract extension period," Smith said. "I am not willing to extend it again."

Since Monday's extension, GEO members voted to send out strike authorization ballots, the first step toward a potential strike or walk-out.

GEO decided to extend their contract at Monday's negotiation session to review a new wage proposal from the University. The University presented this proposal, concerning the way Graduate Student Instructors' hours are calculated, after GEO reduced their GSI wage request from 27 percent to 9 percent.

Smith said GEO planned on presenting the University a wage counterproposal at tonight's session. While the University's Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble said he is prepared to address this issue, he wanted to assure GEO that the University's current proposal is charitable.

"I hope they understand how generous this proposal is," Gamble said. He said if GEO accepts the proposal, all GSIs with .3, .35 and .4 appointments - those who work between 30 and 40 percent of the hours of a full-time faculty member - will be moved up to a .5 appointment. Gamble said under this plan, the average GSI will earn $283 more per month.

Provost Nancy Cantor, whose office will provide the money for the GSIs' wage increase, said her team made this move because of their concern for University graduate students.

"We care deeply about the living standard of our graduate students," Cantor said. "We are concerned with their ability to flourish in their own academic programs while contributing to the undergraduates' education."

Smith said Gamble's figures are false, explaining that GSIs who work 30 to 35 percent of a full-time faculty member may actually move down to a .25 appointment under the University's proposal - earning less money while working the same number of hours.

Smith also said that while GSIs with .4 appointments will move up to .5 under the new proposal, they will still need to work extra hours to earn the extra wages.

"There's no benefit here at all," Smith said. "The way the University on proposed this is completely unacceptable to the membership."

GEO steward Nages Shanmugalingan said she found another policy presented by the University on Monday unacceptable.

"I am very unsatisfied with the University's policy on compensated training for international GSIs," Shanmugalingan said.

The University said it would provide a $200 stipend, room and board and insurance during all international graduate students' three week training period. But Shanmugalingan said she doubts the University will keep its word since this policy is not included in GEO's contract.

"I want a more specific proposal we can hold the University accountable to," Shanmugalingan said. "Three years ago, they reneged on the same policy and we couldn't hold them to it. The same problem exists now."

Gamble said the University will not include this policy in the GEO contract because international graduate students are not employees until they pass the training session and become GSIs.

02-04-99