2025-2028 Bargaining Blog: Sessions 12 & 13

Hi everyone! I am here to deliver your FINAL bargaining session update for 2025-2028 collective bargaining negotiations, as we wrapped up bargaining on Tuesday, September 30th! We finished things up by signing off on stipends (article 22) and I have some exciting things to share with you, so let’s waste no time and get into it.

In session 12 on Tuesday, September 23rd, we signed off on healthcare (article 16) and non-discrimination (article 8). We went back and forth on non-discrimination, sexual misconduct, and retaliation (article 8) for a while. The FSU-GAU Organizing Chair, Zeke, led the charge on article 8, and his hard work is very appreciated! FSU-BOT really did not want to move from status quo on this article, which was both unsurprising and frustrating. As many probably know, protecting our rights as employees in the realms of non-discrimination, sexual misconduct, and retaliation are of the utmost importance right now (they always are, but right now especially). We were determined and insistent on added protections, but FSU-BOT was really not willing to budge. This is not surprising though, especially given the attempt of the university administration at quietly altering the language of amendment 6.014 where the language of what is constituted as a protected party would be narrowed down to just veterans and those with disability status. We were able to get language about being notified within 10 business days by FSU-BOT about any changes that need to be made to the CBA due to any legal happenings. We also codified our rights to conduct union activities without any interference from the board of trustees. With these changes we ultimately decided to move the article into tentative agreement. 

Negotiation is a tricky thing, and sometimes we have to be more flexible on some things so that we can be more insistent on other things. Unfortunately, one of the things we needed to be more flexible on was healthcare. This is not because we wanted to, but because we had to, as the FSU-BOT team revealed to us that they had a higher ceiling on one time expenses, which we see in the stipends article (article 22) and not much wiggle room on healthcare. Our initial plan was to propose a 5% raise to the health care premium percentages, and hopefully land somewhere around a 2% increase. This ultimately did not happen, and we ended with status quo on health care, meaning we are remaining at the 79.9% premium for employees on at least a 0.50 FTE and a 57.9% premium for employees on at least a 0.25 FTE. These percentages are the same for international students.  While we did have to agree to disagree on article 16, we did less of that for stipends. We attempted to increase fee relief but FSU-BOT kept coming back with the same numbers already provided time and time again, and were not willing to adjust those amounts. We moved around with the minimum stipend increase a lot, starting with an over 100% increase, which would put GAs at a pay that would be the living wage for one person with zero children in Tallahassee, FL. They rejected this immediately, and countered with a 1% raise to the minimum stipend. Over the course of multiple weeks, we got the FSU-BOT team to come up little by little. The FSU-BOT team later proposed a $500 bonus for GAs at a 0.50 FTE and above for the Fall 2025 semester as they came up by small amounts on the minimum stipend increase. We were able to negotiate these numbers as well. On September 30th, we came to an agreement on a 2% increase to the minimum stipend amount, a $1300 bonus for the Fall 2025 semester for GAs at a 0.5 FTE and above, and a $650 bonus for the Fall 2025 semester for GAs at a 0.25-0.49 FTE. We then moved the article into tentative agreement.

With that, negotiations are done! Now, we need your help. We need to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement, meaning we need our bargaining unit to vote on it. We will be plastering information on ratification everywhere as soon as we have our plans solidified, and then we will celebrate with a ratification social! So make sure you stay up to date with our website, follow us on Instagram (@fsugau) and make sure you are part of the GAU discord. I am onto some new things now, and you will be hearing from me moving forward as your Executive Vice President! Thank you to all who nominated and elected me at the GMM in early September. So…that means the bargaining chair and chief negotiator positions are open. If you’re interested in both or either position, or even just have questions, please feel free to DM us on Instagram or email us at info@fsugau.org. Thank you to everyone who reads these updates and supports GAU, we appreciate each and every single one of you. Until next time! 

With Love & In Solidarity, 

Xanthippe Pack-Brown

FSU-GAU Executive Vice President