As October draws to a close, bargaining carries on!
Bargaining Session #13 will be Friday, 10/30, 2-4PM. Zoom link below 👇👇
Two concrete pieces of good news out of last week's bargaining session:
FSU admin has agreed to pull Article 16 (Health Insurance) out and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on just that article so that they'll start paying the INCREASED costs of health insurance sooner rather than later. This is precedent-breaking news and we are very pleased FSU decided to capitulate on this and do the right thing.
FSU raised their bonus offer from $400 to $500.
Other than that, we had a very productive conversation with the FSU administration about how to fix the prorating problem, what kind of money they have available currently, what will be available in the future, what sorts of compromises they can agree to, and what they can't. This was all very helpful to our bargaining team in crafting our next proposal.
You want details? You got it! There are three main places your department clips days off your paycheck. 1) Before the start of classes, 2) After the end of classes, and 3) Winter Break. Theoretically, if departments paid you for (1) and (2), (3) wouldn't be an issue (or not much of one). So far in negotiations, FSU admin has offered to cover MOST of the days of (2), but not all of them. (1) has the most amount of time left uncovered, up to 10 work days going unpaid. Now, since (1)+(2) almost = (3), and FSU has covered all but a couple days of (2), then the biggest gains left to squeeze out would be in (1).
Sorry to get all MATH on you there. If that went over your head, hopefully some of our GAs in the mathematics departments can explain it to you.
So this Friday, the plan is to ask FSU to cover (1), AKA, those 2 weeks beforeclasses that you SHOULD be getting paid, but might not be. On the current minimum stipend, this would be equivalent to an $800 paycheck (pre-tax) each semester. What could YOU do with an extra $1,600 a year? Probably a lot.
If you want to chip in and do your part, well you can! No down payment required! We are not looking for your money but your STORIES: can you talk about the hardships you've experienced because your stipend is so low? What an extra $1,600 a year would mean to YOU? How being paid two weeks before the start of the semester would make you a better GA? Well then Send us your impact statements!! We are approaching the end here, folks, so NOW IS THE TIME to make your voice HEARD. Don't let bargaining end this year feeling like you could have done MORE.
And if you don't want to speak up, you can still support us!
Show up to bargaining (via Zoom! It's easier than ever!)
Forward this email to THREE GA friends of yours.
Peer-pressure at least TWO of your department colleagues to attend bargaining on Friday with you (digitally)!
If you know a friend who has a story to share, forward them this email or ask them to email us at bargaining@fsugau.org!
Share our posts on social media, on your department's discord, facebook, group me, wherever!
In Solidarity,
Vincenza Antonetta Berardo
Chief Negotiator, UFF-FSU-GAU
Ph.D. Candidate
Philosophy Department
Florida State University