TL;DR: Admin is continuing to slow-walk bargaining and offer unacceptable proposals. We have presented a counter-proposal that can meet our needs – see a comparison below. Reply to this email to help fight for it!
On this past Wednesday, August 20th, we held our first bargaining session in months with Northeastern admin. In April, they unilaterally decided to not bargain any further. Since then, they have sent two “final package offers,” the second representing a significantly worse offer than the first—decreasing annual raises to 2% and removing the minimum guaranteed stipend. Members came to the conclusion that this package was unacceptable when discussing the University package at our two recent General Membership Meetings. In the face of mounting anger from graduate student workers, admin finally agreed to a bargaining session.
About 100 of us showed up in-person and online to observe the session. We spent an hour presenting a counter proposal in good faith, discussing our compromises and how our proposal meets our needs where the admin proposal falls short. By contrast, admin spent less than five minutes discussing their recent changes, without justifying their backwards movement or denial of raises this September. The admin negotiating team had no questions, points of clarification about our counterproposal, or arguments for why their proposal is preferable. Instead, they chose to end the session early and refused to schedule a future session when we requested. Many grads attending were frustrated with admin’s behavior, with one saying they displayed “no interest at all to even reach a middle ground…The only way we can win a fair contract for grad students is by collective action.”
Our proposal presents a vision for Northeastern where we have dignity, respect, and the security of an enforceable contract. A comparison of key points from our proposal and admin’s is summarized below; you can see our full counter-proposal package here (here is a clean version) and admin’s package here.
- Wages and compensation
- Our demand: $55k minimum stipend; 3.5% raises each year; $24/hr for hourly workers
- Admin’s proposal: No guaranteed minimum stipend; no raises this year and 2% annual raises in subsequent years; $18/hr for hourly workers
- Stability
- Our demand: Guaranteed 5 years of 12-month funding for all PhDs; all benefits included even for grads who don’t have 12-month appointments; guaranteed tuition remission
- Admin proposal: No guaranteed funding; benefits such as health insurance and vacation days contingent on 12-month appointments; no guaranteed tuition remission
- Healthcare
- Our demand: Health insurance for all grads working at least 10 hours per week; comprehensive healthcare with dental and vision coverage; included health insurance for all dependents; meetings to agree upon any reduction in benefits that may occur
- Admin proposal: Health insurance only for grads on a 12 month appointment; partial dental coverage; no vision coverage; dependent health insurance only for children under 17 (as required by law); ability to reduce benefits without input from grads
- International grad worker rights
- Our demand: Official paid time off to renew visas when needed; funds to partially cover visa and immigration-related legal fees; notification upon sharing any information with immigration law enforcement; commitment to timely and accurate advice from the Office of Global Services
- Admin proposal: No change or improvement of OGS services; visa leave only during summer and winter break
- Safety and grievances
- Our demand: Fair and consistent standards (“just cause”) for any work discipline or termination; third-party, neutral arbitration on instances of discrimination and harassment, discipline or termination, excessive workload, etc.
- Admin proposal: Ability to unilaterally fire workers related to “performance” or loss of funding; all instances of discrimination and harassment must go through the University’s internal Office of Equity and Compliance
Admin’s out of touch proposal and lack of engagement at the table demonstrate an unserious attitude towards bargaining. The only thing that will move them is for all of us to take significant collective action. Grads across campus are already working towards this—reply to this email to be connected to someone organizing in your area. You can also submit a testimonial to tell your coworkers how our demands could change your life.
Working together, we can build the Northeastern we deserve, but it will take all of us to do it.
Solidarity,
GENU-UAW Bargaining Committee & Organizing Committee
PS: Our friends at YDSA are running a campaign to designate Northeastern as a sanctuary campus from immigration enforcement. See here to learn more and sign on.