Northwest labor press., June 06, 2014, Page 2, Image 2

At University of Oregon
Graduate student workers rally and ‘work-in’ following strike vote
By STEFAN OSTRACH
Special Correspondent
EUGENE — Graduate student
workers at the University of Oregon
(UO) clogged up the halls of the Ad-
ministration Building for three hours
May 23, part of a “work-in” prior to a
rally outside. Members of the Gradu-
ate Teaching Fellows Federation
(GTFF), American Federation of
Teachers Local 3544, voted earlier in
the week to authorize a strike.
GTFF President Joe Henry told the
rally that the “work-in” was “to show
the administration the hard work we
do.” While careful not to obstruct pas-
sage as they sat on the floor grading pa-
pers, the work-in participants hinted at
the disruption that a strike could cause.
The GTFF represents more than
1,500 graduate student teachers and re-
searchers at UO. The strike vote was
held after the administration’s outside
lawyer broke off talks on May 14. At an
emergency general membership meet-
ing, members decided to conduct a se-
cret ballot vote on whether or not to au-
thorize a strike. More than 60 percent
of the members voted, and 98 percent
of them voted in favor of authorizing a
strike.
“It’s different now. It’s different than
it was two years ago,” Brianna
Bertoglio, vice president of operations
and a graduate student in the Education
Department, explained before the rally.
ABOVE: Graduate student workers hold a “work-in” near the doors of the office of the president of the University of Oregon. The first floor of Johnson Hall,
the Administration Building, was clogged with AFT Local 3544 members demonstrating their resolve after 98 percent voted to authorize a strike. ABOVE
RIGHT: Later, at a rally outside the Administration Building, students express solidarity with graduate student workers. (Photos by Stefan Ostrach)
“We’ve been doing a lot of canvassing
to reach out, to educate, to inform.
Truly, people who have never been in-
volved, who never had any interest,
once they become aware of what’s go-
ing on and how it affects them, have re-
ally been pouring in.”
At the rally, Henry stressed that the
strike vote resulted from “lots of delib-
eration.
“Our organization, unlike the ad-
ministration, is democratically run,” he
said. “It was a very serious choice that
we made.”
GTFF negotiator Amber Cooper re-
ported on the four key unresolved is-
sues, the first being wages. Average
GTFF pay is less than the university it-
self says is necessary to live in Eugene.
Cooper said the administration’s wage
proposal would not allow workers to
reach a living wage until 2041. The
other issues are keeping a cap on stu-
dent fees, getting major dental insur-
ance coverage, and paid sick leave.
Even though one-third of the GTFs
have unaddressed dental issues, the ad-
ministration refuses to consider includ-
ing it in the insurance package. Even
worse, their proposal would require cut-
ting existing benefits.
“Going after our health care was a
big mistake,” said Bertoglio. “Health
care is a big priority.”
Leaders of other unions on campus
addressed the rally, including Carla Mc-
Nally, Chapter 085 president of Service
Employees International Union Local
503, representing classified staff. And
Michael Dreiling, president of United
Academics (AFT, AAUP), representing
faculty.
“You all keep this place working,”
Dreiling told the graduate student work-
ers. “Faculty could not do their job
without you. Students could not learn
without you. The university grinds to a
halt without you.”
No strike will happen before the fall.
The mediation step required by state
law has not yet taken place, and the
GTFF bylaws prohibit decisions from
being made during the summer, when
many members are not on campus.
In a prepared statement, Andy
Berglund, Associate Dean of the UO
Graduate School, said, “The university
remains committed to reaching an
agreement as soon as possible that is
fair and equitable for GTFs and respon-
sibly reflects fiscal realities.”
On the other hand, Matthew Hanna,
an outgoing GTFF vice president
warned: “If this isn’t resolved we’re go-
ing to stick it out until we win.”
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JUNE 6, 2014