GEO contract情况好像不太乐观啊
刚刚收到系里在GEO工作的同学的信，好像目前签的一年合同有很大的health insurance cut。
Hi everyone-
I am writing to let you know what is going on in bargaining. Basically, I
think we're about to get screwed. I have been on the bargaining committee
since we started negotiating in january. I don't know if people have been
keeping on top of what is going on so I'll try to provide a lot of
information.
We received a package yesterday proposing a 1 year contract (as opposed to the
usual three year contract) that gives us a 2.5% raise. The package makes it
clear that there will be no possibility for retroactive pay before we ratify
the contract (so if the contract got ratified october 1st, the pay period
after that is when raises would happen) but also if the legislature delays
approving our budget, only people who are still graduate employees will be
eligible for retro pay (so if the legislature approved the Umass budget next
summer, 9 months after ratification, and an individual was not still a
graduate employee, they would NOT be eligible for retroactive pay).
The package also includes CUTS to HEALTH CARE. In the package, the University
wants to eliminate the limit on what procedures can have the co-pays increased
and the limit on how much we can pay for co-pays. In essence, taking away our
health care. They also want to cut geo staff, want to make it more difficult
for people to take family leave, and expect us to withdraw all of our
proposals.
The University is clearly trying to drive us to impasse (where an outside
arbitrator decides what our contract looks like). Impasse is bad for us and
good for them as an arbitrator starts from the position that management
doesn't have to give us anything and we should be grateful for the scraps they
throw us. That the University wants to go to impasse is nothing new. What is
new is that this is happening with a democratic governor in office. In fact,
this package is as bad (or possibly worse) than anything that came out of
Romney's office. It seems to me that the governor is throwing us to the
wolves.
I'm pissed.
We are bringing members to bargaining this friday (1:30-4pm, Campus Center
903) to show strength and that GEO members aren't going to turn a blind eye to
this. Please come.
I also want to emphasize that if you're going to be around this summer, GEO
needs you. I'm not sure what the plan is for the summer but contact GEO, talk
to me, to Saulo and Swati (who were both on staff this year). We've been
backed into a corner at a time when most of our members leave and that is a
real problem.
