GTF contract update

8/2/2010: Update from Emily Gillespie in the RG:

One of the most contentious issues is health care coverage.

In previous contracts, the University has covered 100 percent of teaching fellows’ health insurance. This time, the university is asking fellows to pay 10 percent of those costs, citing the rising costs of health care in a poor economy.

“The university is trying to reach an agreement with the GTFF that acknowledges the financial realities that the university faces,” said Linda King, chief spokeswoman for the university at the bargaining table. “The economy has hurt Oregon very badly.”

The cost of health insurance to the university is about $5 million per year, which is three times more expensive than 10 years ago, according to the university’s most recent contract proposal. The teaching fellows have not contributed to premium increases for many years, and “were asked for only a modest additional contribution,” according to the proposal.

UO’s got plenty of money to write rich golden parachute contracts for top administrators. And if we can cut the compensation of our GTFs, we can even pay to redecorate new Frohnmayer’s offices and pay for his secretary.

From Ryan Buckley in the ODE, an update on GTF negotiations with UO, apparently there has been no contract for a year.

… Currently, GTFs are hired on a quarter-to-quarter basis with the fate of their employment resting solely in the hands of departmental advisors who assess their academic progress.
Yet, without any official criteria for evaluating individual instructors, personnel evaluation relies on a heavily subjective system — one that many GTFs resent.

“We want to push that we are teachers too, not just students, and we need to be judged accordingly,” Bernofsky said. “Many times re-hiring is not handled by the terms of the contract, and while there are departments that do it responsibly, it is just not consistent, which is what we are looking for.”

Interesting – I would have thought pay would have been the main issue. Many departments report that their current GTF / GRA salaries are 60% of what comparators pay, and that this is a serious problem recruiting top students. Of course the union represents the interests of those who choose to come here, not those who went somewhere else.