By Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The membership of UCLA’s Student Association of Graduate
Employees made their final move in a 17-year struggle for a union
contract this week as they ratified the contract proposed by the UC
and the union.
The results, which were announced Thursday, were 309 votes in
favor of ratification and one vote against.
“This contract shows exactly what we have been fighting
for: better wages, improved working conditions, and fairness on all
campuses,” Kristen Guzman, a teaching assistant in Chicana/o
Studies and a member of SAGE’s bargaining committee, said in
a statement.
Under the new contract, TAs will have all of their university
fees waived by 2002, and their health insurance will also be paid
by the university.
If both sides honor the contract, TAs can also expect a 9.5
percent pay increase over the next 3 years, and the university can
rest assured that disputes will be resolved through mediation and
perhaps arbitration instead of prolonged work stoppages.
Academic student employees ““ including teaching
assistants, readers and tutors ““ at the other campuses also
approved the contract in their ratification elections. System-wide,
the contract was approved by 93 percent of those who voted.
Unions representing academic student employees at the eight
general-instruction UC campuses are all affiliated with the United
Auto Workers.
University officials said they were satisfied with the
ratification.
“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the
unions,” said UC spokesman Brad Hayward. “We believe
the contract is a mutually agreeable solution.”
The contract must still be ratified by the university before it
officially takes effect.
“We don’t expect there to be any problem” with
the UC’s ratification, Hayward said. He added that the
ratification should take place by the end of this month.
Officials at UCLA said they are cautiously optimistic about the
new contract.
“We’re on new ground here,” said Robin Fisher,
associate dean of the Graduate Division. “We haven’t
had any experience with these circumstances before, and we hope
everything will work out well.”
Union officials said the most important condition outlined in
the contract is the ability to resolve grievances through
arbitration.
“Binding arbitration is really the key to holding UC
accountable,” said Christian Sweeney of UC Berkeley’s
Association of Graduate Student Employees. “Previously, we
had no right to file grievances.”
Under the new contract, academic student employees can have
their disputes taken to a neutral arbitrator to be resolved if they
are dissatisfied with the first two steps of the grievance
procedure.
“The university was previously responsible for enforcing
its own policies,” Sweeney said.
The contract also allows teaching assistants to file grievances
if they have a dispute over their workloads. Grievances in these
circumstances would be resolved by a neutral member of the Academic
Senate.
“There are some substantial differences (in the contract)
from our current practices,” Fisher said.
Additionally, the contract also sets procedures for academic
student employees to file grievances if they feel they were
sexually harassed or discriminated against.
If it is ratified by UC, the contract will be effective until
Sept. 30, 2003.