Coalition of Graduate Employees

After more than one year of fighting through the grievance and arbitration process over the $34 Summer Session Tuition Base Grievance, CGE has agreed to a settlement with OSU over the matter.

Under the terms of the negotiated settlement, OSU will reimburse all members of the CGE bargaining unit who were wrongfully charged the $34 Summer Session Tuition Base for the 2008 Summer Session.  Those employees who are still students at OSU will be reimbursed through a credit to your student accounts.  Employees who were wrongfully charged the $34 but who are no longer at OSU will also be reimbursed.  CGE currently has scheduled a meeting with OSU for July 29th to determine the mechanism by which former employees will be reimbursed.

We see this settlement as a victory for CGE.  As far as we know, this is the first time in CGE’s history in which a grievance has resulted in members being reimbursed for a fee they were wrongly charged. (Continue reading...)

On Thursday, July 30th at 6 PM, all CGE members and their families are invited to Avery Park’s Maple Grove Shelter for a summer BBQ.  We’ll be providing some food, but you’ll have to provide the rest, as well as the drinks.  And if you have a game to play – a frisbee, croquet set, etc. – bring that too!

See our Facebook page or check your email for more information.  And, of course, you can RSVP or ask questions by emailing unite@cge6069.org or calling 541-757-7141.

A map to the shelter is available here.

On Wed., May 20, six CGE members went along with Dennis, our Organizer, back to Salem to testify to the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education in support of HB 2508, the bill that would roll universal and program-specific resource fees into tuition for grad employees in OUS.  You can listen to the testimony here (the hearing on HB 2508 begins around 34:40).

Those who testified did an excellent job, and it was fairly clear that most of the committee members sympathized with our cause.  However, we still have an uphill battle to convert their sympathy into a willingness to approve a bill that is not without financial impact on the state and OUS.  There are still ways this might happen, though.  For example, at this hearing, State Rep. Larry Galizio from Tigard suggested potentially tying passage of HB 2508 to another bill related to interest collected on tuition revenue that OUS would like to see pass.

We will continue to keep everyone up-to-date on the progress of HB 2508, especially if there is further opportunity for us to offer input to the legeslature.

As many of you might already be aware, our long-time Business Manager, Liz, is leaving at the end of the academic year.  Liz has done a tremendous job in the four years she has been here, not only handling the union’s finances, but providing invaluable institutional memory and advice to officers and other staff on all aspects of CGE.  It is safe to say that CGE, as an organization, would not be where it is today without her support.

As a result of Liz’s moving on, CGE will soon be hiring a new Business Manager.  The job posting can be found online at Craigslist:

http://corvallis.craigslist.org/npo/1159063083.html

Please pass this on to anyone you think would be a good fit for the position; while the Business Manager duties are the most important part, interest in organizing is a big plus.  The CGE officers and staff are able to answer any questions and can be contacted about this at info@cge6069.org.

3/26/09 UPDATE: Despite the CGE officers and staff repeatedly asking OSU’s Human Resource department to extend the deadline past March 15, at this time OSU has declined to extend the deadline.  However, we are happy to announce that over 400 grads turned in requests for the new summer insurance benefit.  We will continue to work with Student Health Services, the Graduate School, departments and Human Resources to resolve the issues that arose in the week leading up to the March 15th deadline.  If you are interested in working on this issue, please contact CGE at unite@cge6069.org.

If you intend to get 50% summer health insurance coverage for the coming summer, THE DEADLINE TO SIGN UP FOR SUMMER COVERAGE (WITH A 50% OSU CONTRIBUTION) FOR GRADS EMPLOYED SPRING TERM 2009 IS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH, 2009. This deadline is non-negotiable.  You can download the enrollment form below.

• Grad Assistant Summer Insurance Form

To enroll, you must print and complete the above form and then either turn it in to the Student Insurance Office (Room 110) in Student Health Services or else fax or mail it there.  If you are faxing or mailing your form, you may do so by Sunday, March 15.

A few notes on enrollment for the 50% summer health insurance contribution are below:

• This year, only grads with an assistantship in the spring term are eligible for the 50% summer contribution.  Next year, this will change so that any grad with an appointment during any single term will be eligible for the contribution.
• Payment for your own portion of the cost of summer health insurance will be made through an additional deduction from your May paycheck.  This deduction will cover the cost of your portion of premiums for July, August, and September.  Please refer to the form for the exact cost.
• The deadline to withdraw from the program is May 15.  If you are unsure now whether or not you will want the 50% employer contribution over the summer, we suggest that you sign up for it now and then cancel before May 15 if necessary.
• In the original form, the fine print claimed that you had to expect to be employed in Fall 2009 to qualify.  We have confirmed that this is incorrect – the requirements are a Spring 2009 assistantship of 0.2 FTE or more and enrollment in the Graduate School in Fall 2009.

Below the fold is a rough FAQ with answers to a few questions we’ve received about the new summer health insurance option.  Read on if you have more questions.  We’ll be adding to the FAQ as necessary.

If you have additional questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  You may also want to direct questions to Erin Palmer (erin.palmer@oregonstate.edu), who administers the grad assistant health plan.

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