Coalition of Graduate Employees » Old News

CGE Members Endorse NO on Measure 64

hess — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:58:48 +0000

At the Fall GMM last night, the CGE membership voted unanimously to endorse a NO vote on Oregon Ballot Measure 64. For those unfamiliar with it, Measure 64 directly affects many members of CGE who choose to have a small amount deducted from their paycheck each month and donated to AFT-OR’s Political Action Committee (PAC). Measure 64 would make this kind of voluntary deduction illegal.

The money donated to PAC by our members thorough voluntary paycheck deductions is used to take a legislative approach to achieving AFT-OR’s goals (which include CGE’s goals). In particular, PAC dollars will be used by CGE and AFT-OR in the coming years to pursue relief from student fees for grad employees through action by the Oregon State legislature. Measure 64 would seriously undermine these efforts by preventing our members from contributing to them through voluntary paycheck deductions.

It is very important for CGE that Measure 64 is not passed this year, so please join us in voting NO on 64.

Fall ’08 GMM

hess — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:19:28 +0000

I know this is a little late to post a notice for the Fall GMM, but here it is anyway. The GMM this term is going to be Thursday, October 23 at 5:00 PM on the second floor of Nearly Normals.

We have an interesting agenda for the meeting. Among other things, we’ll talk about the new contract we just ratified, and we’ll discuss some of the things we’ll be working on this year now that bargaining is over, including legislative efforts to reduce or eliminate student fees. There’ll also be a little bit of political talk, especially about State Ballot Measure 64.

There’ll also be plenty of food and drink for all who attend. Hope to see you there.

Contract Ratified, Now the Work Begins

hess — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:42:31 +0000

The CGE membership voted resoundingly last night to approve the tentative agreement between CGE and OSU on a contract to carry us through the 2011-12 academic year. Though an additional 27 ballots were cast by members whose eligibility to vote could not be determined, the contract was ratified since the 42 affirmative votes by confirmed BU members already constituted a strong majority. The additional 27 votes will be screened for eligibility once CGE receives the full and complete BU list from the administration, and those deemed eligible will be added to the final tally.

The new contract will be posted on the CGE website as soon as it is signed by the parties. All Grad assistants should expect to see the financial gains earned in this contract (85% health care contribution from OSU, $300-per-term fee differential, selective 3% salary increases) in their October paychecks. Grads who do not see these benefits in October should contact CGE immediately.

With the new contract in place, CGE will now turn it’s attention to several matters we have identified as being of utmost importance this year, including organizing hard to build our membership numbers in preparation for bargaining in 2010, working on both local and state levels to reduce or eliminate fees for grads at OSU, and working to give grad fellows at OSU the opportunity to receive the same health care that OSU’s grad assistants receive. If you want to join the fight on any of these issues, make sure to contact us. The more support we have from grads, the more progress we can make.

Draft of Tentative Agreement

hess — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:26:28 +0000

For everyone’s viewing pleasure, please download a copy of the draft of the tentative agreement reached between CGE and the OSU administration on 8/14/2008. This is in fact a scanned version of the actual agreement that was signed at the last bargaining meeting. We are working on a cleaner version to post, but for now, this should serve the purpose. Note that articles not explicitly mentioned in the agreement will remain the same as in the current agreement.

Download the draft version of the tentative 2008-2012 CBA

Contract Ratification Meeting

hess — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:20:59 +0000

As you probably know, the CGE bargaining team reached tentative agreement with the OSU Administration on a contract to carry us through the 2011-12 academic year. A special membership meeting, mandatory for all CGE members, will be held on Thursday, October 9, beginning at 5:30 pm in Gilfillan Auditorium.

The meeting will begin with a presentation of the new contract by the bargaining team, followed by a question and answer session. Voting will commence at 6:30 pm. However, we encourage you to show up at 5:30 so you know what you’ll be voting on and so you can participate in any discussion. Voting will be by secret ballot and will be conducted by an election committee of 3-4 member-volunteers.

Eligibility

In accordance with CGE’s constitution and by-laws, in order to vote on the new contract, you must be in the bargaining unit as of the date of the vote, and you must be a regular CGE member in good standing, which means you must have paid CGE dues by September 30. In order to vote, you must be present at the ratification meeting. There will be no voting by proxy.