Coalition of Graduate Employees

In discussions with my fellow international graduate students, we have several concerns regarding our employment conditions. We also recognize that the Coalition of Graduate Employees [CGE] is helpful for us in addressing these issues.

General Life Insecurity: The biggest concern most international graduate employees have is whether we will be able to continue receiving funding throughout our degree-pursuit years at OSU. For those of us with limited support from family and our cultures of origin, financial insecurity dominates most of our life choices. Moreover, we are not eligible for any other alternatives, such as applying for student loans or US national fellowships. Therefore, when facing the problem of balance between work and personal life, we tend to comply with advisors to ensure funding. This issue is further complicated by limited opportunities when searching for affordable housing, and acculturation processes.

CGE’s contract covers all components of a graduate employee’s work relationship. The contract gives set workload caps so international graduates can’t be made to work 24/7, protects against discrimination, and instructs the university to give all employees advanced notice if they will not have funding in the future so graduate students are not caught off guard.

Housing opportunities: Some of us have difficulties when looking for off-campus places to stay since the university’s enrollment has increased recently and the rental expense has reflected these increases as well. We are more likely to settle down at less preferable places because we think we will only stay in Corvallis for around five years and have no back-up support compared to our hometowns.

CGE is negotiating a new contract right now to improve graduate employee salaries and lower fees and other costs to offset the increased cost of living in Corvallis. Better pay will give international graduate employees more financial security.

Acculturation barriers: We have more difficulties in handling all our studies, research and personal lives on top of language barriers. We have less understanding and exposure to American cultures since most of us are occupied by school work. Moreover, some of us might offend the laws accidentally and do not know where to search for help. Some of us might feel isolated and depressed due to having less social support available. Some of us might try to attend events on or around campus but still find it hard to feel accepted in the society.

CGE is more than just a labor union; it helps graduates get out of their normal department circles and meet their fellow grads all over campus. CGE hosts several social events during the year and is always looking for volunteers to come up with new ideas for fun times. If you go to cge6069.org, you can join the social email list. CGE representatives are always willing to meet with international graduates who are struggling to understand OSU polices.

In representing and working for the whole body of OSU graduate employees, CGE is particularly important for us as international graduate employees. Currently there is no single organization on campus working specifically for international graduate employees. Moreover, compared to domestic graduate students, we are more likely to be under-funded due to fellowship restrictions or other academic barriers. Given language barriers, international graduate employees tend to be working as graduate research assistants (GRAs) rather than teaching assistants, and many might prefer to be GRAs. The ongoing CGE campaign is important to recognize both GRAs’ and international graduate employees’ contributions to the university.

We hope that with the support from CGE, more international graduate students can be employed by the university and bring the benefits of cultural diversity to the university education. By uniting graduate employees from various countries, CGE can be a great example of diversity on the OSU campus and can cultivate a more open research environment, which will in return increase OSU’s reputation around the world. As a result, more outstanding international scholars will be attracted to OSU, and there will be greater potential for cross-cultural collaborations in the future.

Han-Jung Ko, M.S.
Doctoral Student
Human Development and Family Sciences

Every two years, graduate employees have the opportunity to bargain with the university over issues that greatly affect our work and lives. The union gives us a voice at the bargaining table about our working conditions, compensation, and benefits. When we reach an understanding with the University on any of those types of issues, they must enter into a written contractual agreement with us. Over the past 10 years, graduates who have participated in bargaining, myself included, have fought for health care, fee relief, raises to the minimum pay graduate employees receive, and improved contract language that addresses issues of workload associated with teaching assistantships. Yet we can currently only bargain on behalf of a fraction of graduate employees: those who are recognized as bargaining unit members. Consequently, we can only enforce what we have won through bargaining for bargaining unit members. Most research assistants, therefore, are not guaranteed protection under the contract, and do not have a voice at the bargaining table.

Once all graduate employees are recognized as bargaining unit members, we will be able to give voice to issues that primarily affect graduate research assistants, and the university will have to respect all graduate work as “in service to the university.” With graduate research assistants recognized at the bargaining table, the union will have a stronger voice by representing all graduate employees, and all graduate employees will have a say in the issues that are most important to them. Every graduate employee, whether a TA or an RA, deserves to be granted the full rights and protections of the contract that we as a union fight so hard to establish and improve every two years.

In solidarity,
Jack Day
Graduate Research Assistant
Human Development and Family Sciences

The Coalition of Graduate Employees is proud to announce that after speaking with two-thirds of the graduate employees who are currently not represented by our contract, over eighty percent of them have said they want to stand with their colleagues and be part of CGE. Together we will have a stronger voice to bargain for better fee relief, raises and health insurance. Thank you for letting us know you are supportive.

Those who have worked on this campaign believe it’s time to kick off the official process of getting union representation for all graduate employees at OSU. Next week, we’re signing cards to say YES to union representation. Please join us:

Card Signing Kick-Off Party
Thursday January 12 from 4-7pm
McMenamins (Kings & Monroe)

Come by any time and be one of the first to sign a card for representation! Enjoy free food and drinks, meet grads outside your program, and help us build momentum for the campaign to Recognize All. Invite anyone else who might be interested – the more the merrier!

Dear Fellow Research Assistants and other non-Bargaining Unit folks,

As you may already know, several of us long-time union members who are not in the bargaining unit are working together on a campaign to bring ALL OSU graduate employees into the same union. We’ve been talking to other non-bargaining unit grad employees all across campus and have found overwhelming support for this idea. How can teaching be “in service to the University”, while (most) research work is not? Our work brings in grant dollars, furthers the university’s research mission, and increases the visibility of OSU through publications. We believe that all of this is also in service to OSU, and we want our work to be recognized!

What’s next? During fall term, a large group of us formed an organizing committee for the purpose of talking to the some 700 non-bargaining unit grad employees. Soon we will be coming around, asking non-represented employees to sign a card authorizing union representation by CGE. Once a solid majority of the non-represented employees sign cards (there are about 700 of us on campus right now), we can approach OSU and the state Employment Relations Board and ask for recognition. It’s that easy.

Currently, the bargaining unit (BU) is the 900+ graduate employees (predominately teaching assistants) on campus that CGE legally represents. They are guaranteed the benefits of the contract that CGE bargains with the administration for–things like salary increases, workload protection, grievance procedure, protection from firing without just cause, health insurance, non-discrimination protection, and the extra $300 differential in our paychecks once a term.

In general, many of the economic benefits that CGE has won through contract negotiation have been extended to non-bargaining unit grad employees. The difference is that the university is not legally obligated to provide us with these benefits, and we’re not covered by the grievance procedure and don’t have workload protection. Our benefits are less secure than those covered by the contract.

That’s why we want everyone to be recognized! CGE tries to advocate on behalf of all graduate employees, but can only enforce contract gains for those in the BU. Only those in the BU have the full protection. Non-BU people are more exposed and have fewer worker rights.

If we were all in the same bargaining unit, we could make significant gains to our working conditions. Before CGE there was no graduate employee health insurance plan, no additional money to help offset the cost of fees, and no guaranteed tuition waiver. There was no workload protection and grievance procedure. CGE has accomplished a lot with a bargaining unit of just over half what it could be. If RAs are represented by CGE, we will have a bargaining unit of over 1,600 employees. We can make more progress on issues important to our members – issues like further fee relief and improvements in the health insurance coverage.

We can also begin to address research-specific concerns in the bargaining process. We’ve heard from RAs concerned about intellectual property rights and lab safety. We want RAs represented in the BU so that CGE is empowered to bargain a contract that reflects the interests of all graduate employees.

Once we’re part of the bargaining unit, we’ll have full legal rights, along with the teaching assistants. We’ll also pay dues automatically, along with the teaching assistants. Dues are 2% of your salary currently. Dues pay for important items and services that enable us to function as a union that can bargain effectively for our members and defend the interests and rights of our members.

CGE is a democratic, member-run organization. Any member can run for one of our seven executive board positions that are elected annually. An all-member survey prior to bargaining dictates the platform pursued in bargaining. We don’t ask for anything our members don’t want us to.

CGE works closely with many other groups on campus, including the Graduate School, ASOSU, and SEIU (the union representing classified staff). We meet quarterly with OSU President Ed Ray and Graduate School Dean Brenda McComb to discuss issues of concern to graduate students that can be solved outside of bargaining. CGE members meet routinely with department heads across campus. Some of our biggest advocates are faculty members! We strongly believe that it is in everyone’s best interest – CGE and OSU – for OSU to be an attractive and top-notch institution. Worker benefits, guaranteed through collective bargaining, are a key part of attracting and retaining top students.

Even though my work has rarely been classified as ‘in service to the University’ during my time at OSU, I’ve always believed in the power of collective bargaining to improve our working conditions and ensure our fair treatment. That’s why I’ve been a member of CGE, a department representative, and an officer. That’s why I want my work to be recognized as contributing the same value to our campus as other workers.

Join us in our campaign to RECOGNIZE ALL at OSU!

In Solidarity,
Mindy Crandall
President of CGE
Research Assistant in Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management

All graduate employees contribute to the academic mission of OSU through our teaching, research, and service. While we are diverse, we all share common goals: dignity, respect, and recognition for our work. To achieve these goals, we believe all graduate employees at OSU should have a voice in their working conditions through collective bargaining and representation via the Coalition of Graduate Employees.