COGS News
March 2004
Rights to sick leave threatened!
CLAS Issues Controversial New Policies
COGS has been hearing a lot of confusion and concern about some new policies being proposed by many departments across campus. These policies originated from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and aim to redefine 1) our rights to sick leave and other forms of leave, and 2) substitution practices when a TA is unable to teach class.
First of all, let me remind you that Article XI of our contract guarantees us paid leave, sick leave, family illness leave, and other forms of leave. If you don’t have your own copy of the contract, you can view it online at www.cogs.org. If anyone in your department tries to tell you that you aren’t allowed to cancel class for illness or other reasons, or that you have to justify your absence or obtain permission in advance, refer them to your COGS contract. If anyone tells you that you have to “make up” that “lost” time by scheduling another class session or doing makework for the department, remind them of your rights. Then tell your steward about it as well, or call the COGS office (337-5074) and alert someone there.
Secondly, some departments are telling their employees that if they are sick or otherwise unable to teach class, they and they alone are responsible for finding a substitute, and if they cannot, they can’t cancel class. I am sure that all of us who teach classes recognize the value (monetary and otherwise) of our students’ educations and are reluctant to cancel class for any reason. However, if we are forced to cancel class and are unable to find someone to cover for us, our contract still gives us that right.
Lastly, many departments have long-standing unofficial “quid pro quo” arrangements, where instructors sub for one another’s classes. These new policies seek to make these arrangements official and mandatory, ignoring the fact that these subs are not getting paid for their extra class time and preparation, except perhaps by the colleague they sub for (who as a result actually loses money by cancelling class). No one should be forced by department policy to cover classes for free. Again, if this is happening in your department, contact your steward or the COGS office.
The College is attempting to deny us our basic rights as unionized employees. COGS will be filing a grievance with the university in the near future about this, but we need your help. If any of you have information about these new policies in your own department, let us know. This WILL be addressed at the bargaining table next year when we negotiate a new contract.
The only way we can stop this nonsense is by being aware of our rights, becoming active in COGS, and promoting membership in our departments. Ask the non-members you know what they are waiting for. If you ignore your union it will go away.
--Kevin Esch, Campus Chief Steward
District 11 Council News Report from Chicago
On February 20, COGS delegates traveled to Chicago for the winter UE District 11 Council. Informative and instructive, the meeting hit its stride as District President Carl Rosen explained the myriad ways in which our nation’s working people bore the brunt of our current economic policies and political climate. Shop reports from all represented locals followed, and none were as telling as that from Local 1112 near Milwaukee. The hard work and tight organization of members there paid off when a grievance they filed against their employer for his failure to pay insurance premiums brought him to the attention of the FBI, which is now investigating him for insurance fraud (for the full story, visit www.ranknfile-ue.org).
The organizing report had good news to tell as two new shops, one in Milwaukee and the other in Libertyville, Illinois, have joined UE. The Council ended Sunday morning with a touching and tearful ceremony for UE staffer Rocco DeMaio who, after 33 years of servicing locals in the Minneapolis area, is retiring next month. The summer District Council will be in Iowa City on June 11-13, and the fall and winter meetings will be in Minneapolis and Chicago, respectively. Consider running as a delegate in our upcoming election and participate in the regional activities of UE.
--Dana Quartana, President
UARAC thanks COGS
Hawkeye residents win $150,000 sidewalk
The University Apartments Residents’ Action Committee thanks COGS for all the help in the campaign to improve Hawkeye Court and Drive apartments while resisting annual rent increases. COGS passed a resolution at the March 2003 GMM declaring its support for this effort. Home to over 400 TAs and RAs and 65 COGS members, the residents have won a $150,000 sidewalk, to be completed this spring, that will connect Hawkeye Court, Hawkeye Drive, and the housing office. This is an important improvement for the safety of children, wheel-chair users, and parents with strollers. UI Residence Services has proposed increasing rent $5 per month in all units for 2004-2005. This is the lowest rent increase since 1985. For the current year, 2003-2004, rent was increased $22 to $27 per month depending on the unit. Rent is currently $400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in Hawkeye Court, $445 for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawkeye Court, and $535 for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawkeye Drive. UARAC welcomes COGS’ continued support as the future of the apartments is now in question. The UI has proposed demolishing all of the nearly 700 apartments and rebuilding 300-350. The residents are concerned about this proposal and the effect it would have on the university community, international students, campus diversity, and low-income housing for university employees and students.
For more information, contact Jake Wedemeyer at jakewede@hotmail.com or visit www.uiowa.edu/~uarac.
Grad Employees at U. Penn STRIKE
One year after unionization vote, TAs & RAs stage 2-day walkout
Beginning on February 26, Graduate Employees Together – University of Pennsylvania (GET-UP)/American Federation of Teachers (AFT), an organization seeking union representation for the University’s teaching and research assistants, launched a two-day strike. Groups of graduate employees formed picket lines at six sites across campus. They were joined by sympathetic undergraduates, faculty members, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and employees from the Temple University Graduate Student Association, the first graduate student union to win recognition in the state of Pennsylvania. Although the administration and its anti-union supporters in the University community criticized the strike, it succeeded in galvanizing GET-UP’s members and focused public attention on the denial of graduate employees’ right to form a union of their choice.
The work stoppage commemorated last year’s election at which graduate employees at the University of Pennsylvania cast votes to determine whether or not GET-UP would represent them in collective bargaining. Fearing that the union would win the election, the University filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—Penn is a private institution, so it is governed by national and not Pennsylvania labor relations law—claiming that the members of the proposed union were more students than workers. The NLRB agreed to consider the administration’s case, preventing the votes from being counted. Now one year has passed, and the university’s graduate employees are still waiting on a just resolution.
At the last General Membership Meeting, COGS members voted to contribute $250 from the Labor Solidarity budget to GET-UP’s strike and defense fund. In addition to these funds, President Dana Quartana and I mailed a letter to the university’s president, Judith Rodin, calling on her to drop the NLRB appeal and bargain a fair contract with her employees. I strongly recommend that all COGS members follow the campaign at Penn as it unfolds. Even a brief look at the numerous articles on GET-UP and its activities (available via the GET-UP website) will provide a wealth of information on the difficulties faced by graduate students struggling to unionize across the country and remind us of the importance of keeping COGS strong as we go into another bargaining year.
Get the latest news at getuponline.org.
--John McKerley, Labor Solidarity Chair
