COGS News
September 2003
Tuition Scholarships Lighten U-Bills!
Wondering how you’re going to get your partial tuition scholarship? So were we at COGS HQ, and this past week, Ryan Downing, Kevin Esch, and I met with Kevin Ward, Director of Human Resources; John Keller, Dean of the Graduate College; and Donna Welter, Human Resources and Finance Officer, to discuss the implementation of our tuition scholarship plan. They informed us that our tuition scholarships will be credited to our September U-Bills. If, when you receive your U-Bill, there is not a scholarship credit, visit the ISIS web page and check your financial aid records to see if you’ve been credited there. If you do not see a credit for your tuition scholarship in either of these two places, call Donna Welter or Jennifer Crawford in the Human Resources and Finance Office of the Graduate College at 335-2144.
We expect the implementation to be relatively smooth – but not perfect. If you experience problems claiming your tuition scholarship, please contact the COGS office immediately at 337-5074.
As we work to get you your benefits, we’ll learn about the glitches in the UI’s system and make the changes necessary to make this process run properly in the future.
--Dana Quartana, President
News from the National Convention In Pittsburgh, COGS’ delegate learns about UE’s history and future.
I was very honored to represent Local 896-COGS at the UE 68th National Convention in Pittsburgh from August 23rd to 27th. During my stay, I attended general sessions, the Constitution Committee meeting, the Organizing Workshop, the picnic and the Women’s Leadership Roundtable. In the general sessions, leaders of the national office addressed important issues such as organizing results for the past year and the new per capita dues system. Delegates from different locals debated the issues and voted on behalf of their membership. Several important resolutions were passed including one pledging political support for pro-union candidates in future elections (especially presidential elections) and one condemning the War in Iraq. I represented COGS to attend the Constitution Committee where amendments to Union Constitution were raised and discussed. One of the central amendments was the new per capita dues system. Several delegates expressed their concerns over whether increasing membership fees would create a negative impact on organizing, especially under the current economic/employment situation. The new per capita system was approved by the Committee with a majority vote. I voted for the new system on behalf of COGS.
Following the convention theme, in the Women’s Leadership Roundtable, female leaders from early in the union’s history and current national officers shared the challenges and rewards of women’s efforts and contributions in making the union stronger and discussed how the union, in return, also empowers women workers.
When I ran for the delegacy, I mentioned that I would like to learn more about recruiting international students as members. The organizing workshop was particularly helpful because I learned a lot of practical techniques such as house visits and cold calls. The general principle of the workshop was to reach people and let them know that solidarity will help them fight against and prevent future exploitation. However, this principle might not be totally applicable to some international graduate students I have known here at UI.
In my experience, some international graduate students were very skeptical about the idea of joining the union. They often have misunderstandings about the relationship between the union and the employers. The misunderstandings include
1) Some thought that the relationship between the union and the employers is always confrontational and they are reluctant to be warriors. Words such as “fight against” could turn away some peace-lovers.
2) Some graduate students whole-heartedly think that UI/their department is a great employer. If they only conceptualize the union-UI relationship as confrontational, they are reluctant to be on our side.
Therefore, it is important to conceptualize the union-employer relationship as negotiable as well as confrontational. We bargain first. And solidarity is the key to bargaining power. I hope I can bring this message to more people who are unfamiliar with the importance of COGS.
--Hau Lin (Helen) Cheng, National Convention Delegate
Coverage Continues Despite Misinformation
There is currently a lot of confusion about our access to community providers for men-tal health and physical therapy. Some people were told they will have to pay 50% to go to these providers; others were told Wellmark no longer covers those providers at all. This misinformation has come both from the UI Benefits Office and community providers, but they have both been misled. I want to clear up these inaccuracies.
The bottom line is that our coverage for these providers is THE SAME AS IT WAS LAST YEAR: WE PAY ONLY 10%. As many of you know, during last year’s contract negotiations COGS worked hard to preserve our access to community providers.
Because of our collective bargaining power, we were able to save UIGradCare from these coverage reductions. The faculty UICare plan, on the other hand, was changed uni-laterally by the university. However, letters that Well-mark has sent to some area practices give the impression that coverage for the two plans is identical.
After COGS’ hard-fought victory over this issue, it is unconscionable that Wellmark is spreading these lies. We have spoken with UI Director of Human Resources Kevin Ward and Benefits Director Richard Saunders to ensure that Wellmark upholds its contractual obligations to us. They are instructing Wellmark to send all of its local providers clarification about UIGrad-Care coverage.
Because of our unity, we have one of the best health care packages on campus—and one which cannot be arbitrarily changed by the University. If you are having any problem with your coverage, contact COGS immediately (337-5074 or cogs@cogs.org). Also, check with your provider and if they believe that they are being cut out of the Wellmark/UIGrad-Care network, contact COGS immediately. A list of providers is available on the University Benefits web site.
--Kevin Esch, Campus Chief Steward
Coffee with the Candidates
Recently, the Political Action Committee invited candidates seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination to meet with COGS members throughout the month of October. If you have questions for the candidates, please send them to Karissa Haugeberg at karissa-haugeberg@uiowa.edu.
In future issues of Cognition, we will be profiling Pres-idential candidates in alphabetical order. We will work to educate COGS members about the platforms of each candidate as they relate to union support, money for higher education, protection of the environment and other issues important to our membership.
Our committee is looking for new members. If you are interested in helping to organize the candidate coffee meetings, have suggestions about how to educate our membership or have new ideas for the committee, please let me know.
--Karissa Haugeberg, Political Action Committee Chair
Solidarity Report: Labor at the Mexican Border -- maquiladora fights for sweatshop-free label
In July and August, COGS Labor Solidarity Committee member Jake Wedemeyer met with maquiladora workers and members of the Comité Fronterizo de Obreras (CFO: Border Committee of Women Workers) along the US-Mexico border in the cities of Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. The two cities, about three hours southwest of San Antonio, are home to a once thriving maquiladora industry that has been hit hard by the economic downturn in the US. As a result, maquiladoras are closing down or threatening to move to China as conditions worsen and workers speak out.
The CFO is led by a group of former workers who try to educate current workers about their rights under Mexican law. The advocacy group also provides safety and job skills training. CFO Spokeswoman Julia Quiñonez is a lightening rod for criticism from local press, corrupt government unions, and Mexican officials, who claim she is a puppet of US unions bent on keeping jobs in the US. The group does receive support from north of the border, namely from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and a group called Austin-Tan Cerca a la Frontera. The CFO also has ties to UE and Iowa.
Quiñonez came to Iowa during a Labor Day tour where she visited striking Titan Tire workers in Des Moines. UE International Affairs Director Robin Alexander assisted Quiñonez and the CFO when they visited Pittsburgh to testify at an Alcoa shareholders meeting about the poor conditions in their plants along the border. Likewise, the CFO hosted a UE delegation, including Alexander and UE President John Hovis, when they met with General Electric workers from Río Bravo, Mexico. Quiñonez also knows FAT leaders Benedicto Martines and Antonio Villalba of Mexico City (FAT is Frente Autentico del Trabajo, UE’s sister union in Mexico).
Currently the CFO is engaged in setting up its own maquiladora, to be run by the workers, for the workers, to produce a sweatshop-free label of t-shirts and blue jeans. With the financial support of the AFSC, they managed to purchase seventy sewing machines from a bankrupt maquiladora and store them in El Paso, Texas. The group is still confronted with transporting and importing the equipment to Piedras Negras, finding a suitable site, and cutting through the red tape of opening a business. For more information, email jacob-wedemeyer@uiowa.edu.
--Jake Wedemeyer, Labor Solidarity Committee
