COGS News
September 2002
Membership Activism Keeps the Movement Alive
Since 1996 UE Local 896-COGS has been at the forefront of academic-labor activism at the University of Iowa. Strengthened by a democratic, rank-and-file structure, COGS members have won victories and protected the rights of TAs and RAs by using both formal means of negotiation and direct action.
Our brand of organizing around issues comes out of COGS’ early days. Before UE Local 896 was a recognized union, COGS members fanned out all over Iowa City and the UI campus, talking to TAs and RAs about building a strong organization, run by TAs and RAs, for the purpose of improving salaries, benefits, and working conditions. In April 1996, their efforts paid off and TAs and RAs voted by an overwhelming margin to establish UE-COGS.
The following fall, the first COGS-elected bargaining committee started negotiations for a first contract. Realizing that the UI was not intent on bargaining a fair contract, COGS members held the first ever Grade-In. COGS members sat-in and stood-in at the IMU to deliver the UI a report card. Not surprisingly, the UI received poor marks for salaries, health insurance and human rights, among other issues.
Forced to recognize that COGS was more than just a bargaining committee and was in fact a force of hundreds of TAs and RAs, the University finally started real bargaining. As a result of having a persistent, well-trained bargaining committee backed up by an energetic and active membership, COGS won quality, affordable health insurance in the form of UI Grad Care, salary increases putting pay on par with the better paid Big Ten schools, a grievance procedure, protections against overwork, and several other concrete improvements.
Activism didn’t stop there, however. Over the next few years, COGS members continued to press the University to include a nondiscrimination clause in the contract. In departments all over campus, COGS stewards and officers regularly organized members to win grievances. The UI could no longer ignore COGS.
When bargaining commenced in the Fall of 1998, nearly one-hundred COGS members joined the bargaining committee in delivering the union’s proposals to the UI. Highlighting these proposals were demands that the UI better assist employees with dependents, especially children. The 1998 Grade-In gave the UI incomplete marks for its failure to provide adequate support for child care and its lack of any contribution towards health insurance coverage for dependents.
As bargaining moved forward, COGS members regularly accompanied each bargaining session with informational picket lines and rallies. Finally, the University met the Union’s demands and agreed to pay 70% of the cost for dependent health insurance. Member activism also led to the inclusion of a new Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Discrimination/Human Rights.
When COGS started bargaining its third contract in the Fall of 2000, the first signs of the current state budget crisis emerged. Over one-hundred members joined the bargaining committee to give the UI our proposals. At the time, the UI signalled that it wanted us to pay more for our health insurance. The position of the members was made very clear that first day of bargaining: No Concessions. Later that Fall, at a Grade-In, COGS released its first ever report on educational contact hours, showing that TAs and RAs are responsible for 58 percent of classroom contact hours with undergraduates.
“The UI Works Because We Do!” members chanted at contract rallies that year. Eventually, the UI agreed to maintain insurance benefit levels, and for the first time ever, made a counterproposal to our demand for tuition remission. As a non-mandatory topic of bargaining (a topic which can not be taken to arbitration), the only way tuition remission could become reality would be by reaching a mutual agreement. Unfortunately, the UI was unable to meet COGS half way on this issue. They insisted that tuition remission could be established only by reducing every employee’s salary by the cost of full tuition (i.e. they were unwilling to contribute to the cost or to protect employees from a net-take-home pay decrease). Nevertheless, the mere fact that the UI finally heard the voices of COGS members on this issue was considered a successful first step towards recognizing the need for fair, full tuition remission. Also, due to COGS’ continued insistence that all forms of discrimination be lifted, in 2001 the UI’s contribution to dependent health insurance was extended to same-sex domestic partners for the first time.
Membership activism is the lifeblood of this Union. Many more examples of COGS activism not mentioned here have led to gains that we have won and protected over the years. As we head into a new bargaining year, the need for activism is perhaps as great as ever. The condition of the Iowa budget is well known to all state employees. In order for us to protect the rights and benefits necessary to maintain quality RA and TA working conditions and to make the improvements we need, we once again need to come together and make our voices heard.
Bargaining Basics: What to Expect
The strength and activism of COGS’ membership is the driving force behind our ability to protect our gains and make improvements in bargaining. Still, public sector bargaining in Iowa is controlled by certain rules and parameters set by state law.
Chapter 20 of the Code of Iowa gives us our right to organize and collectively bargain. Bargaining will commence on Oct. 8 at a public meeting in which the Union will provide the University with its proposals for a new contract. Two weeks later on Oct. 22, the Union will receive the University’s proposal for a new contract, also in a public meeting. After these meetings the two sides will go into closed sessions to bargain. Once impasse is reached, a mediator provided by the State Public Employment Relations Board will be brought in.
By law, we must complete a voluntary agreement with the UI by March 15. If a voluntary agreement is not possible, then we have the right to forward the disputed issue(s) to fact-finding (if fact-finding is not waived by both sides) and then to arbitration, in which an independent third party makes a decision that is final and binding on both us and the UI. Both the fact-finder and the arbitrator can only rule on “Mandatory” topics of bargaining. Chapter 20 spells out what is and is not a mandatory topic of bargaining. (see below) Just because a topic is mandatory does not mean that it is automatically made a part of the agreement. Conversely, just because a topic is non-mandatory does not mean that it can not be put in a contract. In order to win anything -- mandatory or non-mandatory -- a strong, active membership must state its case publicly, while a dedicated and educated bargaining committee presses the employer for changes.
Political Action Report: Know the Issues, Know the Candidates
On November 5th, there will be several local elections that will be of considerable importance to you. In order to facilitate more involvement, I have listed below the offices that are up for election and websites to find out more information about each candidate. If you live outside of the Iowa City/Coralville area, you may find your House of Representatives district at http://staffweb.legis.state.ia.us/find-leg/find-district.html. (*=incumbent) - Leslie Hahner, Political Action Chair
Governor:
• Tom Vilsack* (Democrat) http://www.state.ia.us/government/governor/ • Doug Gross (Republican) http://www.douggross.com/6030/ • Clyde Cleveland (Libertarian) http://www.clevelandforgovernor.org/ • Jay Robinson (Green) http://www.robinson-hart.org/
Senate:
• Tom Harkin* (Democrat) http://harkin.senate.gov/ • Greg Ganske (Republican) http://www.ganskeforsenate.org/ • Tim Harthan (Green) http://timharthan.tripod.com/
House: (Iowa City/Coralville District)
• Jim Leach* (Republican) http://www.house.gov/leach/ • Kevin Litten (Libertarian) http://www.littenforcongress.org/ • Julie Thomas (Democrat) http://www.thomasforcongress.com/
DEPARTMENTAL STEWARDS
Below is a list of the newly elected departmnetal stewards. If your departmnet has elected a steward, and your departmnet is not represented here, please contact Campus Chief Steward Kevin Esch (kevin-esch@uiows.edu). If your department has yet to elect a steward and you need help organizing a meeting to do so, contact Kevin Esch or the COGS office immediately at 337-5074.
