Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have important information to share with you about health insurance. Last Friday, the University of Missouri eliminated healthcare subsidies with less than a day’s notice to graduate employees, effectively stripping them of insurance coverage. Actions like this underscore university administrations’ utter disregard for the wellbeing of the people providing, at many institutions, a majority of undergraduate teaching hours. This problem exists because of university administrations’ reinforcement of our dual roles as graduate student teachers: We’re employees when the work needs to be done and students when it comes time to provide compensation. This binary leaves graduate students in a precarious situation and highlights the importance of organizing and unionization.
Because you belong to a union, you have protected language in the collective bargaining agreement that commits the University of Iowa to providing excellent health insurance. The new contract provides even stronger coverage for single parents who will now have access to lower premiums. We stand in solidarity with the graduate employees at the University of Missouri and support their effort in organizing around this issue.
In solidarity,
Ruth Bryant
COGS Press and Publicity Chair