Graduate employees at the University of Minnesota will decide whether they want union representation in on-campus balloting April 11-15.
The state Bureau of Mediation Services, which supervises public employee elections in Minnesota, Wednesday announced the dates and manner of the election. GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 is seeking to represent 4,500 graduate employees throughout the University of Minnesota system.
If the union is chosen, it would be one of the biggest victories for the labor movement in Minnesota in several years.
Graduate employees are students who perform important teaching, research and other duties on the university's Twin Cities and Duluth campuses.
The BMS agreed with the union that balloting should be held on campus, instead of by mail as proposed by the university administration. BMS rejected the administration's complicated mail ballot proposal which would have delayed voting until May 20 ? after classes end. GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 successfully argued that the administration's home address list for grad employees was far too unreliable for use in a mail ballot.
Balloting will be held on April 11 in Duluth, April 12 in St. Paul, April 13 on the West Bank of the Minneapolis campus, and April 14 and April 15 on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus.
"We're looking forward to proving the fact that we represent the majority of University of Minnesota graduate assistants," said Ryan Murphy, a GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 member and spokesperson. For months, GradTRAC has been building its membership and now represents thousands of graduate employees, he said.
Kris Houlton, a graduate student in philosophy, commented that the union will press its program for better health care, improved salaries, job security, respect, and fair treatment for international grad employees. Houlton said that recent studies confirmed that University of Minnesota grad assistants are the lowest paid in the Big Ten. "We intend to change that in the very near future," she said.
Daniel Kronemann, graduate employee in the Microbiology Department, said the union intends to begin bargaining on a first labor contract throughout the spring and summer months. Kronemann said, "We look forward to bringing back a contract for a membership vote when fall semester 2005 begins."
Kronemann also said that GradTRAC?s sister union at the University of Iowa -- UE Local 896 -- has made impressive gains in just nine years. Salaries at Iowa have increased by 49 percent since 1996. Since the formation of the Iowa union, health care now includes dental care, mental health care, and prescription drug coverage. While such improvements have been made, the number of grad assistants in Iowa has grown by more than 200 positions.
For more information
Visit the union website, www.gradtracue.org
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Graduate employees at the University of Minnesota will decide whether they want union representation in on-campus balloting April 11-15.
The state Bureau of Mediation Services, which supervises public employee elections in Minnesota, Wednesday announced the dates and manner of the election. GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 is seeking to represent 4,500 graduate employees throughout the University of Minnesota system.
If the union is chosen, it would be one of the biggest victories for the labor movement in Minnesota in several years.
Graduate employees are students who perform important teaching, research and other duties on the university’s Twin Cities and Duluth campuses.
The BMS agreed with the union that balloting should be held on campus, instead of by mail as proposed by the university administration. BMS rejected the administration’s complicated mail ballot proposal which would have delayed voting until May 20 ? after classes end. GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 successfully argued that the administration’s home address list for grad employees was far too unreliable for use in a mail ballot.
Balloting will be held on April 11 in Duluth, April 12 in St. Paul, April 13 on the West Bank of the Minneapolis campus, and April 14 and April 15 on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus.
“We’re looking forward to proving the fact that we represent the majority of University of Minnesota graduate assistants,” said Ryan Murphy, a GradTRAC/UE Local 1105 member and spokesperson. For months, GradTRAC has been building its membership and now represents thousands of graduate employees, he said.
Kris Houlton, a graduate student in philosophy, commented that the union will press its program for better health care, improved salaries, job security, respect, and fair treatment for international grad employees. Houlton said that recent studies confirmed that University of Minnesota grad assistants are the lowest paid in the Big Ten. “We intend to change that in the very near future,” she said.
Daniel Kronemann, graduate employee in the Microbiology Department, said the union intends to begin bargaining on a first labor contract throughout the spring and summer months. Kronemann said, “We look forward to bringing back a contract for a membership vote when fall semester 2005 begins.”
Kronemann also said that GradTRAC?s sister union at the University of Iowa — UE Local 896 — has made impressive gains in just nine years. Salaries at Iowa have increased by 49 percent since 1996. Since the formation of the Iowa union, health care now includes dental care, mental health care, and prescription drug coverage. While such improvements have been made, the number of grad assistants in Iowa has grown by more than 200 positions.
For more information
Visit the union website, www.gradtracue.org