Three unions bargaining for new contracts this year

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About 60 members of the Graduate Student Union rallied Thursday outside Charles V. Park Library to spread word of their cause.

Supporters from the Faculty Association, The Union of Teaching Faculty and United Auto Workers joined in, advocating for economic proposals including health care, tuition and salary wages.

“The point of the rally was to show the administration what matters,” said GSU President and Ferndale graduate student Alyssa Warshay.

“We wanted to focus the rally on health care,” said Sarah Lanius, organizer with the American Federation of Teachers of Michigan. “It’s a big issue.”

Warshay said GSU also wants a tuition waiver for graduate students. She said it is difficult to take classes and work at the same time, especially when it is costing a lot of money.

Warshay said graduate students pay $400 to $500 per credit hour and the average salary for graduate students at Central Michigan University is $14,000.

CMU waives the tuition for a certain amount of credits depending on the status of enrollment, but GSU wants the university to waive them all.

CMU is requesting 10 percent of the tuition waived to be paid for by the graduate student.

Warhsay said though CMU waives a certain amount of credits — such as 10 credits for students enrolled half-time — the student is required to pay for additional courses, on top of working as a teaching assistant.

Graduate students began to form a union in Fall 2008 and contacted the American Federation of Teachers — Michigan. There are 350 members in the union.

GSU has been in contract negotiations with CMU’s administration since August.

Lanius said GSU hopes to have the contract settled by the end of this month.

Unions

There are seven unions on campus.

Five of these — Police, Maintenance and Custodial Service, Broadcasting, Supervisory/Technical and Office Professionals — are staff unions.

The Faculty Association and GSU are handled by Faculty Personnel, said Kevin Smart, director of employee relations and technology.

Robert Martin, associate vice provost of Faculty and Personnel Services, did not return calls from Central Michigan Life on Thursday.

Smart said there are three contracts in the bargaining stages — Broadcasting, Supervisory/Technical and Office Professionals.

Smart said the contract for Supervisory/Technical expires June 30.

“We’re currently engaged in negotiations,” said Mark Blackmer, president and negotiations chair of the Supervisory/Technical union and a maintenance and repair technician for the School of Engineering and Technology.

Blacmer said terms of the contract are not open for public discussion, per an agreement between the union and the Michigan Education Association.

“When both negotiating teams reach an agreement, then (we) have to take a vote,” Blackmer said.

At the minimum, he said, effective dates of the contract may vary.

Blackmer said the union on campus is happy with the contract and the working relationship between MEA and CMU that has developed.

“Contracts are always subject to change when bargaining comes up,” Smart said.

Linda Dielman, president of the Broadcasting Union and programming outreach manager for public broadcasting, works with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians — Michigan.

Dielman said the contract and negotiations can not be discussed until both parties, the union and CMU, come to an agreement.

“Until we exchange proposals at the table,” Dielman said, “It can’t be discussed.”

She said negotiation with the university and the union has always been a positive experience, and both parties are usually content with the contracts.

Budget issues

Dielman said the university will present the budget cuts in their proposals during negotiation and explain how it impacts CMU.

She said it is all part of the bargaining cycle.

“The union has the opportunity to respond to that,” Dielman said.

Blackmer said he is unsure of budget issues within the contract.

“It’s up in the air,” he said.