COGS News
February 2003
Bargaining Down to the Wire
COGS, UI continue heated negotiations; Contract Rally on Feb. 13
We’re down to the critical time in contract bargaining. If we can’t reach a voluntary settlement by February 24th, the mandatory topics of bargaining (e.g., wages, health care) will be settled by an arbitrator.
As of February 4th, the UI/Regents have shown no indication of being willing to discuss any of our non-economic proposals, most of which are non-mandatory topics of bargaining (meaning they can not be settled by the arbitrator). In order to focus on top priorities like wages, tuition remission, health care, class size, child care, non-discrimination, and performance evaluations, we moved off of some of our lower-priority non-economic items. The UI/Regents continue to propose serious cuts to our health care benefits.
At our January 30th bargaining session COGS presented a revised contract proposal, including a tentative tuition remission plan which involved no salary cuts and partial tuition payment by the University. The UI/Regents are still proposing a partial tuition remission plan which includes salary reductions. In order to better understand each other and calculate the outcomes of various plans, the two sides will meet for a brief work session on February 5th. Tuition remission is not a mandatory topic of bargaining, so if we can’t reach a voluntary agreement on it there is no recourse to an arbitrator.
Regular bargaining sessions are scheduled for February 11th and February 13th. There will be a CONTRACT RALLY ON FEBRUARY 13th AT 1:30pm at the IMU, preceding the 2:30 bargaining session. BE THERE!! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR A FAIR CONTRACT!!
Lise VanderVoort, President
Organizing Efforts Need More Volunteers
The Organizing Committee needs your help. Last semester, COGS members unanimously approved an organizing plan (available on the COGS website) which emphasizes reaching out to the hundreds of graduate employees who have never been approached about the union. Surprisingly, many of our fellow graduate employees are unaware that they are protected by our fantastic contract — no wonder they’re not members yet!
So each week, COGS members go forth and spread the word about health insurance, salary increases, the grievance procedure, and other benefits secured in our contract. In addition, these visits enable COGS members to find out about any violations of the contract in areas with no union steward. The visits are very informal; basically, we hand out informational material about the union and ask how things are going in the workplace. Most new organizers are pleasantly surprised at how receptive people generally are – they are genuinely glad to hear about the great benefits we have through our union.
Of course, in the process, we also invite people to become union members. After all, the only way to protect what we have won in our contract is to keep getting stronger!
If you have never participated in organizing efforts, fear not. It only takes an hour. On your first outings you will be paired with an experienced organizer, and provided with a folder full of everything you need to have productive conversations with your colleagues from other departments. As a first-timer, you can just tag along and observe, if you like. And if weekday office visits aren’t your style, consider helping with house visits on the weekend. These visits target our colleagues who have already expressed interest in joining the union, during our fall organizing efforts. Please consider calling the COGS office, or sending an email, to join this very important effort. It’s up to us, the membership, to spread the word!
Mike Evces, V-P for Organizing
Community Health Care Retained!
By now you all should have received a notice from Richard Saunders in the Benefits Office regarding the settlement COGS has reached with the University regarding our health care provider grievance. (If you haven’t, contact the Benefits Office.) The University has agreed to continue our 90% coverage on community providers for mental health, physical therapy, and chemical dependency through the current contract; future coverage is being negotiated at the bargaining table. As the University had already changed over their system in anticipation of the reduced provider network, employees seeking community care will still need an exception form on record with the Benefits Office. This is the same form we were initially asked to submit before January 1; if you missed the deadline, simply submit the form that accompanies the notice from Richard Saunders.
Kevin Esch, Campus Chief Steward
Alternative Organizing Works
New Organizing Strategies Yield Appreciation for COGS, TAs, and RAs in College of Education
Inevitably, when I am having a conversation with my colleagues who are members of COGS, we end up wondering aloud why our non-union co-workers are not members of COGS. Occasionally, we even ask them; the answer is pretty standard: “I just haven’t gotten around to it.” So, we contemplate, how can we encourage them to join COGS? Free food, of course.
On the Thursday before Thanksgiving last semester, Teresa Garcia, Eric Reed, Deb Herman, Mike Evces, and I set up a “We’re Thankful for COGS Because...” table in Lindquist Center, home of the College of Education. We set up the table with the food, COGS literature, and a stack of markers. When people stopped by, very skeptical of our proclamation of free snacks, we told them only that we wanted them to thank their teaching assistant or graduate assistant that day. If the visitor was a member of COGS, we asked him or her to grab a marker and fill in the form, “I’m thankful for COGS because...” Within three hours, we’d given away plates of cookies, signed four new members, distributed several additional cards, and had at least one grateful TA come out of her class to get a cookie after her undergrads came into class, thanked her for her work, and sent her out to see us (and she WAS a member of COGS!).
We fed without discretion: COGS members, non-member graduate students, undergrads, professors, and administrators. We talked to one woman who had been around in the early-1990s, during the initial attempts by graduate students to organize at Iowa. We talked to a group of international students studying English together; they asked questions about unions in the United States and we did our best to answer them. We talked to undergrads, all of who were grateful for their TAs’ hard work and dedication. Even the professors who came up to the table promised to thank their RAs and GAs that day.
As COGS members filled in and signed the forms about why they were thankful for COGS, one theme emerged: insurance. Of the 20-or-so forms, probably 18 COGS members related thanks for insurance coverage, either in general or in a time of crisis. While members were thankful for a more collegial atmosphere, a living wage, and the knowledge that the Union would represent their best interests, many members’ support for COGS was based on the insurance plans developed through our contract negotiations.
Now, as COGS members, when we get together and talk about why our colleagues don’t join the Union, we contemplate other ways to create a positive outlet for potential members to ask questions and fill out cards. Perhaps a spring break cake giveaway...
Christy Wolfe, Organizing Committee
