Dear CGE Members and Community,
Quick Little Reminders
- Only a Few More Weeks to Complete the Survey of Graduate Workers' Issues: Please respond to this fully anonymous survey to communicate what is important to you! Responses will not be distributed outside of the CGE bargaining team members and other CGE leadership. Help us get a better understanding of grad workers' priorities and needs over time, to direct bargaining efforts and provide evidence of particular issues, which can help us build power at the bargaining table.
- Submit testimony for Health Care for All: The state of Oregon is currently developing and assessing a state-wide universal health care program and looking for public comment. Universal health care would protect people from the experience we've had of our healthcare changing unexpectedly based on our employers financial choices. You can submit testimony to the Universal Health Care Governance Board here. There are also public meetings and lots of other ways to get involved at Health Care for All Oregon!
- Cigna registration: Reminder that this registration is only to receive your digital insurance card— regardless of registration grads are covered by Cigna as of October 1st. However, if you run into issues with registration please bring this to the attention of Grad Health at 541-737-7568 or gradhealth@oregonstate.edu, they should be able to help.
- Bargaining Committee (meets Mondays 2-4pm @WestM): Like everything else CGE does, the impact bargaining team is made up of members - that’s you! If you are interested in learning more about or even joining the Bargaining Committee please email vp_bargaining@cge6069.org with a non-OSU email indicating your interest. Anyone can attend bargaining committee meetings, even if you are not a member of the team. We are especially interested in making sure that we have representation from masters students, international students, humanities students, queer students, students of color, and any other group of students who face challenges that can be addressed through contract negotiations. No prior experience in research/negotiations is expected or required!
Announcements
Come to Impact Bargaining Session Next Week!
Last session, OSU’s team proposed ground rules that would keep grads in the dark about the negotiations. This included closing bargaining to just those on the bargaining teams, banning taking notes of and sharing of direct quotes from the session, and restricting how we use social media to communicate with membership.
All grads have a right to know what is happening in negotiations that affect them. Our bargaining team declined these ground rules, which
means we will be bargaining without ground rules from now on.
Fortunately, we do not need to agree to ground rules to continue
negotiating about what is really important: the health and well-being of
grads.
Next session, we want people to fill the room with support for bargaining and each other. Grad workers are facing impacts from the health insurance change, including a significant loss of providers—especially mental health providers—and increasing medication costs. Bargaining is one of the most powerful tools we have to help, and coming to bargaining shows that we're paying attention and care.
At the next bargaining session we expect OSU will have counter-proposals to the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) we proposed last session. As a reminder, one of these sought to improve transparency around how the health
insurance plan is administered, and to increase our role in
administering the change. The second sought to add $150,000 to the OSU
Hardship Fund to be used specifically by grads whose
healthcare costs have increased as a result of the switch.
Both our MOUs and OSU's proposed ground rules are attached.
- Strike Anniversary Reflection
Wednesday 11/12 was the one-year anniversary of CGE's strike. During the strike, hundreds of grads came together in support of each other and our right to a strong contract. It was inspiring, and personally made me proud of this community of caring and hardworking people. It was also tough: hours walking in all weather, throats raw from chanting, worries of the risks of lost paychecks or retaliation. We all had different experiences of this period, but we can all be proud of our sacrifices and the good that came of it. One of the major motivations for and wins of the strike was raising the minimum salary of OSU grads. Some grads paid at that minimum have shared what this raise means to them:
"This raise, while not a ton of extra money every month, is still enough
that my bills get paid on time and I can focus on a) being the GTA my
students deserve and b) producing the best scholarship possible. Were I
living in today's economy on yesterday's salary, I'd have been utterly
dependent on loans and struggling to make ends meet, which in turn would
have negatively affected my wellbeing and my work. I'm grateful for the
wins our collective efforts achieved last year on the picket line and
at the bargaining table, and I hope we can sustain the momentum we've
created for the sake of future grads." -Katie McKinney
"Without the salary increase accomplished by last year's strike, I
would most likely not be a part of this program. The salary increase
assured me that I could move across the country and have adequate funds
for rent. I was only able to apply to fully-funded grad programs, so
this was central in my decision to join the MFA program." -Madelyn Whelan
Thank you to everyone who withheld their labor or supported us during that time.
Upcoming Events
- Impact Bargaining Session, Tuesday 11/18, 10am-2pm, Cascade Hall, Room 139
Please come and show your support for the process and for grads who have been impacted by the health insurance change!
Committees and Caucuses that need your help
Grad workers are capable and passionate people who can
together exercise great power. One of the ways we do that is through
caucuses and committees. All meetings are at WestM unless otherwise stated.
International Caucus: The CGE International Caucus is open to
all graduate students regardless of CGE membership status and serves to
represent the concerns of all international students at Oregon State
University. The International Graduate Caucus recognizes that
international graduate students attending OSU have unique needs and
difficulties in comparison to US students. Reach out to president@cge6069.org.
Disability Justice and Mental Health Super Caucus: This new super caucus is working on writing its charter. Open to all graduate students, regardless of current CGE membership status. Fridays, 11am on Zoom, reach out to vp_membership@cge6069.org.
Environmental Justice Caucus: The CGE Environmental Justice Caucus works with the university and
Corvallis communities to address the causes and consequences of the
climate crisis and environmental destruction through equitable and just
solutions.
Committee on Political Engagement (COPE):
Plans and implements actions around wider political issues. COPE
members channel collective power into concrete efforts to make a
difference in local and state politics. Meets Fridays 10am. Email vp_politics@cge6069.org for more information.
Grievance Committee: A great opportunity for people to learn more about the contract and how we defend it. Meets Thursdays 2pm. Email vp_grievances@cge6069.org for more information.
Pride Caucus: Place for community, support, and action to safeguard the rights and affirm the identities of people who identify as part of
the LGBTQIA+ community at Oregon State University. Meeting Fridays, 3pm.
In solidarity,
Serena Frazee (she/her)
VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069
PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University