Dear CGE Members and Community, *Quick Little Reminders* *Fall Appointment Letter Deadline* Appointment letters for fall are due *8/16*. If you do not receive your appointment letter by that date OSU has violated your contract and owes you 50$! Keep an eye out for your letter and remind your coworkers to do the same. *Critical Trainings Reminder* OSU has indicated that they will be more diligent about the enforcement of critical training timelines, so make sure you are up to date on your Bridge trainings! *Announcements* *Impact Bargaining Over Changes to Grad Health Insurance* OSU has decided to change graduate workers' health insurance from PacificSource to Cigna, starting Oct. 1st 2025. This decision was made without warning or input from grads. OSU has claimed that this change will not be detrimental to us; with equivalent coverage and no increase to co-pays or deductibles (although they admitted there may be some increase to payroll deductions for insurance due to across the board market rate increases). However, specific plan information and a summary of benefits will not be available until September 1st. There are serious concerns about the quality of coverage we will get under Cigna. Cigna has faced lawsuits related to the use of AI to deny coverage, and many providers grad workers see for continued care may soon be out of network. The executive council of CGE has sent a demand to OSU to start impact bargaining over this issue. In impact bargaining, we can bargain with OSU about how the change is rolled out. *This is one of the best ways that we can use our collective power right now to try and minimize the negative effects of this change.* Unfortunately, we cannot prevent OSU from switching providers, but we can find other ways to hold OSU accountable in their assurances that this change will not hurt workers. Given the choice, *OSU prioritized their bottom line over concerns about our health and safety. It is up to us to apply pressure to make sure we and our fellow workers get the care we need.* *What Can We Do* - *Please share your ideas on specific outcomes and contract language* you would like to see come out of impact bargaining with <healthcare@cge6069.org>healthcare@cge6069.org. - Share how this change is affecting you at the same email - *Starting 8/15: Call Cigna (1-888-806-5042)* for more information about how this change will affect you - *Speak to out-of-network providers* about transitioning to in-network (the transition period starts 10/1) - *9/11: Come to the **General Membership Meeting, 5-7pm* (location TBD) to discuss this issue - *Join the **impact bargaining team*, by reaching out to *vp_bargaining@cge6069.org <vp_bargaining@cge6069.org>*. There are many ways you can contribute - doing research, helping draft contract language, and/or being a negotiator. You’ll be working with members of the current b-team who just finished bargaining over our entire contract so you’ll have tons of support and training along the way. For more information about this see the previous all worker email and reach out to healthcare@cge6069.org. *Meet Our New Executive Council* CGE's 2025/2026 Executive Council has officially started in their roles! Please welcome: President: Sarah Sellke VP Bargaining: Piper Aislinn VP Communications: Serena Frazee VP Solidarity: Kaelan Weiss VPs Organizing: Emily Branam and Mireia Roig-Paul VPs Membership: Brett Pentecost and Steph Chase VP Social Activities: Andrea Retano VP Grievances: Christopher Cericola VP Political Engagement: John Santos Secretary Treasurer: Andrew Scherer *Upcoming Events* *Organizing 201: Navigating Fears of Retaliation* 8/12, 2-4pm, Westminster House 101 NW 23rd St, Corvallis, OR 97330 Come help us develop strategies to facilitate productive organizing conversations with our fellow workers! *Committees and Caucuses That Need Your Help* *Communications Committee: *The Comms Committee is looking for folks to help improve CGE's communications. There will be lots of support and flexible levels of commitment. Are you a creative type? Interested in graphic design, web design, or writing? Are you passionate about accessibility in communication? Do you want a say in how CGE communicates, both to membership and the public? If so please reach out to me at *vp_communications@cge6069.org <vp_communications@cge6069.org>**.* In solidarity, Serena Frazee (she/her) VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069 PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University