Few things in life not related to dental surgery are more painful than contract negotiations. Currently, teaching and graduate assistants at UB are without a contract, and looking for a new deal with the state. The issue is not about salary, but instead some slightly hidden fees and medical expenses.
The last contract expired in 2003, and left the Graduate Student Employee Union in a decent position. The workers make around $10,000 a year, something marginally manageable considering it is around the level of minimum wage, the average of what graduate student teachers make at other schools and the current budget situations of New York State. The group is even slated for a slight, meager raise, but that does not address the main concern.
Every student at this university pays $800 in technology fees. That fee covers all sorts of equipment, plus bandwidth. Currently, the members of GSEU have to pay that fee, even though they use some of that technology in order to teach their classes. Since they are required to teach the classes, the fee seems an unfair burden, as it is a necessity for full teaching.
It is unfair to ask the GSEU members to pay the full technology fee, but since the equipment and space is used for some of their student activities, it should not be completely eliminated. A compromise must be reached, either on what percentage of computer usage is for class, or how valuable the teaching work is compared to the work as a student. To expect student teachers to pay for the technology fee while professors do not need to does not make sense.
The other part of the dispute is in the always-divisive realm of health care costs. Many costs are staying the same, but the co-pay for oral contraceptives is rising, prompting the union to cry foul. One piece of health care should not be singled out, and it could lead the way for other items to get increased co-pays based on random whims.
While oral contraceptives and $800 dollars might not seem like a big deal, it is part of the larger battle of union power. The state will try whittling away the ability of unions by forcing them to pay for necessary teaching tools and certain health expenses that it deems vain. The school should stick up for some of its most valuable assets, and see to it they are treated well by the state. The demands are not too much to ask for, and should be heeded by the state.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
