Ratified!
We are pleased to announce that members have ratified our collective bargaining agreement with university administration with a 95% yes vote. The final count was 446 yes to 25 no. This is a huge step toward securing rights and recognition for graduate workers at Brown, and the first collective bargaining agreement of its kind in the Ivy League. We’ll be reaching out in the coming weeks with ways to plug in and enforce our agreement.A few things to keep in mind:
- Graduate assistants working over the summer should expect to see their raise reflected in their first paycheck after 1 July 2020.
- Graduate workers should expect their $400 in COVID relief by 31 October 2020 paycheck.
- Graduate workers with spouses, domestic partners, and children on their Brown healthcare and/or dental can expect 75% coverage to take effect 1 July 2020.
While working hard to secure this contract, we have also been gearing up for other important campaigns that affect our campus community, so that we can use our union power to fight for justice.
- Reopening: Many research assistants are already back on campus, but grads have not had a real say in the process. If you would like to add your voice to the reopening conversation, please email Audrey Massmann at audreylmassmann@gmail.com to get plugged in.
- Racial Justice: The Social Justice Working Group and the Organizing Committee are joining activists and organizers from various departments on demands to protect black lives. Please email standupforgrads@gmail.com to join the fight for racial justice on campus.
It’s been a pleasure representing graduate workers at the bargaining table. This is only the beginning.Solidarity,The SUGSE Bargaining CommitteeKaity Hajdarovic, Co-chairRithika Ramamurthy, Co-chairGabriele BorgNicole DusangMarlon Jimenez OviedoSierra KaufmanMirjam PaninskiKaitlyn QuarantaSiraj SindhuMax Weinreich