Salary increases for graduate student employees are at the crux of negotiations between the University of Oregon and the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation as they seek to reach agreement for a successor contract. The UO and the GTFF met on Thursday, Nov. 30, to continue negotiations with the state-appointed mediator. The bargaining teams reached tentative agreement on all outstanding articles except the salary article.
At the Nov. 30 mediation session, the UO bargaining team increased its previous salary offer for both minimum salaries and across-the-board increases in the first year of the contract. The new proposed minimum rate for all GEs is $33.89 per hour or $2,433 per month at 0.49 full-time equivalency. GEs are employed at less than half-time so they can fulfill their student responsibilities as they make academic progress toward degree completion.
The collective bargaining agreement sets a minimum salary for graduate employee pay. However, departments within schools and colleges and principal investigators may set pay rates above the minimum requirement. Of the 1,435 GEs employed for the fall term, 45 percent are paid at the minimum salary with 55 percent above.
“The latest UO offer provides salary increases for all GEs and raises GE salaries in comparison to peer institutions within the Association of American Universities to improve the UO’s competitive position when retaining and recruiting GEs,” said Krista Chronister, vice provost of graduate studies.
The university’s offer moves away from differentiating pay across three levels to a new model setting all GE levels to a unified minimum salary rate at 7 percent above the current GE III level. This results in greater increases for GEs at the lower levels. Those at a GE I level would receive a 27.64 percent increase, and a GE II would receive a 12.98 percent increase effective immediately upon the ratification of a successor contract. The offer also includes a 3.75 percent increase to the minimum salary in each subsequent year of the contract.
The table below illustrates the annual increases for GEs currently paid at a minimum rate with a 0.49 FTE appointment:
Current
Academic Year Minimum
Proposed
Academic Year Minimum
Percentage Increase in Year 1
Percentage Increases in Year 2 and 3
