GAU opens contract negotiations at University of South Florida

Tampa, FL – On Friday, April 25, collective bargaining began between designated representatives on behalf of the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees and representatives of Graduate Assistants United (GAU). About 20 supporters were present in the audience, including members of GAU, United Faculty of Florida, and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

The session focused on the first three articles of the 2022-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement, which consists of 24 articles. Most discussion was centered around Article 2, where GAU had proposed protections for graduate assistants, specifically regarding appointments, terminations, progressive discipline and ensuring timely submission of paperwork. This proposal arises from past issues where graduate assistants were terminated without explanation and faced delays in payment due to paperwork not being submitted on time.

GAU is the exclusive bargaining agent for graduate assistants, providing benefits and protections to graduate assistants through a contract negotiated publicly by GAU and the USF Board of Trustees. In the past, USF GAU has earned safeguards and guarantees such as minimum stipend increases, cost-of-living raises, subsidized healthcare and grievance protections for its members.

Tessa Barber, USF GAU president and member of the GAU bargaining team said that bargaining, “gives us a level playing field to improve our working conditions, to try and improve our stipends, and make a fair and livable wage. It means that we don’t have to just take what’s given, that we can fight and we can earn something better.”

Barber continued, “Especially in times that are so volatile, as things are now, like in the political and legislative climate, bargaining means that we can do our best to protect those that come after us, even if the laws change and the conditions change, because the contract still stands.”

GAU hopes to improve the living and working conditions of graduate assistants, and gain more tangible protections for graduate assistants, especially those of vulnerable communities, such as the LGBTQ and international students. They also demand an increase in stipend and protections around free speech from the university.

The next bargaining session will be on May 16 at 1 p.m., where representatives of the USF Board of Trustees will be countering some of the proposals made by GAU.

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