Greetings from the bargaining team! I’m Wes Wise (he/him), a second-year math PhD student.
Yesterday, April 25th, we had our first full bargaining session with the university. We delivered our initial bargaining demands to the University, which were endorsed by a majority of Graduate Student Workers. We also put two proposals on the table: a Health and Safety proposal and a Holidays proposal.
After several rounds of revisions, we have a Tentative Agreement* on a very strong Health and Safety article. This article guarantees that workers have the contractual right to a healthy and safe workplace, including the right to refuse unsafe working conditions. The article also guarantees that GSWs will receive the training and equipment they need to maintain a healthy and safe work environment.
*Tentative Agreement: Tentative Agreements are agreements between the bargaining team and USC administration on individual articles of an eventual contract. No article will be finalized in the contract until after we reach tentative agreement on the entire contract and hold a unit-wide ratification vote.
More information can be found on the Bargaining Tracker, but here’s a quick rundown of where we stand:
- Tentative Agreements: Health and Safety
- Still being negotiated: Holidays
The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 18th, beginning at 10am. Location and subject matter are TBD.
GSWs have hit the ground running, but we still have a long way to go! This week opened with a strong majority of GSWs — over 1700 of us — signing on to the Initial Bargaining Demands. Our voices are being heard at the table. We must continue to show the university we mean business. Get involved in the fight for a fair contract by filling out this form!
In solidarity,
Wes Wise, Mathematics
And the rest of the Bargaining Team:
Sina Baharlouei, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Bryan Byrdlong, English
Maya Cratsley, Management and Organizations – Marshall
Megan Cassingham, Chemistry
Maggie Davis, Sociology
Sayan Ghosh, Computer Science
Anna Haynie, Physics & Astronomy
Yoni Hirshberg, Cinema and Media Studies
Jackie Johnson, Cinema and Media Studies
Stepp Mayes, Environmental Engineering
Maile McCann, Civil Engineering
Piril Nergis, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Meg Tiller, Religion
Anna Weiss, Marine and Environmental Biology