Urbana-Champaign, IL (October 3): The Graduate Employees’ Organization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has won a landmark arbitration ruling in a contract dispute with UIUC administrators over tuition waivers.

An independent arbitrator has ruled that an attempt by University of Illinois officials to reduce tuition waivers for some incoming graduate employees represents a clear violation of the contract between the union and the Illinois Board of Trustees.

Tuition waivers are a benefit of employment, which represent no cost to the University. Preventing reduction of tuition waivers will preserve quality of education at Illinois, organizers say, while protecting vital labor standards.

In November 2009, over 1,000 Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) members went on strike to prevent the reduction or elimination of tuition waivers for graduate employees. This was the fifth largest work stoppage in the United States in 2009. They GEO won contract language protecting tuition waivers for current and future Teaching and Graduate Assistants at UIUC.

In the Summer of 2010, the GEO learned of a policy change affecting tuition waivers for incoming graduate employees in several departments in the College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA). Effective Fall of 2010, incoming graduate employees in these departments were no longer granted waivers for out-of-state tuition. Even with temporary scholarships, many Fine and Applied Arts graduate employees, earning between $7,000.00 and $9,000.00 per academic year, were left with additional fees totaling up to $1,000.00.

This change in tuition waiver policy was a clear violation of the GEO’s contract with the Illinois Board of Trustees. In 2010, the GEO filed a grievance alleging a contract violation, while GEO members launched a public awareness campaign that included email and letter drives, communication with elected officials, testimony to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, and other events.

By attempting to charge incoming graduate employees tuition in clear violation of its contract with teaching and graduate assistants, administrators have cost the University of Illinois as much as $100,000.00. This is yet another example of flawed budget priorities at UIUC, where the most vulnerable members of the University community are frequently asked to shoulder the burdens of budget shortfalls.

After an arbitration hearing in mid-July, an independent arbitrator on September 20 declared the University’s tuition waiver policy in violation of its contract with the GEO. The arbitrator ordered the U of I administration to make whole any harm done to graduate employees.

The arbitration victory marks a significant achievement for GEO members. According to GEO communications officer Rodrigo Pacheco-McEvoy, “not only does the ruling secure tuition waivers as a benefit of employment for graduate employees, which is absolutely necessary to maintain accessibility to public higher education at UIUC; it also helps protect the arts from budgetary cutbacks.”

While the GEO has much cause to celebrate, the story of tuition waivers and the arts at UIUC is not over. The GEO is entering another bargaining year. According to GEO Co- President Miriam Larsen, “our members are fully committed to protecting the tuition waivers that make a high quality graduate education accessible to a diverse student body.”

###

For more information, please contact Rodrigo Pacheco-McEvoy, Communications Officer, at 858-382-2271 or rodrigo.pacheco.mcevoy@gmail.com. More information can also be found on the website at uigeo.org.

The members of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, stand in solidarity with the members of the Tacoma Education Association (TEA) and their courageous decision to strike for a fair contract.

Members of the GEO understand that withholding labor is vitally important as a tool in collective bargaining.  It was only by first authorizing and then carrying out one of the five largest work stoppages in the United States in 2009 that the GEO was able to secure any reasonable concessions from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in our current 2009-2012 contract.

The GEO commends the TEA’s decision to withhold education labor as a necessary tool for protecting conditions necessary for a quality public education, including the support and retention of experienced teachers, protecting teachers against discrimination, and contractual protections against excessive class sizes.

The Tacoma Public School officials said that TEA members acted unreasonably, claiming the strike hurt their student’s education.  Nothing can be farther from the truth: it was the Tacoma Public Schools’ refusal to bargain fairly with the TEA that hurt students.  We know that the decision to strike is never easy, but when other options have been exhausted, striking to protect the future of public education in Tacoma is in the best interest of students, families, teachers, and other Tacoma Public School employees.

According to the Tacoma News Tribune, “TEA President Andy Coons…said teachers are modeling for their students how to be active citizens.”  The members of the GEO could not agree more, and we congratulate the TEA on their new contract.

We stand with the TEA in affirming that without a work action demonstrating the resolve and solidarity of TEA members and their allies in the community, it unlikely that the TEA could have successfully resisted district efforts to increase class sizes and denigrate the vital role that experienced teachers play in educating Tacoma’s children.

The News Tribune and other local sources argue that the manner in which the strike was resolved–with mediation overseen by Governor Christine Gregoire–demonstrates that the work action was unnecessary in the first place.  The TNT and others further suggest that the strike was just a power play by the Washington Education Association.

Let us be clear: it is obvious even from the News Tribune’s coverage that this was a strike driven by membership.  Nearly 90% of the TEA bargaining unit voted to strike, and an overwhelming majority of those voted to continue the strike in defiance of an anti-union court order.  And for elected officials to become involved in this manner, unions must first demonstrate the value of their labor through work actions and other demonstrations of solidarity.

If the TEA strike was a Washington Education Association power play, it is a wonderful example of the power of democratic decision making among working teachers to protect their rights and the interests of their students.  We at the GEO hope that other WEA locals will follow the Tacoma Education Association’s courageous example.

As university employees and members of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, we know that labor solidarity in education is necessary to protect the future of accessible and high quality public education at all levels.  We particularly urge the students, staff, faculty, administration, and alumni of Tacoma’s colleges and universities (including Tacoma Community College, the University of Washington, Tacoma, the University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University, and the Evergreen State University, Tacoma) to support the TEA in any way that they can.

In solidarity,

The members of the UIUC Graduate Employees Organization

The Graduate Employees Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009, over 1,000 GEO members successfully went on strike to secure a fair contract for graduate employees and a more accessible UIUC. The GEO continues to work for high quality and accessible public education in Illinois.  For more information, please contact GEO Communications Officer Rodrigo Pacheco-McEvoy at rodrigo.pacheco.mcevoy@gmail.com or geo@uigeo.org.

Read our related solidarity statement with the CMU Faculty Association after the jump.

GEO Solidarity Statement With Central Michigan University Faculty Association:

The members of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), stand in solidarity with the Faculty Association at Central Michigan University (CMU) in their struggle for a fair contract and recognition of their right to stage a work stoppage.

Members of the GEO understand that withholding labor is vitally important as a tool in collective bargaining.  It was only by first authorizing and then carrying out one of the five largest work stoppages in the United States in 2009 that the GEO was able to secure any reasonable concessions from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in our current 2009-2012 contract.

Consequently, the GEO objects to CMU’s decision to seek an injunction against the Faculty Association’s work stoppage, and to the Isabella County Circuit Court’s decision to grant the injunction.

We urge the Circuit Court to lift the injunction subsequent to the hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, August 26.

It is the CMU administration’s refusal to bargain fairly with the Faculty Association that places an “undue burden on students.”  In fact, the CMU administration has demonstrated a consistent lack of regard for the interests of its unionized employees.  The Faculty Association’s work stoppage is in the best interest of all undergraduate students on campus in that its goal is to achieve a fair contract for the teachers and researchers who are central to the educational mission of the University.

The Faculty Association’s decision to withhold labor on Monday did not place an “undue burden” on students, as the CMU administration claims.  Far from it–the Faculty Association’s decision represents an unfortunate but necessary tool in the effort to preserve an accessible and high quality educational experience for all students on the CMU campus, and in the state of Michigan.

The GEO calls on labor unions and allies at CMU to support the Faculty Association in any way that they can.

In solidarity,

The members of the UIUC Graduate Employees Organization

The Graduate Employees Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009, over 1,000 GEO members successfully went on strike to secure a fair contract for graduate employees and a more accessible UIUC. The GEO continues to work for high quality and accessible public education in Illinois.  For more information, please contact GEO Communications Officer Rodrigo Pacheco-McEvoy at rodrigo.pacheco.mcevoy@gmail.com or geo@uigeo.org.

From the Graduate Employees’ Organization

April 19, 2010

Dear Sirs and Madams,

As you know, the State of Illinois owes the University of Illinois system about $500 million, with a significant portion of that amount due to the Urbana campus. As the budget crisis has come to a head, we of the Graduate Employees’ Organization will continue to contribute our efforts to ensure the future of accessible and high quality education at the University of Illinois.

We are committed to ensuring that the University of Illinois remain true to its mission as a public land grant institution to provide education that is truly accessible to all, regardless of economic background.

Quality and accessible education at our University is under siege—class size is growing to untenable proportions, faculty are being furloughed, and budget cuts are affecting the education we are able to provide our students. Meanwhile, Interim President Ikenberry told the Daily Illini that a tuition increase of at least 9% may be necessary, indicating also that the university may not be able to maintain its status as a top institution.

Rather than accept the necessity of making this institution even less accessible to working class students in Illinois, we’re renting buses and going to Springfield with other members of the UC United Coalition, the same consortium of labor unions and student activist groups that brought us the March 4^th rally to defend public education.

The GEO and UC United will join thousands of education employees to not only ask for the money currently owed this university by the state, but to demand that state lawmakers recognize the importance of funding public education in Illinois.  And we are saving you a seat on the bus.

So will you join us on April 21 to lobby in Springfield for accessible public education and fair treatment of University employees, and help us keep the University of Illinois at the top?

Let us know – we can be reached at geo@uigeo.org, or 217-344-8283.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Seawell

Kathryn Walkiewicz

Co-Presidents, Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO.

Urbana-Champaign (April 19): On April 21, about 50 members of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) will join the UC United Coalition at the Illinois state capitol to lobby for increased support for public education.

The UC United Coalition, a consortium of labor unions and student activist groups at UIUC, has prepared a legislative action platform for its members to take to Springfield.

The platform includes support for tax increases that will support public education in Illinois, opposition to a bill that would strip 50% tuition waivers for children of University employees, principled opposition to furloughs for civil service employees, and a bill that would eliminate the ability of politicians to nominate persons for General Assembly scholarships.

GEO members have been preparing for “lobby day” for several weeks.  “Our members are highly educated about our platform, and we look forward to productive conversations with state lawmakers,” said Stephanie Seawell, GEO Co-President and co-chair of the GEO’s lobbying and legislative action committee.

The GEO has also published an open letter to top University of Illinois administrators, urging them to join the UC United Coalition on lobby day.  “Clearly, the University is facing a crisis in state funding, and President Ikenberry has been vocal in demanding more money from the state,” said Natalie Uhl, GEO Communications Officer.  “We see lobby day as an excellent opportunity for President Ikenberry and top UIUC administrators to join campus workers and students to demand that Springfield recognize the benefits of adequate public funding for higher education.”  A copy of the open letter is available on the GEO website.

The GEO and the UC United Coalition call on President Ikenberry to follow the example of Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard and pledge not to increase tuition.  “Ikenberry’s statements about how the University should respond to the state budget shortfall signal a privatized U of I that will only be accessible to the wealthy,” said Peter Campbell, GEO communications committee member.

“Public funding for higher education pays dividends for the state economy,” said Uhl.  “We hope that top U of I administrators join us in Springfield to send the message that for our flagship public institution, tuition increases, layoffs and furloughs are not an acceptable substitute for state funds.”

The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus.  In November 2009, over 1,000 GEO members successfully went on strike to secure a fair contract and more accessible UIUC.  With events like lobby day, the GEO continues to work for high quality and accessible public education in Illinois.

For more information, please contact Natalie Uhl, GEO Communications Officer, at 317-652-7298 or natalieuhl@gmail.com.  More information can also be found on our website at uigeo.org.

###

Gina Gemmel
Phone: 773-413-0349
Email:  gmgemmel@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GEO, UNION REPRESENTING 1400 TEACHERS AND RESEARCHERS AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-CHICAGO, OVERWHELMINGLY VOTES TO STRIKE

Over the last two days, 84% of the Graduate Employees Organizations (GEO) members voted to call a strike against the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. GEO members will hold a rally on Monday, April 5, in support of their last scheduled federal mediation session with the UIC administration.

The GEO’s first agreement expired in August 2009, and GEO members have been negotiating a new contract since April 2009. After a year of negotiations, GEO members are on the verge of a strike because the UIC administration refuses to secure tuition waivers or address tuition differentials.

“All TAs and GAs currently receive a tuition waiver,” said Charles Moss, GEO President, “so the fact that the university wants the freedom to discontinue this benefit is unacceptable.”

Many GEO members earn less than $15,000 per year, but because of “Tuition Differential Fees,” imposed by UIC, pay up to $11,000 per year in fees back to the university. “We are being gouged by TD fees which increase every year without warning,” said Sarita Heer, Teaching Assistant in Art History. “All we want is to have input and know why these fees keep increasing. Isn’t it fair for UIC to tell us where our money is going?”

The GEO and the university will hold their final scheduled contract negotiation session with the help of a federal mediator on Monday, April 5, and will hold a rally outside Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted, Chicago, IL at 8:00 AM.

“So far, organizations at UIC representing more than 25,000 students and dozens of faculty have issued statements of support,” said Gina Gemmel, Teaching Assistant in English and GEO Communications Chair, “so we expect Monday’s rally to be massive, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement on Monday which includes tuition waiver security and gives us a say in Tuition Differential fees.”

The Graduate Employees Organization, AFT local 6297, AFL-CIO, is the labor union representing more than 1400 Teaching and Graduate Assistants at UIC who teach undergraduate classes, grade papers, work in offices, design websites, maintain databases, and perform other work crucial to the teaching and research missions of the university.

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (March 4) – On March 4, 2010, over 300 members of the UC United Coalition of students, workers, and faculty staged a march and rally for an accessible, diverse, and democratic University of Illinois of Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on the UIUC campus as part of the March 4th National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.  Rally participants marched from the campus’ Alma Mater statue and around the entire Liberal Arts and Sciences Quad before staging a rally in front of the Swanlund Administration Building.

State funding for public education has been decreasing for years, and the University of Illinois administration has consistently accepted budget cuts as it transforms the University into a privatized and corporatized institution.  The UC United Coalition will be present at the April 21st lobbying day in Springfield, and we call on the University of Illinois administration to join us in not only pleading with the state to avoid further cuts, but in demanding that public education be recognized as vital for the future prosperity of the state and funded accordingly.

The major burden of the lack of state funding has been placed on low income workers and students, rather than on bloated administrative units and salaries.  Speakers at the rally called for a tuition and fee freeze in the face of University of Illinois Interim President Ikenberry’s recent statements that significant tuition increases, layoffs and furloughs are inevitable and necessary responses to the shortfall in Illinois state funding for the University.

The planned tuition increase will functionally transform the University of Illinois into a private institution that funds almost all of its instruction and research through tuition.  This is completely contrary to the mission of the University as a public, land grant institution.

Without direct action in support of public education, higher education in the state of Illinois will be available only to the wealthy.  As Susan Davis, CFA Executive Committee member and Professor in the Department of Communication said, the University of Illinois administration’s policy “places the burden of the current budget shortfall on personnel and students.”

The University of Illinois administration’s claim that tuition increases, layoffs, and furloughs are a necessary response to the state budget shortfall is especially disappointing given that President Glenn Poshard of Southern Illinois University (SIU) has pledged that SIU will not increase tuition.  SIU will instead explore other options to weather the shortfall including borrowing and drawing on University reserves.  President Poshard told Codell Rodriguez of The Southern on March 4 that “financial troubles have been on the backs of middle to low income families for too long.”

UC United Coalition members agree. Because Illinois citizens, students and low paid workers are suffering the most from the current economy, “it doesn’t make sense for the state to pull out of funding for higher education, and for the University to hike tuition and fees,” said Mukta Tripathy, Graduate Employees’ Organization Officer-at-Large.

Southern Illinois University faces an even more serious budget shortfall than the University of Illinois, as it receives a much higher percentage of its overall funding from the state.  The UC United Coalition applauds President Ikenberry’s public opposition to state budget cuts and his efforts to mobilize alumni lobbying campaigns.  However, these efforts are negated by the UI administration’s policies in response to existing cuts.  Speaking at the rally, UC United Coalition and GEO representative Peter Campbell called on President Ikenberry to follow the leadership of President Poshard and refuse to solve Illinois’ budget problems on the backs of those people who are hardest hit by the recession.

The UC United Coalition demands transparency and accountability in budget decisions so that the University of Illinois administration can work with the campus community to find creative ways to address the budget shortfall.  We reject the claim that there is no possibility of drawing on non-state revenue sources in the UI budget to fund instruction and personnel. For more information, please see the Graduate Employees’ Organization fact sheet “Myths and Facts about the University of Illinois Budget” attached to this release, which can also be downloaded at http://www.uigeo.org/2010/03/03/geo-disputes-administration-budget-claims-releases-ui-budget-myths-and-facts-document/.

The UC United Coalition includes the Graduate Employees’ Organization (AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO), the Campus Labor Coalition, the Undergrad-Graduate Alliance, the Campus Faculty Association, La Colectiva, and the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority.  UC United demands that the University of Illinois (UI) administration center the priorities of the University of Illinois around access, diversity, democracy, and quality.  Specifically, UC United calls for a tuition and fee freeze, an end to layoffs and furloughs of workers and faculty, a democratic campus with shared governance in policy decisions, the recruitment and retention of a diverse campus population of workers, students, and faculty that is truly representative of the State of Illinois, and transparency about the UI budget.  The UC United Coalition also calls for progressive state and federal funding for all levels of public education.

For more information about the UC United Coalition, the March 4 rally, and other upcoming events, please visit our event page at uicrisis.org and/or contact any of the following representatives: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, 253-222-5861, odell.campbell@gmail.com, uigeo.org; Harriet Murav, Campus Faculty Association, 217-359-5394, and Jim Barret, Campus Faculty Association, 217-352-2714; Pete Rhomberg, Undergraduate-Graduate Alliance, (708) 828-9926, rhomberger3000@gmail.com.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION SAYS TUITION INCREASES ARE “NEITHER NECESSARY NOR APPROPRIATE” TO ADDRESS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BUDGET SHORTFALL
New fact sheet shows graduate employees generate surplus cash for University of Illinois

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (March 3): Promoting world-class public education at the University of Illinois does not require a tuition increase, the University of Illinois graduate employees union said today – but it does require transparency about the school’s budget.

“We applaud Interim President Stanley Ikenberry’s March 2^nd statements to the Champaign News-Gazette that the U of I will look to cut from administrative programs in response to the current state budget shortfall,” said Peter Campbell, communications officer for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO). “However, the facts show that a tuition increase is neither necessary nor appropriate. The UI administration has failed to explain why money from reserves, the UI Foundation, and cutting from the top will not be enough to address the shortfall.”

In a statement released today, the GEO calls on the UI administration to work transparently and creatively with workers, students and faculty to respond to state budget shortfalls in a manner that does not place the primary burden on workers and students.

The statement, “University of Illinois Budget Myths and Facts,” responds directly to administration budget claims that the GEO feels are questionable.

“Ikenberry’s statements signal a privatized U of I that is accessible only to the wealthy,” said Campbell. “Investing in the university’s workers and students is the best way to build an accessible, diverse and quality educational future for us all.”

Because Illinois citizens, students and low paid workers are suffering the most from the current economy, “it doesn’t make sense for the state to pull out of funding for higher education, and for the University to hike tuition and fees,” said Mukta Tripathy, GEO Officer-at-Large.

The GEO and the newly formed UC United coalition call for a tuition and fee freeze, an end to layoffs and furloughs of workers and faculty, a democratic campus with shared governance in policy decisions, the recruitment and retention of a diverse campus population of workers, students, and faculty that is truly representative of the State of Illinois, and transparency about the UI budget.  The UC United Coalition also calls for progressive state and federal funding for all levels of public education.

The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus.  On March 4^th, the GEO will join the “UC United” coalition of students, workers, and faculty in Urbana-Champaign will hold a major rally as part of the March 4^th National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

For more information, please contact Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, at 253-222-5861 or odell.campbell@gmail.com.  More information can also be found on our website at uigeo.org.

###

Read the fact sheet after the jump:

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BUDGET MYTHS AND FACTS

MYTH: THE STATE BUDGET CRISIS HAS TO CRIPPLE UNIVERSITY FUNDING. Interim President Stanley Ikenberry says that while the state should “resolve its financial crisis immediately,” he sees no “signs of it happening.”  The GEO calls on President Ikenberry and the UI administration to do more to demand the money owed to the U of I, and to publicly join students, workers, and faculty on all three UI campuses in pressuring the legislature to fulfill its financial obligations.

Such public pressure has not been forthcoming from top UI administrators, making it more difficult for Illinois state legislators who favor improved public funding for higher education.

FACT: UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PUSH FUNDING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. The UI administration consistently implies that the current budget shortfall is a new crisis. However, for over a decade the UI administration has consistently failed to resist state cuts in public University funding.

President Ikenberry’s statements in the News-Gazette that the U of I will have to rely primarily on tuition dollars to fund instruction are reflective of several years of UI administration efforts to move to a privatized model of University funding that relies primarily on tuition and corporate funds.  Ikenberry even says that the University of Illinois will have to look to Northwestern and other expensive, inaccessible private schools as future models for UI policy.  This privatized University model is completely contrary to the mission of the University of Illinois as a public, land-grant institution.

By failing to invest in students and workers, the state of Illinois and the University of Illinois administration are ensuring that the residents of Illinois, students, and low paid workers are hardest hit by the state and national economic crisis.

MYTH: A TUITION INCREASE IS NECESSARY TO STOP THE UNIVERSITY FROM SHUTTING DOWN. While Ikenberry claims that up to a 20% tuition increase is necessary to keep the University from shutting down, an independent audit from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) (download the .pdf at uigeo.org/publicity-materials/), the University of Illinois’ financial situation is “solid.”  The money currently owed from the state constitutes a very small portion (less than 1%) of the overall UI budget, and tuition increases, layoffs, and furloughs are not warranted.

According to the audit, the “UI system had approximately 12% of reserves as of June 30, 2008.”  As this is 12% of the TOTAL budget, including “restricted funds” that the UI administration claims cannot be used for instructional expenses, “a reduction in a few months of the state appropriation should easily be handled from current cash reserves,” according to Cary Nelson, AAUP President.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BUDGET MYTHS AND FACTS

FACT: ADMINISTRATIVE FAILURE TO ACT LEADS TO MORE PRIVATIZATION AND CORPORATIZATION, UNDERMINING PUBLIC EDUCATION. The GEO believes that the UI administration is using the current cash-flow problem to further the privatization and corporatization of the University, a policy that a recent national poll by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education claims is partially responsible for decreased public interest in state funding for Universities.   (http://www.publicagenda.org/pages/squeeze-play-2010).

FACT: INVESTING IN THE UNIVERSITY, ITS WORKERS AND STUDENTS, ACTUALLY GENERATES A SURPLUS.  INSTEAD, UNIVERSITY POLICIES SIGNAL A PUSH TOWARD PRIVATIZATION.

For example, graduate teaching assistants– even after their wages are subtracted– actually generate tuition dollar surpluses for the University for every course taught.  Yet a memo circulated by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to LAS department heads encouraged departments to further reduce the “cost per instructional unit” by hiring adjuncts to teach large classes rather than graduate instructors to teach small ones.

This directive not only ignores the goal of educational excellence, but also focuses on cutting a sector that is crucial to the University’s mission, when much larger economies could be made by curtailing spiraling administrative costs.

The response to the budget shortfall must not be to increase tuition, to fire and furlough workers and faculty, and to force colleges and departments into larger classes with fewer instructors.

Also, an article and photo covering to the GEO’s pre-strike contract negotiations and demonstrations can be found on page 12 of the Nov/Dec issue, which is also available.

Union officials also raised questions about the need for furloughs and the university’s budget priorities.

“I’m still not totally sure that the university is in as dire straits as they let on,” Miller said.

McGuire said the university’s budget actually grew by $500 million this year, from $4.2 billion to $4.7 billion, though not from state sources.

He noted that the governor hasn’t asked for a budget rescission yet.

“I’m not saying there isn’t an issue here, but I think they’re getting a little ahead of themselves,” McGuire said.

Miller wondered what the UI will do if and when the state catches up on its payments. Ikenberry indicated employees could be reimbursed if the UI receives its full appropriation, but he expressed doubt that that will happen.

Peter Campbell, communications officer for the Graduate Employees’ Organization, said the furlough policy is an improvement on earlier proposals. But he said furloughs aren’t necessarily “the best way to respond to this crisis.”

He’d like to see more efforts to shift funding away from administrative units to academic programs.

(If the above link to the interview does not work, you may also access the audio file here.)