Graduate teaching assistants at Kansas University are gearing up for another round of contract negotiations.
The three-year contract between KU and the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition, the union representing KU's approximately 900 teaching assistants, expires in October 2005. Union officials say they are hoping to gain ground on salary and benefits, but are not ready to talk about details.
"There are definitely some issues we want to address in the current contract," said Brian Lindaman, co-president of the coalition. "I can't be more specific about that because we are still in the midst of determining those."
Lindaman said he's expecting the coalition to submit a letter to KU outlining the group's requests early next year, with negotiations starting in late spring.
The current contract, the second since teaching assistants formed the union, was adopted in October 2002 after 22 months of negotiations. The previous contract remained in place until the new contract was ratified.
The contract adopted in 2002 set a minimum salary of $8,000 for graduate teaching assistants during that year, which was increased to $10,000 this academic year.
It also pumped an additional $3 million per year into teaching assistant salaries in the form of merit raises.
The raises were provided with funds made available through tuition increases. Future tuition increases may help determine how much money is available for salaries.
"That's something that did come into play, that it was one of the first major tuition increases on that scale," Lindaman said. "I'd say it was certainly a factor."
The Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition is gearing up for another round of contract negotiations next year. Graduate teaching assistants like Monique Laney, a graduate student who teaches a western civilization class, depend on the GTAC to support them in efforts to gain benefits and better pay for the work they do.
The contract also said KU could seek an increase in the level of state health care coverage provided by the Kansas Health Care Commission. The commission agreed and increased the amount it provides for insurance plans.
Ola Faucher, director of human resources for KU, said administrators remained content with the result of the bargaining.
"I believe we feel we negotiated a good contract," she said.
But coalition members plan to tweak the contract. Members have been meeting for a year to discuss what they'll ask for during their bargaining period.
Faucher declined to say whether KU planned to present issues of its own.
"It's too early," she said.
But both Lindaman and Faucher agreed that the goal is to move the negotiation process along quickly. The current contract would remain in place after the October 2005 expiration date, but both sides still would like the process to be completed by then.
"I'd say we are very hopeful that GTAC and KAPE (the Kansas Association of Public Employees, of which GTAC is a member) and the university can come to an agreement like we did last time," Lindaman said. "We're very hopeful. That's been our experience in the last two contracts."
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