Alaskan Graduate Workers Association organizes sit in after bargaining session cancelled
Union takes to Butrovich Building to address UA President Pat Pitney
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - On Feb. 27, the Alaskan Graduate Workers Association also known as AGWA-UAW gathered at the Butrovich Building where they had a sit in, protesting the cancellation of a scheduled bargaining session.
Facing a tight deadline to ratify a contract with the University of Alaska System (UA), the union expressed their discontent with a lack of negotiation progress by organizing a sit in and marching into UA President Pat Pitney’s office to express their concerns and issues. Many union members at the sit in expressed concerns that the UA system had cancelled the session to put off negotiations inevitably keeping system finances lower and graduate student income lower.
The lack of negotiation progress has become a paramount concern for the union which faces a tight deadline to ratify a contract this year.
Requiring approval from the state legislature, if the union and the UA system are to ratify a contract they will need to do so by April 25. If they cannot ratify a contract by that time, they will have to wait until fall of 2025 for a new contract to take effect.
Graduation of current union members is also a concern adding to the stress of the short timeline, along with concerns of keeping momentum alive. For union member Carter Freymiller, that possibility is a serious concern for him since he’s pursuing a masters degree and is expected to graduate this spring.
If they can get a contract ratified in time, their priorities are focused on changes to graduate student income and healthcare benefits.
One of the union members said that in her first year on contract, she was only paid $461 bi-weekly. This adds up to just under $12,000 for the entire year. While some graduate students do get paid more, the increased pay sometimes comes from grants provided to the student directly or their academic departments.
The low income makes living in Fairbanks difficult according to Victor Devaux-Chupin, one of the union members. “There wasn’t an adjustment for inflation,” in recent years said Devaux-Chupin. This means that as the cost of living has risen, the already low paid graduate students have faced increased struggles to pay for basic needs. “I have $300 a month leftover if I don’t buy groceries,” said Freymiller.
While Devaux-Chupin admits housing options can be more affordable here than in big cities, those cheaper rental units are often comprised of dry cabins which means graduate students must also account for other costs such as buying their own water and bringing it to their cabins.
Health care is another big issue for the graduate students citing a lack of in-network options here in Fairbanks, requiring many graduate students to travel for Anchorage for health care. Other concerns they want changed in their contract include their at-will status as employees. Freymiller expressed concerns of being let go from his job without cause due to his identity and the identities of other graduate student workers.
While the union is frustrated with the bargaining process as it stands, the UA system says they only cancelled the Feb. 27, bargaining session due to a misunderstanding of ground rules set by both parties. That misunderstanding surrounding testimony was given to the state legislature on behalf of AGWA-UAW.
One thing the two parties do agree on is an effort to make the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) an R1 university. The R1 designation pertaining to their research status. This designation indicates a high level of research expenditure and PHD graduates, for which the university is hoping to average about 70 PHD graduate over the next few years. AGWA-UAW, however, says that one thing preventing this from happening is a lack of the union contract, which if it were to be ratified, the union says it would help get UAF to an R1 status.
While in person negotiations have been temporarily put on hold, the negotiation process is still underway with the two parties exchanging contract articles by other means.
Copyright 2024 KTVF. All rights reserved.
