Frequently Asked
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General FAQs
1) What is GEU-UAW?
GEU-UAW is the Graduate Employee and Postdocs Union at the University of Connecticut. We work as Graduate Assistants (GAs), Teaching Assistants (TAs), Research Assistants (RAs), and Postdocs. We represent all of these units and engage in collective bargaining with UConn.
2) What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is a process that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. Under collective bargaining, we elect co-workers to be representatives who negotiate with UConn and put the terms of our employment into a binding contract. With collective bargaining, graduate employee and postdoc unions have more power to negotiate for improvements in wages, hours, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment.
Without collective bargaining, UConn has unilateral power to change our conditions, such as the dramatic cuts they made to our health benefits in previous years, the increase in the cost of student fees not covered by our tuition waivers, and increased teaching loads. Since our benefits are secured in a Union contract through collective bargaining, UConn cannot make such changes without our agreement.
Collective bargaining gives us the power to negotiate with UConn and allows us to decide democratically what issues to prioritize in these negotiations. Through collective bargaining, we have been able to secure major wins, such as stipend increases, job security, improved childcare subsidies, paid parental leave, workload protections, etc. To read more about our wins and gains from the latest CBA, click here.
3) How does collective bargaining work?
During bargaining years:
4) Do other graduate employees and postdocs have Unions?
Yes. Graduate employees at more than 150 U.S. institutions have unions and engage in collective bargaining. This includes the University of Massachusetts (Amherst, Boston, and Lowell), University of Rhode Island, New York University, SUNY, CUNY, Rutgers, University of Michigan, University of California, and many others. Postdocs at the University of Washington, University of California, University of Massachusetts, and Columbia University are also unionized.
5) Why are we part of the UAW?
UAW is the International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). UAW has historically been one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. In recent decades, 100,000 employees in higher education have joined, making UAW the single largest union of higher ed academic employees in the US. Academic employees from the University of California, Harvard, University of California, Columbia, University of Washington, and many more have found that joining UAW has allowed them to democratically determine priorities as a workforce and dramatically increase power to win improved rights and benefits through collective bargaining.
6) What was the process to form our union?
The process revolved around a majority of us choosing to have a Union. Connecticut state law says that if a majority of employees sign cards saying they want to be represented in collective bargaining by a Union, then the Union can be certified and the employer would be legally obligated to start negotiations for a contract. State law also says that if less than a majority, but more than 30%, of employees sign those same cards, the state labor board would administer an election in which employees vote on whether to be represented by the Union. If a majority of those voting in the election vote “yes” for the Union, the Union would be certified and the employer would be legally obligated to start negotiations for a contract.
7) What are the rights of international students and postdocs to participate in the union?
International students and postdocs have the same legal right to join and participate in a union as U.S. citizens. In fact, thousands of international graduate employees and postdocs have participated in Unions over the last few decades at more than 150 campuses across the US.
Arguably the UAW has done more than any other organization nationwide to improve conditions for international students and scholars. At UConn, graduate assistants negotiated for their visa fees waived in their union contract.
For years UAW has fought hard to ensure that the contributions of guest workers are elevated and that the terms and conditions of their employment are improved. The UAW helped lead the fight to ensure that the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program was expanded after a lawsuit that threatened to reduce it. Recently the UAW helped lead the fight against the Executive Orders issued by Trump which targeted international students and scholars.
The UAW’s commitment to international students and scholars stems from the leadership of international students and scholars themselves. Postdoc and graduate employee unions affiliated with UAW are often lead by international students and scholars, who serve in top leadership positions in local unions nationwide.
8) How much are membership dues? Will I be forced to join the Union?
Dues are important to any union because they provide the financial resources necessary to equalize power with the employer. Membership dues are currently 1.095% of our gross salary.
Dues support a variety of resources that will give us the clout to represent our members. These include educational, legal, negotiating, and other membership services. Dues also contribute to organizing new groups of workers and political action.
Under Connecticut state statute, no one is required to become a member of our union. However, our union represents all UConn graduate employees and postdocs, regardless of membership.
9) Do we have the right to strike?
In Connecticut, we do not have the legal right to strike. This just means we will have to come up with other tactics to build power in our negotiations with the University. In lieu of the right to strike, we also have the right to arbitration in the event negotiations reach a stalemate. This means, when our bargaining committee and UConn cannot come to an agreement, both sides take our proposals to a neutral arbitrator, who chooses the most fair options.
10) Why is a grievance procedure important and how does it work under a typical Union contract?
Our current contracts for both GAs and postdocs include a grievance procedure, which is a process agreed to by the Union and the employer that allows employees to enforce the rights, pay, and benefits negotiated in the contract. Though grievances are typically resolved quickly and informally, most contracts allow for unresolved grievances to be taken to a neutral arbitrator so that the University does not get to decide unilaterally whether they violated the terms of the contract.
In the past, we’ve helped employees resolve issues related to workload, late pay, ungranted leave, etc. If you are experiencing any issues in the workplace or suspect that your rights are being violated, please contact us immediately. The Union will help you resolve workplace issues; however, we will never proceed with any grievances unless you feel 100% safe and comfortable to do so, and we will work to find a solution that has your best interest at heart.
11) Will the Union force equal wages upon graduate employees and postdocs from different departments?
No graduate employee and postdoc union has negotiated a reduction in pay for any group of employees. And since our input and feedback (through bargaining surveys and other mechanisms) will guide our elected bargaining committee in any future negotiations with the University, it is hard to imagine this happening here at UConn either. The typical contract includes percentage annual increases for everyone represented by the Union. Some contracts give a larger raise to people at the bottom of the pay scale, but still give everyone a raise.
Our contract sets minimum pay for all graduate employees and postdocs but has never stopped a department from paying an employee a greater amount than that set in the contract.
GEU-UAW is the Graduate Employee and Postdocs Union at the University of Connecticut. We work as Graduate Assistants (GAs), Teaching Assistants (TAs), Research Assistants (RAs), and Postdocs. We represent all of these units and engage in collective bargaining with UConn.
2) What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is a process that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. Under collective bargaining, we elect co-workers to be representatives who negotiate with UConn and put the terms of our employment into a binding contract. With collective bargaining, graduate employee and postdoc unions have more power to negotiate for improvements in wages, hours, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment.
Without collective bargaining, UConn has unilateral power to change our conditions, such as the dramatic cuts they made to our health benefits in previous years, the increase in the cost of student fees not covered by our tuition waivers, and increased teaching loads. Since our benefits are secured in a Union contract through collective bargaining, UConn cannot make such changes without our agreement.
Collective bargaining gives us the power to negotiate with UConn and allows us to decide democratically what issues to prioritize in these negotiations. Through collective bargaining, we have been able to secure major wins, such as stipend increases, job security, improved childcare subsidies, paid parental leave, workload protections, etc. To read more about our wins and gains from the latest CBA, click here.
3) How does collective bargaining work?
During bargaining years:
- We elect graduate employees/postdocs to be our bargaining committee\
- We fill out surveys and give other feedback to the bargaining committee so that it can develop initial bargaining demands that reflect our interests
- We vote to approve the initial demands prior to negotiations with UConn.
- Once our bargaining committee reaches a “tentative agreement” it believes meets our needs on pay, benefits, and other terms of employment, we vote on whether to approve it as our next contract. Under state law, if our bargaining committee cannot reach agreement with UConn on certain issues, they can enter interest arbitration. Under this process, each side presents its “last best offers” to a neutral arbitrator who decides which proposal on each outstanding issue will be part of the final contract.
4) Do other graduate employees and postdocs have Unions?
Yes. Graduate employees at more than 150 U.S. institutions have unions and engage in collective bargaining. This includes the University of Massachusetts (Amherst, Boston, and Lowell), University of Rhode Island, New York University, SUNY, CUNY, Rutgers, University of Michigan, University of California, and many others. Postdocs at the University of Washington, University of California, University of Massachusetts, and Columbia University are also unionized.
5) Why are we part of the UAW?
UAW is the International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). UAW has historically been one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. In recent decades, 100,000 employees in higher education have joined, making UAW the single largest union of higher ed academic employees in the US. Academic employees from the University of California, Harvard, University of California, Columbia, University of Washington, and many more have found that joining UAW has allowed them to democratically determine priorities as a workforce and dramatically increase power to win improved rights and benefits through collective bargaining.
6) What was the process to form our union?
The process revolved around a majority of us choosing to have a Union. Connecticut state law says that if a majority of employees sign cards saying they want to be represented in collective bargaining by a Union, then the Union can be certified and the employer would be legally obligated to start negotiations for a contract. State law also says that if less than a majority, but more than 30%, of employees sign those same cards, the state labor board would administer an election in which employees vote on whether to be represented by the Union. If a majority of those voting in the election vote “yes” for the Union, the Union would be certified and the employer would be legally obligated to start negotiations for a contract.
7) What are the rights of international students and postdocs to participate in the union?
International students and postdocs have the same legal right to join and participate in a union as U.S. citizens. In fact, thousands of international graduate employees and postdocs have participated in Unions over the last few decades at more than 150 campuses across the US.
Arguably the UAW has done more than any other organization nationwide to improve conditions for international students and scholars. At UConn, graduate assistants negotiated for their visa fees waived in their union contract.
For years UAW has fought hard to ensure that the contributions of guest workers are elevated and that the terms and conditions of their employment are improved. The UAW helped lead the fight to ensure that the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program was expanded after a lawsuit that threatened to reduce it. Recently the UAW helped lead the fight against the Executive Orders issued by Trump which targeted international students and scholars.
The UAW’s commitment to international students and scholars stems from the leadership of international students and scholars themselves. Postdoc and graduate employee unions affiliated with UAW are often lead by international students and scholars, who serve in top leadership positions in local unions nationwide.
8) How much are membership dues? Will I be forced to join the Union?
Dues are important to any union because they provide the financial resources necessary to equalize power with the employer. Membership dues are currently 1.095% of our gross salary.
Dues support a variety of resources that will give us the clout to represent our members. These include educational, legal, negotiating, and other membership services. Dues also contribute to organizing new groups of workers and political action.
Under Connecticut state statute, no one is required to become a member of our union. However, our union represents all UConn graduate employees and postdocs, regardless of membership.
9) Do we have the right to strike?
In Connecticut, we do not have the legal right to strike. This just means we will have to come up with other tactics to build power in our negotiations with the University. In lieu of the right to strike, we also have the right to arbitration in the event negotiations reach a stalemate. This means, when our bargaining committee and UConn cannot come to an agreement, both sides take our proposals to a neutral arbitrator, who chooses the most fair options.
10) Why is a grievance procedure important and how does it work under a typical Union contract?
Our current contracts for both GAs and postdocs include a grievance procedure, which is a process agreed to by the Union and the employer that allows employees to enforce the rights, pay, and benefits negotiated in the contract. Though grievances are typically resolved quickly and informally, most contracts allow for unresolved grievances to be taken to a neutral arbitrator so that the University does not get to decide unilaterally whether they violated the terms of the contract.
In the past, we’ve helped employees resolve issues related to workload, late pay, ungranted leave, etc. If you are experiencing any issues in the workplace or suspect that your rights are being violated, please contact us immediately. The Union will help you resolve workplace issues; however, we will never proceed with any grievances unless you feel 100% safe and comfortable to do so, and we will work to find a solution that has your best interest at heart.
11) Will the Union force equal wages upon graduate employees and postdocs from different departments?
No graduate employee and postdoc union has negotiated a reduction in pay for any group of employees. And since our input and feedback (through bargaining surveys and other mechanisms) will guide our elected bargaining committee in any future negotiations with the University, it is hard to imagine this happening here at UConn either. The typical contract includes percentage annual increases for everyone represented by the Union. Some contracts give a larger raise to people at the bottom of the pay scale, but still give everyone a raise.
Our contract sets minimum pay for all graduate employees and postdocs but has never stopped a department from paying an employee a greater amount than that set in the contract.
