More than a month has passed since the last time state negotiators and the University of Wisconsin’s Teaching Assistants Association convened at the bargaining table.
The stretch without a new round of contract proposals may soon end.
The TAA, state and UW negotiators agreed to meet April 19 to hash out more details of an agreement that has been about 10 months in the making.
“We’ve been trying over the past couple of weeks to work this thing out,” TAA publicity chair and material sciences and engineering TA Jonathan Puthoff said. “It was a mutual thing to come back to the table.”
Puthoff said he believed the negotiators’ decision to convene for a bargaining session could be attributed to the TAA’s organization and activity.
“The pressure is starting to take effect,” Puthoff said.
Puthoff also said academics and professors in UW departments have issued formal letters of support or resolutions supporting TAA positions. Students have also offered their support to the union.
“Virtually the entire university community is behind us,” Puthoff said.
Though the resolution to return to formal contract negotiations could be considered as a ray of hope in the 10-month drought without a TAA contract, Puthoff cautioned that just coming back to the table does not mean an agreement is near.
“They could just come back and offer us a [junky contract],” Puthoff said. “Nothing fundamentally has changed.”
Puthoff noted that department voting for a two-day walkout and a subsequent grade strike would continue as planned until Monday at 9 a.m. The strike would affect more than 1,000 TAs and project assistants in more than 30 departments.
UW TAs and PAs have worked without a contract since July 2003. Office of State Employee Relations officials say Wisconsin’s budget deficits have caused resistance to giving in to TAA demands, and that other state employees have negotiated to pay more for formerly no-cost benefits, such as health care.
TAA negotiators, who on average get paid between $11,000 and $12,000 a year, say a no-cost health-care benefit is very important. They are also focusing on a salary increase and a moderate living wage for UW to stay a competitive employer in recruiting graduate student employees.
