The Office of State Employment Relations rejected the fourth 2003-05 contract proposal made by the Teaching Assistants’ Association in the past year and a half during a meeting Wednesday.

OSER representatives also presented a new contract offer, which, if accepted by the TAA, would deny members a wage increase and no-premium health care benefits, according to TAA Spokesperson Melissa Thompson. The no-premium health care benefits would cost a monthly fee of $11 for single members and $21.50 for members with families.

This latest offer was made in response to last week’s proposal from the TAA. The proposal expressed members’ willingness to accept a wage freeze in order to keep the zero-premium health care plan members of the union possessed in previous years.

Thompson said the TAA, which bargains contracts with the state on behalf of University of Wisconsin’s roughly 3000 TAs and project assistants, has demonstrated it is actively interested in moving the bargain system forward, but OSER negotiators are “taking several steps back.”

“This is a punitive offer,” Thompson said. “This is worse than anything they have ever offered.”

OSER Executive Assistant Susan Crawford confirmed OSER declined the TAA’s counter-offer from last week, saying the new proposal from the state is reasonable and TAA members should look at the offer very closely.

Crawford added that if the TAA has a disagreement with a specific part of the proposal, OSER representatives are “certainly willing to hear them out on it.”

“It is a very fair offer,” Crawford said. “We are trying to meet them in the middle.”

OSER also offers health insurance premiums at half the rate than to other bargaining units across the state that already approved their contract.

Despite this, Thompson said the state’s offer from last spring included $948,000 that UW was putting toward compensation for members. However, at the meeting the state said the university had spent that money during the period of negotiation and it was no longer available.

“[The] state gave us the crap we rejected months ago, but a million dollars less [of] it,” said Mike Quieto, English TA and chair of TAA Political Action Committee.

Crawford said the primary issue that needs to be solved for both sides is the premium health insurance, but she said there is a benefit to the TAA members to accept Wednesday’s offer.

The TAA has a general membership meeting March 15 to determine whether to accept or decline the state’s offer. However, Thompson predicted members would not accept the state’s proposal because in adjusting for inflation it would result in six out of eight pay categories worse off than they currently are if adjusted for inflation, especially members with families.

“In my opinion, the members of the TAA are very concerned with looking out for each other,” Thompson said. “None of us seem interested in taking a contract that may harm the person next to us.”

Thompson added that the many months of contract bargaining for the 2003-05 contract have put negotiations for the 2005-07 contract behind schedule.

“We are very behind because of this inability to meet in the middle,” Thompson said.

Crawford disagreed and said although bargaining is behind for the 2003-05 contract, it has not delayed bargaining for the 2005-07 contract. She said negotiations do not normally begin until May or June when the state’s budget proposal has been further advanced.

“The ball is in their court now,” Crawford said.