Categories: Updates

Update from our first bargaining session!

Last week, grad workers met with Penn admin for our first bargaining session! In a show of strength and unity, over 50 graduate worker observers joined the bargaining committee for today’s session to kick off our contract campaign.

We’re thrilled that so many observers came to the bargaining session, filling the room and spilling into the hallway. Unfortunately, not everyone who came could fit in the room, and due to a lack of chairs, people had to stand for hours in order to observe.

We pushed Penn admin to hold bargaining sessions in a larger room. Thanks to the pressure of over 50 observers in the room, Penn admin reluctantly agreed to pursue booking a larger room in order to accommodate more observers moving forward.

In today’s session:

Our Bargaining Committee introduced ourselves and presented our Initial Bargaining Demands, which have been ratified by a strong majority of over 2,000 Penn grad workers!
Penn admin made a commitment to bargain in good faith. We look forward to holding them to that commitment.
We proposed 5 articles: Labor-Management Meetings, Severability, Holidays, Travel, and Workspace and Materials.
Penn admin proposed an article on Management Rights.
We are pleased to announce that we were able to come to a tentative agreement on Labor-Management Meetings. This marks our first step towards a complete collective bargaining agreement.

However, we were disappointed that management responded to only two of our five proposals, Labor-Management Meetings and Severability. We hope management will respond to our proposed Holidays, Travel, and Workspace and Materials articles next bargaining sessions. We also hope to receive more timely responses to our proposals in future meetings.

It was exciting to begin bargaining with so many grads joining to observe in the room! When grads are engaged both at and beyond the bargaining table, we build the foundation for a strong contract. Let’s stay active, join future bargaining sessions, wear GETUP-UAW swag, and participate in future actions to win a strong contract. If you are interested in participating in the process of crafting proposed language, sign up to join a working group focused on a specific issue.

RSVP here to attend and observe an upcoming bargaining session!

In solidarity,

The GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee

Clara Abbott

Emily Aunins

Peter Bailer

Oishi Bardhan

Kal Brown

Eli Fastow

Adina Goldstein

Sam Herrmann

Austin King