Categories: Updates

Grad workers win Workers’ Compensation

Grad workers met with Penn admin for another bargaining session last Thursday, August 21. During the session:

We reached a tentative agreement on Workers’ Compensation.
Admin passed counterproposals on Union Security, Union Rights, Support for International and Immigrant Workers, and Disability Accommodations.
Grad workers passed counter-proposals on Prohibition of Discrimination and Harassment and Union Rights.

Our tentative agreement on Workers’ Compensation ensures that graduate workers who are injured on the job continue to receive pay and benefits. Admin also responded to two key non-economic articles: Union Security and Union Rights. These articles are both essential for maintaining a strong union with the resources to educate members about our contract and enforce that contract. Encouragingly, admin’s counterproposal on Union Rights moved on the issue of instituting a union orientation for grad workers. However, admin’s counterproposal on Union Security made no significant movement from their last counter.

In their counterproposals on Support for International and Immigrant Workers and Disability Accommodations, the University declined to put in our contract the essential rights and protections grad workers need. Admin continues to insist that the bare minimum is adequate for disabled grad workers, and they cynically invoke student status to deny key support and protections for international workers.

After further discussions with admin about Prohibition of Discrimination and Harassment, grad workers passed back a counter-proposal that we believe provides a path toward an agreement that ensures all grad workers have a right to a workplace free from abusive and discriminatory conduct.

Sign up here to attend an upcoming bargaining session and bring your coworkers along! Our next bargaining session will take place on Monday, September 8 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the Inn at Penn.

In solidarity,

The GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee

Clara Abbott

Emily Aunins

Peter Bailer

Oishi Bardhan

Kal Brown

Caitlin Frazee

Katelyn Friedline

Adina Goldstein

Sam Herrmann

Jimmy Kelliher