Graduate Employees Union @ MSU

Interested in representing yourself, your colleagues and your department? Become a GEU Department Steward!

Upcoming Meetings
June 4th from 5-7 pm
July 2nd from 5-7 pm
August 6th from 5-7 pm

Stewards are an integral and important part of our ability to assist our members.  Stewards, once trained, function as union member representatives at work. The steward training is designed to prepare members to recognize potential grievances and investigate and represent bargaining unit members in lower-level grievance hearings and investigatory meetings. Stewards are GEU members who represent GEU and fellow members in their MSU departments.

Being a steward involves a bit more responsibility than just being a member, but the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made a big difference in someone’s life makes it worthwhile.

If you want to know more about how your contract works, how to interpret contract language, what constitutes a grievance, how to deal with management, how to investigate a possible grievance  or what rights you have in the workplace as a union member, Stewards Council is for you!

An active group of members can make the difference between having power and being powerless!

All departments are required to notify us (if we applied) if we have a TA position for Spring 2013 by December 1st. This notification was a hard fought battle to give us some job security and the ability to plan. It’s important that we enforce this benefit. If you do not hear a YES or NO from your department by December 1st – contact the Union office immediately. We will contact the University on your behalf and if you do not receive a letter within three days – you will be eligible for 2 weeks additional pay.

A couple of details…

1. If your department offered you a year long appointment then they have satisfied the provision.

2. Email notifications are okay – but don’t delete them!

3. The letters need to say yes or no, definitively. The language cannot say, you have a job pending budget allowances or anything like that. A clear yes or no is what you need to have in your hand.

If you have questions, please email the office at geu@msu.edu.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to your second MSU payday of the semester! If you didn’t get paid, or aren’t getting paid the right amount, let us know right away!

How do you know if you’re getting paid the right amount? Here’s how to check:

Our insurance package just received a major upgrade thanks to heath care reform.

• An unlimited lifetime maximum (previously $250,000 lifetime maximum);
• Preventative services covered at 100% with no co-pays with Preferred Providers;
• Prescription policy year limits increase to the policy year maximum of $250,000 (previously $25,000)
• Contraceptive drugs/devices covered at 100% with no co-pays (note that co-pays will apply for brand name drugs when a generic equivalent is available);
• Outpatient substance abuse (previously $3,969/year), well-baby care (previously $500/year) and dental injuries (previously $500/year) covered up to the policy year maximum of $250,000;
• Inpatient mental health (previously $3,000/year) now covers up the policy year maximum of $250,000.

If you’re not getting paid, there are several things you can do to rectify the situation.

1) Contact the Graduate Employees Union! Just email us at geu@geuatmsu.org . We’re here to help you through situations like this!

2) Speak the the administrative assistant of your employing department. Often they can get the process moving, but sometimes they can’t, can’t in a timely manner, or something else is causing a problem.

3) Contact payroll. Sometimes paperwork can get back logged, and they can help move things more quickly or even potentially cut you a handwritten check.

4) File a complaint with the state at http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/email_parser/before_filing_wage_claim.htm . That may sound drastic, but it is a mechanism the university has recommended that TAs use in order to get the money they are owed, and it helps more TAs be paid on time in the future. If you have questions about this, just contact the GEU.