Contract Article Flyers

Below are bullet-point summaries of various articles of our contract. (You can also find them as quarter-sheet flyers.)

Article 7: Anti-Harassment

  • MSU and GEU are committed to the principles involved in civil rights, fair employment practices, and diversity.
  • TAs at MSU are protected from harassment based on age, color, gender, disability status, height/weight, familial status, national origin, politics, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or union activity.
  • MSU is responsible for providing a safe working environment, which is conducive to teaching and learning and free from disruption.
  • The Employer is thus required to hold regular communication and training for TAs regarding university policies and ordinances, as well as practices that may be used to deal with harassing and disruptive behavior.
  • TAs are protected from harassment by students, as well as by colleagues or faculty. This includes challenges to your authority, pressure to change grades, or behavior that is disruptive, threatening or harassing (including via email). If parents ask about their child’s grade, you are not allowed to discuss it unless you have received permission from the student.
  • If you feel physically threatened, contact the police immediately. For all instances of potential harassment, inform your Faculty of Record as soon as it occurs, even if you are unsure that the incident constitutes harassment. Keep written records of any potential harassment issues.
  • Contact the GEU (geu@msu.edu) if your working environment is unsafe or harassment issues have not been resolved to your satisfaction.

Article 9: Employee Rights

You have the right to…

  • Purchase a parking permit that is valid in Faculty/Staff lots south of the Red Cedar River.
  • Park in loading zones and borrow handcarts for the purpose of loading/unloading TA materials.
  • Any materials required for your duties as a TA (e.g., pens, paper, copies, books) at no cost to you. If you purchase necessary materials or make copies, you are entitled to reimbursement.
  • Access your building and office at any time (i.e., the department should give you keys).
  • Borrow books from the library for 180 days.
  • An MSU email address and a physical mailbox.
  • Access to a telephone, the internet, and a desk.
  • Storage space for final exams and grading records.
  • Be consulted before any change in the grades you have assigned to your students.
  • Take exception to information or views presented in the course you are teaching.

Furthermore, you have the right to a safe working environment (Art. 7) and union representation at disciplinary meetings (Art. 12).

Article 10: Employment Period

Fall Semester – August 16 to December 31
Spring Semester – January 1 to May 15
Summer Semester – May 16 to August 15

Article 11: Appointments

  • Decisions about appointments and assignments are made by the employing unit.
  • Information regarding all available job openings for graduate students should be made available by the employer, including qualifications, application procedures, and due dates.
  • Each employing unit should make public a list of course that are typically taught by TAs or that expect to have TAs assigned to them. This list should be updated as new opportunities become available.
  • TAs should be able to submit, in writing, their preferences for employment.
  • All newly appointed and reappointed TAs should receive at letter of appointment that specifies the appointment time fraction, the effective dates of employment, salary, and, if known, the teaching schedule and FOR.
  • TAs must be notified of the decision to employ or not employ by March 31 for the following summer semester, by April 22 for the following fall semester, and by December 1 for the following spring semester.
  • TAs who do not receive a notification letter and who aren’t offered a position will receive two weeks pay at the rate they would have received had they been appointed.
  • Employing units should maintain a pool of qualified applicants for any employment opportunities that become available after the notification deadlines.

Article 12: Job Security

  • Appointments are to be made for semesters, not weeks or months (except in unforeseen circumstances, e.g., a TA needing to be replaced mid-term).
  • Employment automatically terminates at the end of the employment period. Additionally, the employer has the right to terminate an appointment if the TA fails to meet the following requirements:
    • Be in Good Standing
    • Be enrolled as a full-time student (6 credits for Master’s student; 3 credits for PhD student; 1 credit for post-comp PhD student)
  • The academic matters above are NOT subject to our GEU grievance procedure.
  • Unsatisfactory performance on the part of the TA shall be handled by the employer in the following manner:
    • The matter is first discussed with the TA
    • Written summaries of discussions are available to the TA upon request
    • When possible, summaries are also available to the GEU
    • If correction is possible, the TA is given at least a week to do so
  • Discipline that is based on just cause is a right of the employer. With respect to disciplinary action:
    • The TA will receive a written copy of any disciplinary action
    • The employer may discharge the TA as a result of an accumulation of minor infractions or a single serious infraction
    • The TA may appeal a suspension or discharge through the GEU grievance procedure (beginning above the department level, if necessary)
    • The TA has the right of GEU representation at any disciplinary meeting

Article 13: Workload

  • TA appointments come in three varieties: ¼ time (10 hours/week), ½ time (20 hours/week), and ¾ time (30 hours/week).
  • The hours per week are averages for the entire 18-week semester. There may be weeks that you work more (e.g., exam weeks) and weeks that you work less (e.g., December 18–24).
  • If your average workload exceeds the appointment fraction, then your department is required to reduce your workload or increase your appointment fraction (which would come with a raise). See the grievance procedure for doing this (Article 26).
  • All TA-related activity counts as work (including responding to student email).
  • The GEU contract contains a worksheet that can be used during a discussion with your supervisor to clarify expected duties and time commitments.
  • If workload may be issue for you, it is important to document your hours. The GEU has worklogs available that can be used for this purpose.
  • New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are holidays on which you are not expected to work.
  • We have up to 30 days after the semester to file over work grievances.

Article 19: Stipends

  • Our contract guarantees minimum stipends for all TAs (see this post for 1/2 minimums and our full contract for all the minimums). These are minimums, so departments are free to pay higher stipends to their grad employees (and many do).
  • In the 2007-2008 negotiations, we secured a 2.5% salary increase from 2009-2010 to 2010-2011.
  • We have three stipend levels that correspond with TA experience:
    • Level 1
    • Level 2 — for those with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) or two semesters of TA experience at MSU (relevant experience elsewhere can also count)
    • Level 3 — typically for those with 6 semesters of TA experience at MSU, though some departments only require 4 or 5 semesters (relevant expreience elsewhere can also count)
  • Section VI guarantees that TAs “shall not be paid stipends less than they received in any prior year” from that same department.

Health Care Benefits

  • TAs are automatically enrolled in the Graduate Assistant (GA) health care plan through Aetna Student Health as part of the “compensation package.” This is different (read: better) than the general MSU student plan.
  • If you need to enroll a dependent or Other Eligible Individual (OEI), you need to do so within 30 days of the start of the employment period. For Spring 2010, that’s January 30th.
  • If you have a TA appointment for both fall and spring, your insurance started 8/15/09 and ends 8/14/10. If you have only a fall appointment, you are covered from 8/15/08 to 2/14/10. If you have only a spring appointment, you are covered from 1/1/10 to 8/14/10.
  • You get three (3) free visits per year to Olin Health Center. This includes well-person checkups (i.e. annual physicals). After your first three (3) visits, you may be charged for future visits to Olin if they are not due to sickness or injury. So, if you need to get a referral, check-up or anything else along these lines, go as soon as your coverage starts.
  • You must go to Olin first before going to any other doctor UNLESS it is an emergency or you are more than 45 miles from the MSU East Lansing campus.
  • IF YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY that is life-threatening, call 911 and use the nearest medical facilities. If you have an emergency and Olin is not open, you can go to Sparrow Hospital or Ingham Regional Medical Hospital and your health insurance will cover 95% of your expenses with no deductible. If you are not sure if your situation is an emergency, call the 24-hour Olin Nurseline at 517-353-5557.
  • You may get prescriptions filled at any pharmacy. You have a $5 copay for all generic prescription drugs and a $10 copay for brand-names.
  • If you have questions regarding mental health, dental insurance, vision insurance, dependent coverage or what to do if a claim is denied, the GEU has additional fact sheets on all these topics. You can also contact the GEU HealthCare Advocates Committee at 517-332-2824 or hcadvocates@geuatmsu.org.

Vacations and Leave Time

  • Article 13 specifies the following holidays: New Years (2 days), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (2 days), and Christmas (2 days). Classes are canceled on Martin Luther King Day, but we do not technically have it off work (yet).
  • If any of the cases below occur, requiring leave time, the TA should notify his or her supervisor as soon as possible.
  • Article 18 guarantees the following with respect to illness, injury, or pregnancy: Duties may be reasonably reduced, but if absence is necessary, the TA receives paid leave for two months or until the end of the appointment period (whichever is sooner). Adoption and new fathers can also warrant these 2 months off.
  • With respect to bereavement, TAs have 3 days leave with pay.
  • Jury duty is excused (by law) and Article 18 guarantees compensation for the difference between the normal stipend and jury duty pay.
  • Regular vacations (e.g., spring break, summer session) are not addressed in our contract but are required by the Graduate School to be contained in departmental handbooks. You can expect to be able to leave during spring break, winter break, and a summer session in which you are not teaching. (In the case of summer, most half-time TAs reach their 280 total hours just during the six-week session in which they teach.)

Important Information for Summer Semester

  • Appointment letters for the summer semester should be received by March 31st. If you do not receive notification by this date, contact the GEU (geu@msu.edu)—you may be entitled to two weeks’ pay.
  • To be eligible for a summer teaching appointment, you must be enrolled in at least 3 credits (or 1 credit if you are post-comps). Many TAs use 999 credits for this purpose.
  • TAs receive a tuition waiver for 5 credits during the summer.
  • Health coverage extends until August 15th for those who had an assistantship in the Spring semester. If you were not appointed in the Spring but are appointed in the summer, you are also covered until August 15th.
  • Some graduate students are appointed as instructors for the summer semester. If you are aware of this happening, please notify the GEU (geu@msu.edu) and be aware that instructors are not afforded the benefits and protections of our contract. Instructors are not guaranteed:
    • Health coverage
    • Tuition waivers
    • Workload protections
    • The summer semester spans two 7-week session and one 14-week session. If you are appointed as a TA for one 7-week session, you should not be expected to work during the other 7-week session.
    • Workloads during the summer should not surpass a total of 140 hours for a quarter-time appointment or 280 hours for a half-time appointment. These hours should only reasonably take place beyond the session of your actual teaching.

Weingarten Rights

The following rights of workers were established by a Supreme Court decision in 1975 (NLRB v. Weingarten):

  • You have the right before or during any investigative or disciplinary interview with your employer to request union representation. You cannot be punished for making this request.
  • After hearing the request, your employer must delay the interview until union representation arrives or end the interview immediately.
  • After the request, it is an unfair labor practice for the employer to continue asking questions without the union representative being present. You can refuse to answer these questions and cannot be punished for your refusal.

The union representation referenced in these rights could be your department steward or, in more serious matters, our contract administrator or a member of the grievance committee. Call 517-332-2824 or email geu@msu.edu if you need such representation.

One Response to Contract Article Flyers

  1. Pingback: Grievance Committee Update | Graduate Employees Union @ MSU

Leave a Reply