Anti-Harassment
As a TA, you are guaranteed fair employment practices and protection from harassment by the Union and your Employer. The Agreement between both parties maintains that you will be able to work in a safe working environment and will not be discriminated on the basis of age, color, gender, disability status, height, marital status, familial status, etc (7:I). In regards to the Memorandum of Understanding (B), the employer is responsible for facilitating employee orientation sessions, as an opportunity to review University policies.
Appointment Letters
As a TA, you should receive notification of your employment for any TA position you apply for. The department should notify in clear language that you HAVE an appointment or that you DO NOT and that you will be placed in a hiring pool. The appointment letter will include details of salary, effective dates, and if known, teaching or work schedule (11.I.B). The employer will make all information regarding employment positions available for graduate students. Some positions will be set aside for recruitment purposes. (11.II.A). Your employer will post information regarding application procedures and a list of available courses. As a potential applicant, you are allowed to submit a written request on preferred available positions. (11.II.B). You will be notified no later than March 31 regarding a summer assistantship and April 22 for a Fall and Spring appointment (11.III.A). After three working days, if you have not been notified regarding your future employment, you will receive two weeks pay from your employer (11.III.A). If you accept this pay, it will satisfy any grievance related to the situation (11.III.A). An employment pool will be established for applicants who meet employment qualifications and who may be appointed at a later date. Upon request, your employer will inform you in regards to your position in the employment pool (11.IV).
Evaluation and Personnel Records
As a TA, your faculty supervisor will submit each semester a written evaluation of your teaching performance to the employing department (16.II). Student evaluations will also be collected and placed in your personnel file (16.III). You have several rights guaranteed by the contract with respect to this personnel file. First, you should be notified prior to any visits or observations. Second, you may request that your supervisor come and observe your teaching if, for instance, an earlier observation was under unfortunate circumstances. Third, you have the right to request a meeting with your supervisor concerning a completed formal evaluation (16.VII). Fourth, you have the right to obtain copies of formal written evaluations (16.VIII) and a union representative may accompany you, if you wish, to view your personnel file. Finally, you may respond in writing to any evaluations and have these comments placed in the personnel file (16.VI).
Employee Rights and Resources
As a TA, the contract guarantees your access to several resources on campus. With the purchase of a parking permit, you may park in all Faculty/Staff lots south of the Red Cedar (9.III). You also have access to loading zones and handcarts if you need them to transport teaching materials (9.IV). You have the right to office keys and most departments are also required to provide building keys (9.V). Once inside the building, you have the right to a telephone, the internet, desk space (9.VIII), a mailbox (9.XIII), and an MSU email account with storage space for teaching-related correspondence (9.XIV).
Furthermore, you have the right to supplies and resources (e.g., printing, copying, pens) that are necessary for the normal operation of your classes (9.V, 9.VII). The grievance committee has been successful in securing reimbursements for TAs who spent their own money on printing or copying and has typically accomplished this without having to file formal grievances. You, as a respected teacher at MSU, also have the right to be consulted before a change is made to any grade that you have assigned to a student (9.IX).
Workload
As a Teaching Assistant your appointment will carry an average weekly workload of 10 (1/4 time), 20 (1/2 time), or 30 hours (3/4 time) throughout the course of the semester. If you are required to work more than the average amount of hours determined by your contract, the employing unit must increase the appointment fraction — and by extension your pay — or reduce the workload.
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You can find additional information in our quarter-page flyers that summarize various articles of the contract.
