We made significant progress at our second bargaining session on Monday! We agreed to ground rules, proposed eight new articles, heard counter-proposals from the University on two of our previously proposed articles, and received one new proposal from the University. This means that UNH and UNH-GEU are now negotiating 17 total articles, with many more remaining. The articles presented so far are considered “non-economic” or aren’t necessarily related to how we are compensated but involve broad policies and rules that we follow as graduate employees. We will be proposing economic articles very soon! 

The ground rules we agreed to permit members of the bargaining unit to observe bargaining sessions with the potential to participate as subject matter experts when appropriate. From day one, it has been essential for us to be transparent in this process, so we were not going to accept ground rules that wouldn’t allow other graduate workers to observe these sessions. 

Noteworthy articles proposed thus far include: 

• Grievances and Arbitration: We have proposed a transparent and fair process for Graduate Workers to file grievances related to their working conditions. Graduate Workers should feel empowered to speak up when they are mistreated. 
• Workspaces and Materials: We demand that Graduate Workers only work in clean and safe conditions. No one should work in a mouse-infested office or need to walk to another building to use the bathroom. Graduate Workers should not have to pay for any items or materials required to complete their job.
• Workload: We demand that Graduate Workers work only for the amount stated in our contract. If we are getting paid for 20 hours, we should only have to work 20 hours.
• Health & Safety: Graduate workers should be able to work in a safe and healthy environment. We should not be subjected to unsafe working conditions or forced to work while we are sick. 

We updated our website so everyone can more easily track our progress and read the articles that we’ve proposed. More on that soon!

Our next bargaining session will be Monday, October 21st, at 1 PM. Please come out to observe negotiations and support the bargaining committee! We need every one of you to show UNH how we stand united!

UNH-GEU-UAW Bargaining Committee