In April 2001, tension between graduate students at MSU was mounting.
They were about to vote on whether graduate employees should form a union. Since 1969, the Council of Graduate Students had represented graduate students on campus, but employees did not have a contract.
That month, graduate employees on campus sent in ballots on whether to create a union. It passed 692-192.
The union now represents about 1,400 graduate employees, while COGS represents the entire graduate student body, about 8,000 students.
COGS, the graduate student government, works on academic graduate issues while the Graduate Employees Union works on monetary compensation and health insurance for its members.
“At first we were severely divided, before the election,” said Kimberly Yake, the treasurer for the union and COGS. “There was quite a bit of tension then. But now, even some people who were opposed to it are for the union. They say, ‘I want to have my say.’”
While COGS makes academic suggestions to the MSU Board of Trustees, union members are negotiating a contract for graduate employees. Negotiations have been going on since October.
The union will mail ballots next week to 600 members to vote on an April 15 strike.
“I think there has been some tension in the past, but I think the tension will continually decrease as the GEU becomes more established,” Yake said.
Members of COGS were disappointed with the amount of attention they received after the union’s creation. They said although their tactics weren’t as flashy as the union’s, it didn’t mean they weren’t worthy of attention.
Yake said she thinks the disappointment about lack of attention might be diminishing.
“COGS would support GEU getting press because it brings attention to graduate issues,” she said. “We just want more press for all graduate students and this is all part of it.
“I think most of the tension came because it was a new thing and for people in COGS, the union was new and they weren’t sure how things would work out and they weren’t sure how COGS would decrease in importance.”
Tony Nunez, associate dean of the Graduate School, said the graduate student government’s influence is diminishing.
“COGS has representation and votes in several important university committees,” he said. “The creation of a (teaching assistant) union does not change this fact in any way.”
Graduate student government officials said some graduate employees in sciences opposed the union formation because they were making more money than employees in other academic areas.
“If a union goes in and says everyone has to be paid at level x, everyone making $1,000 are now going to be making $1,100 and the fear from people in the sciences is that they would see their pay reduced from $1,500 to $1,400,” COGS President Sam Howerton said. “The union claims that will not occur, but like anything else, you don’t know until the fat lady has sung. There’s no reason to get all worked up about it now.”
Howerton said he couldn’t comment about whether he supported the union.
“The president’s job is to not take an opinion,” the chemistry graduate student said. “My job is not to endanger COGS, but to strengthen it.”
Although he wouldn’t disclose his position on the union, he said both organizations conduct important duties for graduate students.
“(The union) frees up time for COGS to focus in on smaller problems that have been overlooked in the past,” he said.
James Eric Lambert, a philosophy graduate employee, voted in favor of the union.
“I do believe it is necessary and believe that the GEU addresses issues that other existing organizations do not and are not designed to,” he said. “Nothing against COGS, but it seems to me that it is designed to serve different functions.”
Jessica Goodkind, president of the graduate union, said she thinks COGS and the union can work together to improve graduate student life. There are no plans for the organizations to work together.
“I don’t think we have an adversarial relationship and I don’t think we should,” she said. “Both organizations care about graduate issues and employees, but we have a different constitution.”
Goodkind said she thinks the union is gaining support from science departments on campus. Several members of the union’s bargaining team are from those departments.
“We build our bridges and we’ve made inroads to the departments who were originally reluctant,” said Duncan Woodhead, a member of the union’s bargaining team.
Although Woodhead, a graduate employee in the history department, said progress is being made with employees from the science departments, there are graduate students who think they will be hurt by a signed contract.
The union has been negotiating with administration for its first contract since October.
Woodhead said administrators were trying to convince employees in the science departments that their pay would be decreased if a union was formed.
Administrators declined to comment on negotiations.
“The administration knows one of the difficult things about unionizing is when the employer can conquer and divide the employees. These graduate employees are given a sense of false consciousness, when let’s face it - every one graduate employee has crappy health care, nor protection.”
Sarah Abraham, MSU-Detroit College of Law’s representative to COGS, said she thinks people who are afraid of losing money should look out for the graduate student body.
“Everybody is always worried about the last nickel and dime and they have to stop looking at that,” she said. “There are more important things, like the education we’re getting. Are TAs being over worked?”
As for now, Abraham, who is not a graduate employee, said she likes the idea of the two organizations being separate.
“I do support the union, but I think it’s great that they are separate,” said Abraham, who will take over as one of COGS’ top officials in April. “Being a graduate employee is different than being a graduate student - it’s two independent organizations.”
