As the clock struck midnight Monday, MSU’s Graduate Employees Union still was without a contract.

Union and university officials did not report a settlement before the deadline.

On April 10, both sides signed an agreement that midnight would be the target date for the competition of negotiations - to no avail.

Union and university negotiators have been negotiating since 3 p.m. Monday trying to resolve four issues that need to be signed. At press time, both sides still were hammering out matters.

Health and dental insurance, child and family care, tuition waver and salaries remain unresolved after both sides signed four tentative agreements on Thursday. All 24 noneconomic issues have been signed.

Members of the union, which formed in April 2001, have been negotiating with administrators since October. The first tentative agreement was signed October 16.

The union represents 1,400 teaching assistants and graduates who do administrative work.

Union officials have called a 5 p.m. membership meeting for today to decide on its next step.

Union President Jessica Goodkind said members have not ruled anything out - including a strike during finals week.

David Hecker, president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel, said he isn’t surprised health care and salary are delaying an agreement. The federation has been advising the graduate union during talks.

“Health care costs are certainly going up,” he said. “In any negotiation, a lot of times it’s a trade off. Do you want health care and little less in pay? Do you want more in pay and sometimes less in health care?

“Our hope is to get the pay increase they deserve and the health benefits they deserve and we’re also realistic and we know that sometimes it takes time.”

On Monday afternoon, Hecker said he was hopeful both sides would meet Monday’s midnight deadline, set on April 10. He said he thought the agreement would speed up talks.

Almost 90 percent of eligible members of the union voted for a one-day strike on April 15, but its steering committee decided against it. Hecker said he was pleased with that decision.

“We got this agreement on the administration to settle by (Monday),” he said. “So we thought that was a very good strong commitment and we focused on that, rather than the one-day work stoppage.”

MSU spokesman J.T. Forbes said the university will work to sign a contract. If a tentative agreement between the university and the union is finalized, Forbes said MSU Provost Lou Anna Simon would sign it and accept it on behalf of the university.

At about 6 p.m. on Monday, Emily Martin Hondros, a graduate employee in the American Studies Program, said she wasn’t optimistic that the union would receive a contract and would be disappointed if they didn’t.

“It seems to me there are too many issues that the administration and the union don’t agree on. and it seems like there’s not enough time,” she said.

She said she wouldn’t be mad if the union didn’t get its maximum request on every issue.

“I think that our work should be valued and that it should be recognized,” she said. “Any recognition is important - our jobs are there to keep the university running.”

She said she plans on attending the membership meeting and isn’t sure if union members will strike, but she has heard the rumor.

Janna Wittenberg, a psychology junior, said she thinks a strike during finals week would be less effective than other times in the year. She said she doesn’t want the union to strike but can understand why they would.

“As far as TAs go, in one of my psych classes, the professor gave her the class for a third of the semester,” she said. “She had to teach it and had to grade the tests and run the class. It’s not like they’re just standing there and crying wolf.”

Chad Previch can be reached at previchc@msu.edu.