A date has been set for a third-party mediator to hear arguments between the Graduate Employees Union and university officials regarding a dispute on the wording of an eight-month-old contract.

The two parties will begin talks March 5, union President Scott Henkel said.

The graduate employee contract, ratified in May, says teaching assistants with at least four semesters of experience will be promoted to the highest level of pay. The promotion means a raise of $700 per year.

Both sides are interpreting the wording of the contract differently, Henkel said.

"We feel the language is pretty clear," Henkel said. According to Henkel, once teaching assistants have completed four semesters of teaching and have obtained their master's degree or equivalent they should receive the raise.

But the union claims colleges consider four semesters a minimum and require more experience for the raise.

Both parties are gearing up for the meeting which will take place in Southfield.

Each side will have witnesses present information and a mediator from the American Arbitration Association will make a decision.

Neither side has named witnesses.

"We honestly expected this to be taken care of in the first steps of the grievance procedure," Henkel said.

The grievance was filed on Sept. 6.

But Graduate School Dean Karen Klomparens said these kinds of grievances are to be expected with a new contract.

"I don't know if we had an expectation one way or another," Klomparens said. "With every new contract you're developing a new relationship and you have to understand what the words mean.

"You have to have special conferences, and grievances and arbitration are just a part of the process."