About 20 supporters of MSU's Graduate Employees Union - carrying a poster-sized "invoice" to President M. Peter McPherson's home Wednesday evening - demanded more than $2 million in lost benefits and back pay from the president.
"We go to McPherson, because the buck stops at President McPherson," union President Scott Henkel said.
The union represents about 1,200 graduate teaching assistants on campus. Henkel said the university owes some of these students money for lost pay, tuition waivers and health-care benefits.
TAs are granted nine free class credits for every semester they teach. They're paid on a time- and experience-based scale ranging from $533 to $2,042 per month.
University officials were unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.
The protest began at the Natural Sciences Building, where supporters were led out of the area by union Vice President Duncan Woodhead, who chanted, "Let's go see Pete," as the group made its way to Cowles House, the official campus residence of MSU's president.
Once at the house, the group displayed the invoice and a sign signifying repossession of the house - because McPherson has not paid his bill to the graduate employees, union members said.
Woodhead, standing in front of the crowd, knocked on McPherson's door.
"How appropriate, the lights are on, but nobody is home," shouted a union supporter in the crowd, after no one answered the knock.
Shortly after the comment, the lights inside the house turned off.
Union members covered the front entrance of the house with construction tape.
Sociology graduate student and rally participant Brian Thomas said he was amused by the display.
"I thought this was a budget crunch," he said, laughing at the darkened house. "They should turn the lights out."
The latest issue on the union's plate is regarding a grievance on letters sent to TAs. The letters, which notified TAs that they have a job, used language that led the employees to believe their employment existed only so long as the budget held out, Woodhead said.
Of the $2,175,488 requested from the university, $705,888 of the amount is for a grievance the union won in August, regarding graduate assistants' pay scales.
Henkel said the group has yet to come to an agreement with the university about back pay for TAs.
The remaining money equates to $266,400 for lost tuition waivers and $1,203,200 for health-care benefits lost by what Henkel said is a reclassification of the TAs' titles.
Henkel said by changing TAs' job titles to "instructors," but not changing their job descriptions, they are being robbed of many of their benefits.
Henkel said the union filed a grievance with the university and will enter into arbitration Jan. 28.
History graduate student John Grant said she was angered at the university's treatment of the union.
"The university shows a general lack of respect for our organization," he said. "They continue to drag on issues that don't need to be dragged on."
Joseph Montes can be reached at montesjo@msu.edu.
