Husky Grad Assistants May Strike
University of Washington students may get to sleep in Monday morning. The school's graduate teaching assistants plan a walkout.
Members of the Graduate Student Employee Action Coalition, which represents 1,400 teaching assistants and other graduate employees, are demanding the union be recognized by the university. University administrators say they will not bargain with GSEAC unless the Legislature specifically authorizes it.
"We're in negotiations with the administration, and unless they recognize and begin bargaining with us, then the strike will be on for Monday," said GSEAC spokeswoman Melissa Meade, a graduate student in communications.
The union hasn't made any specific demands yet, Meade said Saturday. However, union organizers have raised concerns about wages and health care benefits.
Administrators and university police said they met with GSEAC representatives to discuss ground rules for demonstrations.
"We suspect they'll picket the main gates to campus, may undertake a sit-in or occupation of a facility or two," University Police Capt. Randy Stegmeier said in Saturday's Seattle Times. "We've told them we expect that to happen."
With final exams approaching, a strike could hinder the school's ability to finish grading exams on time. The university relies heavily on graduate students to help professors teach and grade courses.
Some professors have said they will not issue grades during the strike except to students with special needs, such as those applying to law school or with financial aid tied to performance.
University President Richard McCormick has assured students the university has contingency plans. In a letter to faculty members, he suggested professors use final exams that could be graded quickly.
According to the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions, graduate student unions are officially recognized as collective bargaining agents in the State University of New York system, the University of California system, 14 other state universities and the City University of New York.
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