Please have your voice heard by participating in the UWO
RA/GSA Pre-Bargaining Survey!
Hello, fellow researcher at UWO,
This Thursday, June 28th, between 10am – 3pm in Social Sciences Center 2036,
anyone holding a current contract as a Research Assistant (RA) or Graduate
Student Assistant (GSA) will be eligible to vote to form a collective bargaining unit
similar to the one that Teaching Assistants (TA) and Postdocs (PD) have at
Western. This unit would join PSAC Local 610 as an affiliated but separate
decision making body that would then negotiate a contract with our employer,
UWO. This campaign has been endorsed by both the Society of Graduate
Students and the UWO Faculty Association.
The TA and PD Union has made great gains since signing their first collective
agreement in 1992. For instance, since unionizing, TAs and PDs have access to
an Extended Health Plan that supplements our SOGS coverage, have clearly
articulated expectations and duties in the form of standardized contracts, and have
made significant increases in hourly wage.
To achieve similar gains for RAs and GSAs, we should get a clear picture of our
current working environment. To that end, the UWO Organizing Team has
developed a Pre-Bargaining Survey. So, if you can, please take a few minutes to
share your assessment of your workplace. Feel free to answer as many or as few
questions as you would like.
This survey is open to all graduate students holding a written contract of
employment as a GSA or RA this summer term 2012. If RAs and GSAs form a
union, this survey will help us off to a good start by having everyone’s input about
what we would like to bring to our negotiations with our employer. It is the first step
towards consulting with you about the kind of improvements we should work
towards achieving. The information you provide will remain strictly confidential,
and will only be used to help decide which issues we will bargain for.
If you have any questions, please contact us at 226 – 378 – 6986.
Yours sincerely,
The UWO RA/GSA Organizing Team
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PRE-BARGAINING SURVEY
I. BARGAINING PRIORITIES
1. What are the five most important issues your Bargaining Team should address?
Ο Wages & salaries
Ο Health and Safety. Specify:_______
Ο Health benefits
______________________________
Ο Job security
Ο Ability to address unfair supervision
Ο Employer-funded Childcare
Ο Paid leave
Ο Conference travel funds
Ο Transparent hiring procedure
Ο Fair access to research facilities
Ο Hours of work
Ο Access to Bursaries/scholarships
Ο Protection of intellectual property
Ο Clear specification of duties
2. To what extent is it a priority to improve the following aspects of your working
conditions? (Please rank each of the bargaining issues with an “x”)
Very High
priority
High
priority
Indifferent
Low
priority
Very low
priority
Wages/Salaries
Benefits (Eg. Health
Insurance, Parental Leave)
Overwork
Respectful relationships
with your
supervisor/colleagues and
Clear Specification of
Duties
Prevention of Harassment
and/or Discrimination
Employer-funded
Childcare
Fair Distribution of
Appointments and Job
Security
Attribution/Credit for Your
Research Findings
Transparency in Hiring
3. Do you have sufficient access to the following facilities and resources?
Computer
Ο Yes Ο No
Library
Ο Yes Ο No
Lab equipment
Ο Yes Ο No
Printer
Ο Yes Ο No
Photocopying
Ο Yes Ο No
Office space
Ο Yes Ο No
Software
Ο Yes Ο No
Other. ________ Ο Yes Ο No
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JOB SECURITY/EQUITY
1. Do you agree that the distribution of appointments in your department is done fairly?
Ο Yes Ο No
Ο Not sure
2. Do you agree that the criteria used for distribution of appointments in your
department are…
clearly outlined?
Ο Yes Ο No
Ο Not sure
fair?
Ο Yes Ο No
Ο Not sure
3. Is the compensation or wage for hours of research equal for every member of
your department, regardless of international/domestic student status?
Ο Yes Ο No
Ο Not sure
HEALTH & SAFETY
Have you experienced any health and safety problems in your workplace?
Ο Unsafe Equipment
Ο Noise level
Ο Stress
O Air quality
O Safety considerations when working at night
O Sexual harassment
Ο Mental health
Ο Other___________________________________
OTHER COMMENTS
Please highlight any additional issues or problems you would like to address:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. Please indicate your primary faculty/department.
Ο _____________________________________
2. What is your job title? Please specify if possible.
Ο Research Assistant
Ο Graduate Student Assistant
Ο Other. _______________________
3. Which best describes your status?
Ο Full-time graduate student Ο Part-time graduate student
5. Which best describes your educational background?
Ο PhD student
Ο Masters student (M.A., M.Sc., MBA, LL.M., etc.)
Ο Other
Thank you for contributing your observations. All information in this survey is
strictly confidential.
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