Bargaining Update: April 10, 2023

In this email

  • The TL;DR of the April 7 bargaining session...
  • ...and what to expect when we come back next week.
  • We want to see your bargaining memes!
  • Resources and dates to stay informed and get involved

Last Friday’s meeting was the second bargaining session that GTFF has participated in with UO’s bargaining team. Shout out to 65 members and allies who showed up to support our efforts! 


GTFF has presented 13 proposals so far (more to come in upcoming sessions!) and UO has only presented 3 proposals. They have communicated that we should expect to see more of their proposals at the next session.


Want to see if they keep their word? We'll be at the bargaining table every other Friday from 123pm in McKenzie 221. Save the dates below, and read on for more details!


  • Friday, April 21, 123pm
  • Friday, May 5, 123pm
  • Friday, May 19, 123pm
  • Friday, June 2, 123 pm
  • Friday, June 16, 123 pm

If you weren't able to attend, here's what happened:


  • UO’s team is still unprepared for our meetings! However, our team was ready for this and filled the three-hour session by walking through, in detail, our proposed changes to Articles 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 25, and 35 of our contract, as well as Appendix A. You can follow along with the full proposals on Trello.


  • In other words, we mainly focused on our non-economic proposals related to health and safety and having a respectful workplace. Here are some highlights.


  • In general, UO’s team didn't have much to say. However, they did have a lot of questions (and some confusion) around our plan to solve an issue many GEs face when they are hired for hourly work below the minimum FTE and do not receive the benefits of our contract. It's pretty simple: We believe that if you're doing GE work, you deserve to have GTFF benefits!
Read Our Proposals

What happens next?

We’ll be back in McKenzie 221 on April 21 from 12–3pm. On the agenda:


  • important protections for international GEs 
  • administrative needs for our incredible Health and Welfare Trust
  • …and more!


We need your support to make these changes happen.


Please stop by when you can or stay for the entire session! Bring a colleague, wear a GTFF shirt or pin, and take your bets on whether the UO team will follow through on bringing new proposals. We need to keep showing the University how committed we are to getting the protections, compensation, and benefits we require for our important work. UO works because we do!

Do you like to make memes? We want to see them!

Who doesn't love a good meme made by your fellow union comrades? Throughout this bargaining cycle the university will give us more than enough material to make quality memes to boost our morale. These memes will also help communicate with our membership and the public about how the negotiations are going over the next few months. If you have a bit of inspiration, feel free to share your memes by tagging us on Instagram, adding them to the #random channel on Slack, or sending them to our VP for Member Communications, Rosa, at [email protected].

Resources and Dates

  • To send comments or questions to the Bargaining Team, fill out our Feedback Form.





  • Weekly internal Bargaining Team meetings are Tuesdays 68pm in the GTFF office and on Zoom. Members are welcome to attend!
Black and white text on a red and black banner reads, "GEs Deserve Dignity." The logo to the right of the banner shows a red star overlaid with black text reading "GTFF 3544" and encircled by text reading "Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation Collective Bargaining."

If you have questions or would like additional GTFF updates, email Rosa at [email protected].

Stay connected! Join Slack, our members-only community space, and follow us on Instagram.


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