Bargaining Committee Election
The bargaining committee is an elected group of members whose responsibility is to bargain with the university administration. Regardless of which position they run for, a bargaining committee member must bargain for all graduate workers at the bargaining table.
This responsibility includes not only the work of bargaining—such as writing/researching proposals, attending negotiation sessions, and responding to university proposals—but also talking to members about issues and bargaining updates, coordinating with the organizing committee, and mobilizing workers to action when needed. If elected, bargaining committee members should expect 2-4 hours of work per week, with more work required at critical junctures.
We intend to begin bargaining in December and ask that members interested in the bargaining committee have some availability at the end of November/beginning of December to prepare for bargaining. We expect bargaining to continue into the Spring semester.
Positions Available
Our goal is to have our bargaining committee as representative as possible. We have designated the following number of positions per college based roughly on what percentages of our unit are in each college:
UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics (4 positions)
UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (3 positions)
UAF College of Engineering and Mines (2 positions)
UAF College of Liberal Arts (2 positions)
UAF at-large (1 position)
UAA (any college, 2 positions)
Student (any college/university, must be a Student Assistant 1 or 2, or a Res Hall Assistant, 1 position)
If you are eligible in more than one category (e.g. you're a CNSM student who works in CEM), it is your choice which position to run for. Please send any questions to organize(dot)agwa@gmail(dot)com.
Eligibility & Nominations
Any member who meets the following eligibility requirements is automatically nominated. If you would like to accept the nomination and run in the election, please fill out this form. Candidate statements and photos are not required at time of submission, but should be sent to organize(dot)agwa@gmail(dot)com prior to November 14th.
Eligibility requirements:
Must have been or will be a graduate worker any time in 2023-2024.
Must be a current graduate student.
Our nomination period will run from November 6th to November 13th at 11:59 PM AKST. Eligible members have until then to accept their nomination and run for the bargaining committee.
Balloting
If there are more candidates running for a position than available slots, there will be an election for that position. Everyone may vote on candidates in any category. Voting will take place over email and be done through a secure voting platform (Opavote). Candidate statements and photos will be shared both over email and on this page. Voting will run from November 14th @ 10:00 AM to November 16th @ 11:59 PM. Candidates may campaign at any time, but may not use union meetings or resources (such as phone/email lists) to do so.
The results of the vote will be announced on November 17th.
What do bargaining committee members do?
They bargain! But the process involves more than just showing up to the table. See below for some specific duties:
Assess bargaining unit's primary issues and goals through surveys, conversations, and other tools.
Help ratify initial bargaining goals by talking to members and asking them to sign on.
Develop and craft specific bargaining proposals and counter-proposals to present to university's negotiation team.
Attend and lead negotiating sessions with university and bargaining caucuses with other members of our bargaining team.
Work with the organizing committee to assess unit strength and mobilize workers to action when needed. Attend organizing committee meetings and other committee/work group meetings when possible.
Talk to other graduate workers about how negotiations are going. Keep fellow workers informed and ready to mobilize.
You also don't have to be on the bargaining committee to help out! Our organizing committee is open to anyone and we are always looking for more people to be involved in organizing. If you're interested in getting involved, email organize(dot)agwa@gmail(dot)com at any time!
Is training available for bargaining team members?
Yes! We will hold as many trainings as needed for the elected bargaining committee. Additionally, we will work closely with experienced UAW organizers throughout bargaining who can help BC members not only negotiate at the table, but build power with our members.
When is bargaining over?
Once the bargaining committee and the university negotiation team have a reached an agreement, they send this contract ("tentative agreement") to the membership to vote on. Bargaining committee members can make recommendations to the unit about whether to vote yes or no, but ultimately the decision is in the hands of our members. If a majority votes no, the BC return to the bargaining table. If a majority vote yes, the contract is ratified.