Status of Negotiations with SEIU Local 73
SEIU Ratifies ISU Offer
The University is happy to share that earlier today (October 15, 2021), the members of Service Employees International Union Local 73, the Union that represents the Graduate Teaching Assistants at Illinois State, ratified the University’s September 28, 2021, offer. This ratification draws negotiations for a first Graduate Teaching Assistant contract to a close. The resulting two-year contract is effective as of October 15, 2021, although stipend increases will be retroactive to the start of the fall 2021 semester.
Over the following weeks, Human Resources will work with the Graduate School and other campus partners to implement this contract. Once available, the new contract book will be posted to the Human Resources webpage and an updated Graduate School Handbook will be posted on the Graduate School’s webpage.
Following is a summary of the stipend increases and other components of the compensation package contained in the ratified contract:
- Effective August 1, 2021, or the start of the graduate teaching assistant’s fall 2021 appointment, whichever is later:
- Current graduate teaching assistants making below the applicable new minimum stipend will receive the new minimum stipend:
- Master’s minimum stipend at .50 FTE (20 hours/week) = $1,200/month
- Ph.D. minimum stipend at .50 FTE (20 hours/week) = $1,300/month
- Current graduate teaching assistants with a different FTE will receive a proportional increase.
- Current graduate teaching assistants making above the new minimum stipend will receive a 3% increase.
- Current graduate teaching assistants making below the applicable new minimum stipend will receive the new minimum stipend:
- Effective August 1, 2022, or the start of the graduate teaching assistant’s fall 2022 appointment, whichever is later:
- Returning graduate teaching assistants making below the applicable new minimum stipend will receive the new minimum stipend.
- Master’s minimum stipend at .50 FTE (20 hours/week) = $1,300/month
- Ph.D. minimum stipend at .50 FTE (20 hours/week) = $1,400/month
- Returning graduate teaching assistants with a different FTE will receive a proportional increase.
- Returning graduate teaching assistants making above the new minimum stipend will receive a 2% increase.
- Returning graduate teaching assistants making below the applicable new minimum stipend will receive the new minimum stipend.
- All graduate teaching assistants will continue to receive a full tuition waiver, regardless of FTE.
- Graduate teaching assistants will receive a fee credit of 10% of the cost of mandatory student fees, up to 9 credit hours in the fall semester and 9 credit hours in the spring semester, based on mandatory fees as of the 11th day of classes in the semester. This fee credit will be applied beginning this semester.
- All graduate teaching assistants who pay the Student Health Insurance fee and remain enrolled in the student health insurance plan during the final month of the semester will receive reimbursement (less taxes) of the Student Health Insurance Fee each fall and spring semester, beginning this semester. This expands this benefit for the first time to .25 FTE graduate assistants.
We are pleased to provide this good news and are happy that, after almost two years of negotiations, we were able to reach an agreement that is competitive, sustainable, and fiscally responsible.