Members of Graduate Assistants United, the union for all graduate assistants at UF, rallied Tuesday in protest of two proposed bills that would take away the rights of unions in Florida.
Jose Soto, co-bargaining chair of GAU, said about 150 people, mostly GAU members, showed up on the Plaza of the Americas to defend their rights as union members.
One of the bills in question, Senate Bill 830, will eliminate the deduction of wages used to directly finance union dues. It would go into effect July 1.
Soto said this would make it harder to collect dues.
If passed, House Bill 1023 would require that unions have membership of at least 50 percent of the labor force they represent to have the ability to collectively bargain.
Collective bargaining is a negotiation between a labor union and an employer, usually dealing with wages, hours or working conditions.
Soto said there are about 4,400 graduate assistants, only 700 of which are part of GAU.
If HB 1023 is passed, GAU would need at least 2,200 members to be able to retain collective bargaining rights.
He said if that happens, things like health care for international graduate assistants, stipends and other benefits couldn’t be bargained for in contracts because they are negotiated by GAU.
“Everything that is promised to them won’t necessarily be there in the future,” Soto said.
UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said things are constantly changing and the university thinks it is too early to comment on the situation.
“Like the GAU, the university is closely watching what is happening with the unions and in Tallahassee,” she said.
Soto said he and GAU will continue to work with the UF administration in hopes of continuing the relationship they have had and to work out what is going on in Tallahassee.
“We have a very important shared goal: to improve Gator Nation,” he said.
