Some UF graduate assistants will be rallying today on Turlington Plaza to make it known they’re not OK with paying to work.
Members of UF Graduate Assistants United will hold a “Spring Broke” rally at 1 p.m. to support graduate assistant fee relief.
The chapter hopes to engage students by highlighting the union’s goal to fight for better employment conditions to contribute to UF’s “Rise to Preeminence” campaign, said John Hames, co-president of GAU.
The organization consists of nearly 4,000 graduate and teaching assistants at UF who have long been fighting for better employment conditions at UF.
“The tuition waiver we get, the health care package we get — that was because members of GAU organized and fought for those benefits,” Hames said.
Hames will speak at the rally in addition to Paul Ortiz, UF associate professor of history and representative for the United Faculty of Florida. There will also be free pizza and a satirical performance based on the serious issue of these fees, according to a press release.
Schools such as the University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley, require their graduate assistants to pay only 2 percent of annual fees. UF, however, requires assistants to pay at least $1,400 per school year, regardless of income differences, according to a GAU report.
The organization’s research shows this flat fee leads approximately 44.9 percent of all graduate assistants to meet the federal threshold to financially qualify for Medicaid.
Diana Moreno, GAU chief coordinator, said she feels the fees are unfair.
“Many of us are parents, trying to provide for a family,” said Moreno. “Unfortunately, our stipend right now isn’t enough to do so, and with the fees it becomes an issue of poverty.”
Hames said graduate assistants are, in many cases, the face of the university because their work plays an integral role. This notion led GAU to negotiate with UF for a $40 fee relief in the form of a rebate, in addition to a $2,000 increase in stipends for assistants working 20 hours per week for the 2014-2015 school year.
The small fee relief led GAU to create a Facebook campaign and advertise #UFGAUSpringBroke. Members were encouraged to post what they would do if they didn’t have to pay GA fees.
Moreno said many submissions were from people who want to get their teeth checked, need new eyeglasses or want to visit family they haven’t seen in a while.
“These are the kind of stories that broke my heart,” she said, “but at the same time they highlight the importance of why the university needs to pay attention to this issue.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 - 4 on 3/13/2015 under the headline “‘Spring Broke’: graduate assistants rally against fees today”]
