In the blistering cold, a crowd of about 20 individuals wearing scarves, thick jackets and bright neon pink and green GET-UP stickers huddledÿat several campus buildings yesterday afternoon writing in blue books.
Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania held a "five-minute midterm rally" at spots such as Logan Hall, Williams Hall, College Hall, the Graduate School of Education Building and the Moore School yesterday in an attempt to once again convey to the administration their concerns about the rights of graduate students to unionize. By grading the administration in areas pertaining to graduate life, ranging from work conditionsÿto health insurance, the graduate students hoped to elicit a response from administrative officials.
"We feel like the administration doesn't listen enough to individual graduate students," Philosophy Ph.D. student Shane Duarte said. "This is a way of registering our discontent and demand for a union."
GET-UP is currently still engaged in National Labor Relations Board hearings in downtown Philadelphia over the rights of Penn humanities graduate students to unionize.ÿUniversity lawyers are currently wrapping up their case before an NLRB arbiter.
GET-UPÿbegan presenting its case yesterday, with itsÿfirst witness taking the stand.
"We expect to be finished with our testimonies by the end of spring break," GET-UP spokesman Ed Webb said.
There has been controversy regarding the amount of time the hearings have taken.ÿThe proceedings have now lasted for nearly two months, and each side has accused the other of employing stall tactics.
GET-UP maintains that the administration has attempted to delay the hearing process through the use of repeated testimonies.
However, Deputy Provost Peter Conn counters that the hearings "would have concluded already if GET-UP had not repeatedly revised their definition of the bargaining unit." During the third week of hearings GET-UP announced that it would no longer seek to represent students from Penn's professional graduate schools.
The idea for yesterday's five-minute rally came out of a discussion between GET-UP Chairwoman Tina Collins and Events Committee members Erin McLeary and Mark Bostic.ÿRealizing that this time of year is one of the busiest periods for graduate students because of midterms, the committee wanted to coordinate something that would bring people together while not taking up too much time.
Graduate students took five minutes out of their schedule around midday to meet at various buildings throughout campus. In the spirit of midterms, they obtained blue booksÿto write down their grades and comments for University administrators, specifically University President Judith Rodin.
At least one building coordinator was at each predetermined location to oversee the process. Three coordinators traveled from building to building toÿgather all of the blue books.
Steve Jauss, a Philosophy Ph.D. student, took time out of his day to go to Logan Hall and fill a blue book with his concerns.
"My most urgent concerns have to do with the kind of communication that's gone on between the administration and the graduate students," Jauss said.ÿ"I have been disappointed in a number of ways."
Jaussÿcited as examples of communication problems the neglect of administrators to inform graduate students about the change in health plans,ÿsuch as the alteration of the benefits structure, and the lack of open dialogue between all graduate students and the administration.
In response to these and other complaints, Conn stressed the amount of time and effort that the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee puts into developing a health insurance plan each year.
"The complaints about health insurance are understandable but based upon a failure to appreciate the difficult choices which the University and its administration and SHIAC have to confront," Conn said.
"I would acknowledge that communication between the administration and both graduate and undergraduate students last year was the subject of controversy, but as a matter of fact, the information [regarding health insurance] was put in front of the community in a reasonably timely way," he added.ÿ"Knowing in advance that [the] health insurance issue is of particular concern, we have accelerated our schedule."
The five-minute mini-rally also provided an opportunity for GET-UP leaders to "keep members involved so they know what's going on and see a concerted action," according to Duarte.
"This was a dramatic representation of a certain amount of dissatisfaction," he said.
Later yesterday afternoon, Collins and GET-UP representative Joanie Mazelis took all the collected blue books and delivered them to Rodin's office. However, Rodin was not in her office at the time, and they were forced to present the books to one of her secretaries.
According to event organizers, there were a total of 130 blue books, which Collins said made the event a success.
"We're trying to emphasize that this is a process people want to happen," Collins said.ÿ"The rallies and member meetings and other events we've had are designed to really show that people care about this issue and are willing to come together to demonstrate that."
The administration, however, "did not see huge numbers streaming out of buildings," according to University spokeswoman Lori Doyle.
"Here's an exam question for GET-UP: Why has GET-UP chosen to exclude a large part of the graduate student body from the union?" Doyle said. "This does not add up. And on this issue, I'd give them a D, since we're grading each other."
The issue of the definition of the bargaining unit has been a point of controversy in the unionization process. While the University argues that GET-UP is not representing graduate students as a whole, GET-UP counters that modifications of the bargaining unit are normal and in keeping with precedents set in other graduate student unionization cases.
Though GET-UP leaders say they are unsure about how the administration may respond to yesterday's rally, Collins said that they would like for the issues that they have brought up to be addressed and to be recognized.
With a membership meeting planned for Wednesday in which the proposed constitution for GET-UP will be introduced, Collins said she hopes that people will see GET-UP as an organization that has not just been using rhetoricÿas a means to gain support.
"We want to emphasize that this is continual and getting bigger," Collins said.ÿ"It is something that should happen and will happen, andÿhopefully in the things that we're doing, people will see that there is already a structure put in place."
