Protesting University of Alaska graduate students call for union contract after judge bars strike

Hundreds of University of Alaska graduate students protested in marches on Monday at the Fairbanks and Anchorage campuses to increase pressure on the university system as it negotiates a contract with their union.

The marches are a step down from a strike the Alaska Graduate Workers Association planned, after a Fairbanks Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday at the request of the University system.

Student employees say the marches come as their window to negotiate closes. The state’s Legislature must approve any agreement made between the students and the state-run university and only two weeks remain until the session adjourns, union member Isabel Olazar said.

“The deadline is rapidly approaching, which is why the union feels the need to ramp up action,” she said.

University of Alaska director of public affairs Jonathon Taylor said the university system also wants to reach an agreement soon.

“It certainly would be the university’s preference that we’re able to reach an agreement in time for the monetary terms to be included for this budget cycle for this fiscal year,” he said.

But Taylor disagreed with the union that this week is a deadline for negotiations.

“There are still other ways for funding and monetary terms to be considered,” he said. “A couple of years ago, we were unfortunately not able to reach a contract with one of our bargaining units in time for inclusion in the legislative session and there was retroactivity language included in that contract so that that could be funded.”

Taylor emphasized that the university is negotiating in good faith. Its bargaining team worked over the weekend and recently put in 12-hour days to come to an agreement, he said. He added that labor negotiations typically take more than a year; bargaining between the university and its student employees began three months ago.

The students voted to unionize in October.

Last week, the nascent union issued an ultimatum to the university that it must ratify a final contract by Monday or face a graduate student worker union strike, according to court filings. The university system said it became aware of the strike plan through social media and a news release. It asked the court to prevent a strike because the union lacked the legal prerequisite to do so lawfully: Negotiations between the union and the university have not reached an impasse.

The workers’ demonstration comes as the University of Alaska Fairbanks pushes to increase its graduate student population in an effort to become a top-tier research university. To be rated among the top 4% of the nation’s research institutions, it must double its Ph.D. student count.

For Carter Freymiller, a research assistant pursuing his master’s degree, increased wages and a fair contract are critical in his decision to continue his graduate work in the state. He said he will likely wait on his doctoral studies if the university can fire workers at will.

“It is unfortunate that if this doesn’t happen, that I wouldn’t be able to pursue a Ph.D. here. Or it would be very challenging. And I would love to be able to do that,” he said. “We’re not really given a livable wage. At least, it’s very hard to live here on this salary — and I just live in a dry cabin.”

Increased wages and job security are two of the main sticking points in ongoing negotiations. The union and the university are scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday for continued bargaining.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.