[Bgsa] TA appointment notifications

[Carla Essenberg]

Hello Everyone,

I have been looking into why we have been getting our TA appointment
notifications later than our contract says we should, and it looks
like the problem should be fixed next term (although please let me
know if it is not!).

The reason I have been told that TAAC wait to send the official letter
is that they sometimes find out at the last minute that particular
students have gotten GSR funding and have to reshuffle the TAs in
order to get all the positions filled with qualified people.  However,
that reshuffling would never mean that someone would not be funded and
I am told that they have viewed the preliminary email they send (the
one that says they are "tentatively" offering you a TAship) as a firm
commitment to offer a TAship, although not necessarily in the class
mentioned in the email.  They have also viewed that preliminary email
as fulfilling the contract requirement that they send an appointment
notification 30 days before the term starts.  In fact it does not -
the contract requires that they be committing to providing a TAship
with a particular percentage (e.g., 50% or 25%), salary, etc. - but I
have pointed that out to Melissa and she is confident that in future
they can get us an official letter, with the information required by
the contract, by 30 days before term begins.

So, if you are TAing in the spring term, you should have a letter or
email offering you a TAship, and specifying the appointment percentage
(50% or 25%), salary, benefits, response requirements, etc. before the
end of February.  If you don't, please let me know!

Carla

P.S. If you want to look up the contract language about appointment
notifications, it's in Article 2 of the contract, which you can find
at:
http://www.uaw2865.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Contract-UAW-2865-UC-2010-2013.pdf

-- 
Carla Essenberg
PhD Candidate and UAW Steward
Department of Biology
University of California, Riverside