Bill Text: HI HR85 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: University of Hawaii; Graduate Student; Union

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-04-12 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR85 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HR85-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	85
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the auditor to conduct a study on the potential effects of allowing graduate students of the university of hawaii to unionize.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, graduate students perform a variety of teaching and research functions that are necessary and vital to the overall strength and accomplishments of a successful university; and

 

     WHEREAS, while graduate students are first and foremost students, their enthusiasm for their subject matter and engagement with the academic material encourage continued intellectual inquiry and discovery among faculty members; and

 

     WHEREAS, at research universities, such as the University of Hawaii at Manoa, graduate students are in the trenches, collaborating on research with faculty members that often leads to innovative ideas, which in turn can attract research grants to the University; and

 

     WHEREAS, the teaching and grading assistance that graduate students provide to faculty members allows the University of Hawaii to continue to offer undergraduates a quality educational experience; and

 

     WHEREAS, graduate assistants at the University of Hawaii have not received meaningful compensation increases since 2004, while the already-high cost of living in Hawaii has steadily increased; and

 

     WHEREAS, disparities exist between actual salaries and benefits provided to graduate assistants at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and comparable institutions across the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, budget shortfalls have increased class size and workload, the burden of which has largely fallen on the University's graduate student assistants; and

     WHEREAS, recent attempts to adjust employee pay scale steps for graduate assistants do not take into account the differences in extramural funding and variations between different University departments; and

 

     WHEREAS, changes in the economic climate have also resulted in the elimination of offices and administrative positions crucial to graduate assistants' successful employment experience; and

 

     WHEREAS, without a dependable and accessible avenue to obtain assistance with grievances, employment issues that graduate assistants face go unattended and unresolved; and

 

     WHEREAS, graduate assistants are not currently authorized to organize to advocate for their own employment rights; and

 

     WHEREAS, universities throughout the country enjoy positive working relationships with graduate student unions that fairly advocate for their graduate student members; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a study on the potential effects of allowing graduate students of the University of Hawaii to unionize; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to include in the study consideration of graduate student working conditions, pay in relation to relevant cost of living and in comparison to graduate students at institutions where graduate students are unionized, differences in workload based upon academic department, and potential costs to the University as an employer; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include information regarding the effects of any mandated increase in graduate assistant compensation for graduate assistants at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the possible effects of mandatory five-year funding for doctoral students; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to establish an Advisory Council, to include graduate student representation, to assist in the development and execution of the study; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Chairperson of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, President of the University of Hawaii, Chancellor of each of the University of Hawaii campuses, and President of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Graduate Student Organization.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

University of Hawaii; Graduate Student; Union