Despite the state's refusal to add domestic partners' health care benefits, UW-Madison's Teaching Assistants Association came to a tentative agreement with the state Department of Employment Relations Friday for their 2002-'03 contract.
Under the agreement, the university will raise wages by 6.8 percent over the biennium and increase the level of compensation for child care.
Modeling its contract after those of over half of the Big Ten universities and two-thirds of employers nationwide, the TAA proposed a plan that would offer members same-sex and opposite-sex domestic-partner provisions regardless of marital status. However, Peter Fox, secretary of the Department of Employment Relations, said that because of the 18 other unions his office is in negotiation with, there is not enough money in the budget to offer such a plan to every organization.
\The Department of Employment was provided an amount of money by the state Legislature, and it is that money which we have to apply to all 19 units coming out of compensation resources with an enhancement of benefits,"" Fox said.
Recognizing that the state would not change the legislation in the near future to permit such a plan, chief negotiator for the TAA Sandy Lavinsky, said the state law would no longer be a problem with aid from the university.
""We are a part of the state, [so] they would have to amend the statute, [but] the reimbursement plan allows the university to allow the reimbursement without making legislative changes,"" Lavinsky said.
New employees of the state have to wait six months until their health insurance begins. Fox said, according to university representatives, this lack of insurance benefits from day one is a serious handicap in hiring, adding this would be a more beneficial place for the university to put funding.
""In this case, if there were funds available, I would recommend to the Legislature that it would be used on the first-day health insurance for all state employees,"" Fox said.
Lavinksy, however, said she questioned the Department of Employment's reasons for refusal of the plan because UW-Madison supported it, offering to pay the difference in cost.
""The state used the excuse of cost, which doesn't make sense because the university had offered to foot the bill with nonstate dollars,"" Lavinsky said.
