With negotiations continuing late last night, the Graduate Employees’ Organization and the University have begun to make significant progress since last week’s walkout, which includes agreement on international GSI issues.

GEO President Dave Dobbie said that if progress continues on this manner, he is hopeful that the union will not have to authorize an open-ended strike next week.

The agreement reached yesterday dealt with the testing and training of international GSIs. Various GEO members had expressed concerns that their English skills were not being accurately assessed by the exam that they were required to take, and that certain countries were being targeted.

The University accepted GEO’s proposal of instituting a pre-test that would gauge an international student’s English language ability before having to take the English language exam.

“(The University) agreed in principle that a pre-test makes sense,” Dobbie said.

GEO also demanded that the University provide financial support for all GSI training that occurs before the semester starts — not just for LSA GSIs. Under the new agreement, GSIs in all academic units would be eligible for financial support.

GEO also agreed to the same tuition wavier clause that was in the previous contract. GSIs that are employed at a “.25 fraction” or greater — which means working 10 hours or more per week — will not pay tuition, while those at lower fraction appointment — less than 10 hours a week — will pay a certain percentage of the tuition.

Yesterday, the University offered a number of new proposals that would affect the benefits of low-fraction GSIs. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said the University has offered GEO a choice between a salary increase or an increase in health care benefits.

“Either they agree to increase low fraction GSI salaries immediately by 10 percent, and the new amount would remain steady through the contract, or we would pay half of their health care premium,” Peterson said.

But Dobbie said that GSIs that work less than 10 hours, or low-fraction GSIs, need both a salary increase and better health benefits. Currently, low-fraction GSIs are eligible to buy into the GradCare health plan. GEO offered a counter-proposal — which the University is considering — that would allow for a salary increase for each of the low fractions, as well as to have the University pay for half of the health care premium.

Even with significant progress being made, two key issues that continue to remain on the table are wages and benefits. Currently a GSI with a .5 fraction, which means he works 16 to 22 hours a week, makes $14,000. GEO initially demanded that salaries be increased to $15,300 next year and the increase for each of the following two years be determined by the consumer price index. Yesterday, GEO proposed that next year’s salary be increased by 5 percent and then 3 percent for each of the next two years.

But the University continues to remain firm behind its desire for a four-year contract that would provide a 2-percent increase next year and then a 2.5-percent increase each of the following three years.

Dobbie said that negotiations about salary have just been numbers back and forth. “We significantly decreased our wage proposal,” he said. “(GEO has) made a lot of movement on wages, and we’re hoping that the University will come our way.”

GEO’s proposal of a “designated beneficiary” is another issue that the University has not recently discussed. A designated beneficiary would be a designated adult who shares some life element — such as a joint bank account or child — with the GEO member and would be eligible to receive his benefits. The University continues to claim that the idea will have significant financial costs, as well as problems regarding implementation.

Negotiations are currently scheduled for tomorrow morning.

“It looks like the rough framework is done and we just need to fill in the content,” Dobbie said. Both parties have said that negotiation sessions have been productive. GEO members have authorized an open-ended strike beginning on April 4 if the members feel that the University’s proposals are not adequate or in good-faith. A final vote will take place on Sunday before a strike can occur.