University of Michigan

After a historic months-long strike, the leaders of the Graduate Employees' Organization signed a tentative agreement Tuesday with the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan says striking graduate student instructors would likely lose their jobs if they don’t return to work for the fall term. It is the latest salvo in a labor dispute that’s been going on since a strike by the Graduate Employees’ Organization began in March.

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The meeting, run by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission was meant to provide a neutral, state-appointed “fact-finder” to review the issues and work out the parties biggest disputes. The two parties will instead submit briefs of their positions to receive recommendations from the state in September.

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The allegations center around some undergraduate courses where striking graduate students are the sole instructors, and where administrators apparently directed faculty to enter grades on their behalf. The university disputes the Graduate Employees Organization's claim that the grades were "fabricated."

The university also plans to submit a formal "fact finding" petition with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, unless there is substantial movement towards a resolution with the union by Tuesday, May 16.

As University of Michigan students prepare to graduate this week, many graduate student employees continue to strike. Their union contract expires on May 1.

A university spokesman said the strike violates the current union contract that remains in place until May 1.

"Our members are regularly struggling to make rents and afford basic necessities like groceries and childcare,” said one leader of the Graduate Employees Organization.