The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) is expected to announce next week whether graduate teaching assistants (GTA's) at Wayne State University will have the opportunity to vote for or against forming a union linked to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the nation's largest unions for public school teachers.

A group of graduate students last year formed the Graduate Employee Organizing Committee (GEOC) and circulated cards asking others to support a vote on unionization.

Those cards have been turned over to MERC. If the organizing group has filed enough signatures showing interest in forming a union, MERC will oversee an election. In that event, MERC will mail ballots to the homes of eligible voters April 7. Ballots then must be returned to MERC by April 22.

By agreement between the university and the GEOC, only graduate teaching assistants who were teaching as of Jan. 22 and teach at least two credit hours in direct classroom instruction and critically evaluate, assess and grade student work will be eligible to vote, according to University Interim Vice President and General Counsel Louis Lessem.

"We encourage all eligible graduate teaching assistants to fully inform themselves and express their views on this important matter," Lessem said. "We respect their right to vote on whether they wish to be represented for employment purposes by the GEOC-AFT."

Vice President for Research Daniel Walz, who also serves as dean of the Graduate School, said graduate students fill an important role at Wayne State University, as they do at hundreds of major universities across the United States.

"Wayne State has long valued its graduate teaching assistants and we have worked to ensure that their support packages are nationally competitive," Walz said. "Graduate teaching assistants at WSU have one of the best support packages -- stipend, tuition waiver and health insurance -- in the country. We are competitive with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and far exceed the support packages at other Michigan schools."

Graduate teaching assistants who meet the definition of eligible GTAs accountfor less than 10 percent of the courses taught each term, said Walz.

Their support package, which includes stipend, tuition and and health insurance, ranges from $13,993 to $22,893 for 9-month teaching assignments. Students with families can qualify for an additional $3,000 in health benefits for their families.