The Illinois House of Representatives today passed a resolution
endorsing the GEO’s fight for union recognition and calling on the University
Administration to bargain in good faith with the GEO. The resolution comes
a day before the beginning of the GEO’s two-day work stoppage. The resolution
passed without a roll call vote.
"The GEO has exhausted all legal and diplomatic channels to improve
their working conditions and secure union recognition," the resolution
reads. "[T]he freedom to form a union is essential to establishing
a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship between the Administration
of the University and its graduate employees."
The resolution, sponsored by 25 members of the House of Representatives,
recognizes that the work stoppage will "disrupt the normal operations
of the University", and urges the UI Administration to do the right
thing and "respect the right of graduate employees to organize and
bargain collectively."
This is not the first time the Illinois General Assembly has supported
the GEO in its struggle to win democracy. The House of Representatives,
in 1999, passed a bill that would have clarified graduate employee rights
and allowed for a binding union election. The bill, HB 1208, was never
voted on in the Senate.
[To read the full text of House Resolution 0522, click
here.]