http://www.uigeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/aft-president-support.pdf
Bargaining
Dear UIUC Faculty,
Greetings from GEO! We are writing to you today to ensure that you are
aware of the rights of international students and employees to
participate in activities related to collective bargaining. Most
especially, we want to emphasize to you that international graduate
students who are members of GEO and are employed in the GEO bargaining
unit have the full legal right to participate in GEO’s strike against
the University of Illinois.
aware of the rights of international students and employees to
participate in activities related to collective bargaining. Most
especially, we want to emphasize to you that international graduate
students who are members of GEO and are employed in the GEO bargaining
unit have the full legal right to participate in GEO’s strike against
the University of Illinois.
As University Spokesperson Robin Kaler has made clear in numerous
public statements, the legality of the GEO strike is not in question.
Under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA), GEO
members who are employed in the GEO bargaining unit therefore have a
clear right to strike. In this matter, citizenship status is
irrelevant, as every person in the United States has the right to join
and participate in a union under the First Amendment’s guarantee of
freedom of association.
Furthermore, the IELRA in Section 14(a)(1)-14(a)(3) specifically
prohibits the University of Illinois or its agents from engaging in
any action which would tend to interfere, coerce, or restrain
employees in their exercise of their legitimate collective bargaining
rights. Therefore, were you to discourage an international graduate
student from participating in the GEO strike, you could be in
violation of the law and subject to an Unfair Labor Practice charge.
We hope that you support GEO in our struggle to guarantee that
graduate employees will not lose their tuition waivers. However,
regardless of your position on that issue, we expect and insist that
you refrain from any activity or communication which might have the
effect of intimidating or otherwise interfering with international
graduate employees who wish to exercise their right to participate in
collective bargaining.
Sincerely,
The Graduate Employees’ Organization
The GEO Urges All UIUC Faculty:
1. To suspend classes in solidarity with the GEO for the duration of a strike
2. If classes are held, to move them to alternate locations to ensure that no
classes are held in picketed buildings
3. To absolutely refrain from functioning as replacement labor for striking
graduate employees
4. To refrain from reporting graduate employees who withhold their labor
5. To stand in solidarity with GEO members on picket lines during a strike.
At 10:05 pm, Provost Easter of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign issued a massmail spreading further misinformation about the GEO’s imminent strike. The GEO will officially respond here – please distribute widely. Also, our press release in the post just below this contains a more detailed response to Easter’s misleading claims.
In his email, Easter says that:
“The university community is committed to providing the most competitive tuition waivers possible.Contrary to GEO assertions, the university has no plans to change current policy on tuition waivers. Tuition waivers are governed by the General Rules established by the Board of Trustees. The university has assured the GEO it will bargain the impact of any change to the fee waiver policy in the unlikely event that a change is proposed.”
As we demonstrate in the press release below, Easter’s claims are misleading at best. The BOT rules only protect in-state tuition waivers. If the University is “committed to providing the most competitive tuition waivers possible,” then what possible reason could they have for rejecting the GEO’s proposed side letter on waivers?* The last contract proposal from the University administration would provide no protection for waivers if the University administration moved to change some or all of out of state waivers to in-state tuition. Failure to accept the GEO’s much more explicit wording, which would protect tuition waivers as they currently exist, demonstrates a distressing lack of commitment on the part of the University administration to the U of I’s mission as a public, land grant university that provides high quality, acceptable education.
Easter also says that
“We are hopeful that the union members will accept the university’s offer, which represents the best possible package for graduate students within the difficult financial constraints we currently face.”
What Easter fails to mention is that sufficient protection for tuition waivers, the only issue that the GEO will go on strike over, represents zero additional cost to the University administration.
When members of the GEO and their allies walk the picket lines tomorrow morning, they will do so because they refuse to allow this sort of misinformation to sway them from their goal of earning a fair contract and finally holding the administration of the University of Illinois accountable to its duties as the leadership of a public, land grant, Research 1 University.
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The University’s proposed side letter on waivers states that the “university will bargain the impact of any change by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois to the graduate assistant tuition waiver policy set forth in Article IV, Section 5, of the General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedures.” Article IV, Section 5 only guarantees in-state tuition waivers. Thus, the administration side letter only promises to bargain the impact of eliminating in-state tuition waivers. The full text of this article is below.*
The GEO’s proposed side letter reads: “The Union recognizes the Board of Trustees’ right to set tuition waiver policy in accordance with its practices of shared governance. During the term of this Agreement, the University will bargain in good faith with the Union any changes in the tuition waivers of any bargaining unit member or members.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GEO REFUTES UIUC ADMINISTRATION’S CLAIMS REGARDING CONTRAT NEGOTIATIONS
TUITION WAIVERS HAVE BEEN A CENTRAL ISSUE SINCE APRIL; ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO GUARANTEE CONTINUATION OF CURRENT PRACTICE
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (November 15): The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign administration has released two extremely misleading statements to press outlets regarding ongoing contract negotiations.
The Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), rejects the claim that tuition waiver security is an “eleventh hour” addition to the bargaining process. In fact, on the first day of negotiations in April the GEO submitted a comprehensive proposal with language explicitly intended to guarantee that the current tuition waiver structure would not be changed for the duration of the contract. Since that moment the GEO has openly and publicly announced the four “pillars” of its contract platform, including a statement that the GEO seeks a contract “preserving the tuition waivers that allow graduate programs at UIUC to attract and retain the best graduate student employees available.” This statement was included in GEO press releases beginning on May 5. The GEO would be happy to email or fax documentation proving the administration’s “11th hour” claim false .
More importantly, the administration also claims that they have offered the GEO the full ability to bargain over any change to the tuition waiver policy. This is NOT the case. The administration proposal would only allow the GEO to bargain the impact of eliminating in-state tuition waivers. Most graduate employees receive out of state tuition waivers. The claim that the administration proposal represents any protection for most tuition waivers on campus is false.
The administration’s proposed side letter states that the “university will bargain the impact of any change by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois to the graduate assistant tuition waiver policy set forth in Article IV, Section 5, of the General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedures.” Article IV, Section 5 only guarantees base rate tuition, or in-state tuition waivers. Thus, the administration side letter only promises to bargain the impact of eliminating base-rate tuition waivers. It does not allow for the GEO to bargain the impact of any other change to current tuition waiver practice, under which most TAs and GAs receive full tuition waivers. For example, if the administration were to reduce out of state tuition waivers to only cover in-state tuition, the GEO would not have the ability to prevent its members being assessed additional charges of over $13,000 per year. The GEO’s proposed side letter would have required the administration to bargain the impact of any change to current tuition waiver practice.* This was rejected by the University administration.
In sum, the administration’s proposal does not sufficiently protect the ability of the GEO to bargain a change to tuition waiver policy. The GEO’s proposal would not cost the University any additional money. The fact that the administration rejected the proposal knowing a strike was imminent indicates that it indeed seeks the ability to drastically reduce tuition waivers for graduate employees. Tuition waivers are standard practice at public research universities throughout the country, and are central to the University of Illinois’ mission as a public, land grant institution. By not agreeing to a zero-cost proposal that would allow the GEO to bargain to protect current tuition waiver practice, the University administration signals a vision of graduate education that is inaccessible to poor and middle income persons.
GEO bargaining unit members teach 23.1% of all undergraduate course hours at UIUC, and perform comparably to faculty in official student evaluations of instructor performance as measured by the University of Illinois’ Center for Teaching Excellence. Yet our salaries draw only 6.5% of state funding, including salaries for GAs and Research Assistants, who don’t teach. By contrast, faculty salaries draw over 55% of the University budget. Graduate employee labor is vital to the fiscally efficient provision of the University’s core service, academic instruction. Tuition waivers allow the University of Illinois to enjoy this cheap labor, as it would not have access to a pool of workers able to teach so much for so little without granting tuition waivers. Again, without protection for tuition waivers, graduate education and graduate employment will only be accessible to the wealthy.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61820. Information about the GEO can also be found on our website at www.uigeo.org.
*THE GEO’s proposed SIDE LETTER reads: “The Union recognizes the Board of Trustees’ right to set tuition waiver policy in accordance with its practices of shared governance. During the term of this Agreement, the University will bargain in good faith with the Union any changes in the tuition waivers of any bargaining unit member or members.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: UIUC GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION TO HOLD BARGAINING SESSION WITH UIUC ADMINISTRATION 2:30 PM, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 AT WILLARD AIRPORT IN CHAMPAIGN – GEO IS PREPARED TO STRIKE
GEO MEMBERSHIP TO STAGE RALLY FOR A FAIR CONTRACT OUTSIDE OF BARGAINING ROOM IN THE INSTITUTE OF AVIATION
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (November 14): At 2:30 pm, the bargaining team of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), will meet the UIUC administration bargaining team for bargaining session at Willard Airport in Champaign, IL. Members of the GEO will be present in the bargaining room, and GEO members will also stage a rally outside of the room in support of the bargaining team’s efforts. Unless significant movement is made on the GEO’s core contract issues on Saturday, the strike committee of the GEO is prepared to call a strike to begin as early as Monday morning.
The GEO is a labor union representing all teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus. With over 2600 GEO members, and over 2600 graduate employees represented in the bargaining unit, the GEO is one of the largest higher education union locals in the United States. Over the course of a three day vote, an overwhelming 92% of participating UIUC GEO members voted last week to authorize a strike against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. With the vote, GEO members have given the strike committee of the UIUC GEO a clear mandate to call a strike at any time.
While the GEO is seeking an increase in the minimum salary to the University of Illinois’ (UI) Office of Student Financial Services own estimate of a living wage in Urbana-Champaign, a proposal that represents less than two-tenths of one percent the overall UIUC budget, the decision to authorize a strike is about much more than wages. The UIUC administration’s most regressive proposals concern non-salary issues. First, the administration claims that UI Board of Trustees Policy protects tuition waivers, but only in-state tuition waivers for GAs (not TAs) are protected, and the administration has moved to drastically reduce tuition waiver coverage in the past. Tuition waivers are essential to the University of Illinois’ mission as a public land grant institution, as they help to ensure that graduate education is truly accessible to all who show merit, regardless of economic background.
The UIUC administration seeks to characterize tuition waivers as part of compensation, but this is highly misleading, as tuition is not considered in the OSFA’s estimate of a living wage. Many graduate employees do not receive full tuition waivers, and can pay as much as $10,000 for tuition while providing vital instructional labor for the University. Protecting tuition waivers as they now stand would represent no increased cost to UIUC. The administration’s reluctance to do so is totally contrary to UIUC’s stated commitment to not only excellence in education and research, but the ability to provide truly accessible access to education as part of UIUC’s mission as a land-grant institution.
The GEO strike authorization is also in reaction to the UIUC administration’s proposed “scope of the agreement” clause, which would prevent the GEO from re-opening bargaining for the entire three year duration of the proposed contract. This is a highly regressive proposal that seeks to undermine the purpose of union protection for employees, and the UIUC Campus Labor Coalition supports the GEO in refusing to agree to this clause.
GEO bargaining unit members teach 23.1% of all undergraduate course hours at UIUC, and perform comparably to faculty in official student evaluations of instructor performance as measured by the University of Illinois’ Center for Teaching Excellence. Yet our salaries draw only 6.5% of state funding, including salaries for GAs and Research Assistants, who don’t teach. By contrast, faculty salaries draw over 55% of the University budget. Graduate employee labor is vital to the fiscally efficient provision of the University’s core service, academic instruction. Should graduate employee salaries be set to a living wage, the University would still have a large pool of inexpensive and high quality instructional and administrative labor.
The GEO has been negotiating with UIUC administrators for over six months. While the GEO presented the administration with a full contract proposal on the first day of negotiations, the UIUC administration declined to offer a counterproposal until August 11th, just four days before the GEO’s previous contract expired. The UIUC administration’s initial contract proposal sought to freeze GEO wages for three years, reserve the right to furlough and layoff graduate employees in good standing, and to count “in-kind” compensation such as housing or meal vouchers toward the minimum salary mandated in the contract. The administration still seeks to freeze GEO wages, refuse to provide contractual protection for tuition waivers, and take away the GEO’s right to re-open bargaining during the contract should the administration make any substantial change in employment conditions.
GEO members have been working hard to avoid a strike. Hundreds of GEO members have participated in six major demonstrations, and GEO members have also lobbied the Illinois House of Representatives Higher Education Appropriations Committee, spoken with state legislators from Champaign, actively informed campus community members about the issues, and maintained a constant presence in Urbana-Champaign print, radio and television media. The Illinois Student Senate has passed two resolutions in support of the GEO and the decision to authorize a strike, and the University of Illinois Faculty Senate passed a resolution of non-retaliation. Several departments and dozens of faculty have issued public resolutions in support of the GEO, and over a dozen undergraduate representatives of Registered Student Organizations representing hundreds of undergraduate students issued a resolution in support of the GEO’s strike authorization. UIUC union locals represented by the Campus Labor Coalition also publicly support the GEO and the GEO’s strike authorization.
As with any labor negotiation, however, the most effective pressure has been the threat of a strike. Only after GEO members at a General Membership Meeting voted unanimously to file an “intent to strike” notice did the University administration offer their first compromise proposals. Accordingly, the Coordinating Committee and Steward’s Council of the GEO voted unanimously to hold a strike authorization vote from November 4-6. By voting to authorize a strike, GEO members have taken a vital step in holding the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign administration accountable to its stated commitment to excellence in research and undergraduate education.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61820. Information about the GEO can also be found on our website at www.uigeo.org.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OVER 300 GRAD EMPLOYEES FROM ALL THREE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS GRADUATE EMPLOYEE UNION LOCALS STAGE 11/12 DEMONSTRATIONS 11/12 IN SUPPORT OF UIUC AND UIC GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
DEMONSTRATION AT BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING IN SPRINGFIELD INSPIRES PUBLIC CONVERSATION BETWEEN GEO LEAD NEGOTIATOR AND TOP UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATORS
UIUC GEO HAS VOTED TO AUTHORIZE STRIKE AGAINST BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
SPRINGFIELD, CHICAGO, AND URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (November 12): On Thursday, November 12, over 300 graduate employees and their allies staged rallies in support of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the University of Illinois at Chicago Graduate Employees’ Organizations (GEO) efforts to secure a fair contract from the University of Illinois (UI) administration. In Springfield, over 80 members of the UIUC Graduate Employees’ Organization, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO along with members of the University of Illinois at Springfield GEO marched at 8:15 am to the University of Illinois at Springfield Public Affairs Center and demonstrated in outside of the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Terry Reed of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and President of the Springfield Central Labor Council, and Ellie Sullivan, President of The University Professionals of Illinois, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 4100, addressed the demonstrators. With state television media looking on, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Christopher Kennedy, former University of Illinois President Joe White, and Interim University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry came out of the Board of Trustees meeting to talk to GEO lead negotiator Kerry Pimblott. GEO members also visibly attended the public portion of the meeting, and will have an opportunity for public comment to the Board today at 2:15 pm.
In Urbana-Champaign, over 200 GEO members and their allies demonstrated in support of a fair contract by marching from the Swanlund Administration Building to the Liberal Arts and Sciences Quad. The GEO will make photographs of the march and demonstration available to the press. In Chicago, over 50 members and allies of the Graduate Employees’ Organization, University of Illinois Chicago, Local 6297, IFT-AFT, AFL-CIO, demonstrated in solidarity with the Springfield and Champaign demonstrations.
Members of the UIC GEO, the UIC SEIU, and Peter Campbell, UIUC GEO Communications Officer, addressed the demonstration in Chicago. Rich Potter, member of the UIUC GEO who was at the Chicago rally, said he was extremely disappointed that administrators claim they don’t have enough funding to provide a living wage to graduate employees, yet they diverted over one million dollars toward scholarships, legal fees, and generous severance packages related to the admissions scandal.
All three demonstrations were staged in support of ongoing contract negotiations between the UIUC and UIC Graduate Employees’ Organizations and the administration of the University of Illinois. The UIUC GEO is seeking a contract that includes protection fortuition waivers and a minimum salary set at the University’s own estimate of a living wage in Champaign-Urbana. The UIC GEO is seeking a contract that seeks a living wage, improved healthcare, and an end to tuition differentials. Both union locals have been met with stalling, delay, and regressive contract proposals from the University of Illinois administration.
All press inquiries can be directed to Peter Campbell, UIUC GEO Communications Officer, 253.222.5861. The University of Illinois Chicago demonstration organizer and contact person is Jason Leto, Staff Field Organizer, Graduate Employees’ Organization, University of Illinois Chicago, Local 6297, IFT-AFT, AFL-CIO, 850.345.7617, jmleto@gmail.com.
The Graduate Employees’ Organization, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a labor union representing all teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus. With over 2600 GEO members, and over 2600 graduate employees represented in the bargaining unit, the GEO is one of the largest higher education union locals in the United States. Over the course of a three day vote, an overwhelming 92% of participating UIUC GEO members voted last week to authorize a strike against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. With the vote, GEO members have given the strike committee of the UIUC GEO a clear mandate to call a strike at any time.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FOR THE FIRST TIME, MAJOR STUDENT UNION AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS OVERWHELMINGLY VOTES TO AUTHORIZE A STRIKE
GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION REPRESENTS ONE OF LARGEST LOCAL HIGHER EDUCATION BARGAINING UNITS IN THE UNITED STATES
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS (November 7): On Monday, November 9th, the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will hold a press conference at 1:00 pm at 1001 S. Wright Street in Champaign, IL to announce the results of its strike authorization vote.
Over the course of a three day vote, an overwhelming 92% of participating GEO members chose to authorize a strike against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. With the vote, GEO members have given the strike committee of the GEO a clear mandate to call a strike at any time. The Graduate Employee’s Organization, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a labor union representing all teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus. With over 2600 GEO members, and over 2600 graduate employees represented in the bargaining unit, the GEO is one of the largest higher education union locals in the United States.
The GEO has been negotiating with UIUC administrators for over six months. The GEO seeks a contract that will set the minimum salary for a 50% nine month appointment at the University’s estimate of a living wage for a graduate student in Urbana-Champaign and protect tuition waivers for TAs and GAs. While the GEO presented the administration with a full contract proposal on the first day of negotiations, the UIUC administration declined to offer a counterproposal until August 11th, just four days before the GEO’s previous contract expired. The UIUC administration’s initial contract proposal sought to freeze GEO wages for three years, reserve the right to furlough and layoff graduate employees in good standing, and to count “in-kind” compensation such as housing or meal vouchers toward the minimum salary mandated in the contract.
The GEO understands that the state of Illinois is in dire economic straits, but as University administrators pointed out in their FY 2010 budget request, this is the result of long standing deficiencies in state level budget prioritization and not a sudden result of the recent national recession. Instead of championing the university’s historic land grant mission, UIUC administrators have embraced the national tendency toward the corporatization of the public higher education system. Their consequent failure to secure adequate state funding leaves the social science, humanities, and fine arts especially vulnerable. Worse, it jeopardizes access to higher education for many who have the capacity and desire, but not the financial resources to attend the University. If increased state funding is also necessary to providing at least a living wage for all campus employees, then the GEO expects the UIUC administration to forcefully make that case to the Higher Education Appropriations Committee, other state legislators, and the Governor.
Instead of advocating on the behalf of students and workers, administrators were granting costly favors to state politicians. The former Chancellor diverted $450,000 of discretionary funds to provide jobs and scholarships for politically well-connected but undeserving applicants. Another $400,000 went to the attorneys who represented the University before the Governor’s investigative committee, and another $550,000 to new faculty appointments for the former President and Chancellor. In this context, the GEO finds it hard to trust the UIUC administration when it argues that there is not enough money to provide a living wage. From the GEO’s perspective, it appears that budget priorities are simply out of place. When campus revenues rose by 7% in FY 2009, only 0.8% ($2.7 million) went to undergraduate instruction. Meanwhile, the Chief Information Officer’s budget rose by 10.9 percent ($1.6 million), and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics budget increased 6.2 percent ($4.1 million).
GEO bargaining unit members teach 23.1% of all undergraduate course hours at UIUC, and perform comparably to faculty in official student evaluations of instructor performance as measured by the University of Illinois’ Center for Teaching Excellence. Yet our salaries draw only 6.5% of state funding, including salaries for GAs and Research Assistants, who don’t teach. By contrast, faculty salaries draw over 55% of the University budget. Graduate employee labor is vital to the fiscally efficient provision of the University’s core service, academic instruction. Should graduate employee salaries be set to a living wage, the University would still have a large pool of inexpensive and high quality instructional and administrative labor.
GEO members have been working hard to avoid a strike. Hundreds of GEO members have participated in three major rallies, and GEO members have also lobbied the Illinois House of Representatives Higher Education Appropriations Committee, spoken with state legislators from Champaign, actively informed campus community members about the issues, and maintained a constant presence in Urbana-Champaign print, radio and television media. The Illinois Student Senate has passed two resolutions in support of the GEO and the decision to authorize a strike, and GEO supporters in the faculty senate are working to pass a similar resolution. GEO members and allies will hold a rally at the University of Illinois Board of Trustees Meeting in Springfield, IL on November 12.
As with any labor negotiation, however, the most effective pressure has been the threat of a strike. Only after GEO members at a General Membership Meeting voted unanimously to file an “intent to strike” notice did the University administration offer their first compromise proposals. Accordingly, the Coordinating Committee and Steward’s Council of the GEO voted unanimously to hold a strike authorization vote from November 4-6. By voting to authorize a strike, GEO members have taken a vital step in holding the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign administration accountable to its stated commitment to excellence in research and undergraduate education.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61820. Information about the GEO can also be found on our website at www.uigeo.org.
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The GEO will be holding its first strike authorization vote from November 4-6. Our strike authorization vote will begin at a General Membership Meeting on November 4th at 5:30 pm in the University YMCA, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign – all GEO members are welcome to attend the meeting and vote.
Direct action, including rallies, work-ins, and publicity campaigns put substantial pressure on the administration, and we have been working hard to avoid a strike. Hundreds of GEO members have participated in three major rallies, and GEO members have also lobbied the Illinois House of Representatives Higher Education Appropriations Committee, spoken with state legislators from Champaign, secured a resolution of support from the Illinois Student Senate, talked to the Governor about the GEO and campus labor in front of state TV press, and maintained a constant presence in Champaign print, radio and television media. GEO members were present at the annual meeting between UIUC faculty and top administrators, and GEO members and faculty asked pointed questions about the GEO to interim President Ikenberry, President White, Chancellor Herman, and the interim Provost. GEO members have personally provided information to thousands of campus community members at an informational table that’s been on the quad every weekday since October 12.
The decision to hold a strike vote was made because while these actions have been instrumental to bargaining, the most effective means of effecting movement at the bargaining table has clearly been the GEO’s public movement toward the possibility of a strike. The GEO is seeking a contract that will set the minimum salary for a 50% nine month appointment at the University’s own estimate of a living wage, guarantee tuition waivers to TAs and GAs, and improve our health and child care. While the GEO was prepared with a contract proposal on the first day of bargaining in April, the administration didn’t respond until August 11th. The original administration proposal offered a contract that would freeze GEO wages for three years, reserve the right to furlough and layoff graduate employees in good standing and to count “in-kind” compensation such as housing or meal vouchers toward our salaries.
The GEO is a local member (6300) of the Illinois Federation of Teachers/American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. The GEO is an entirely democratic, member run organization – the decision to call the strike authorization vote was made by the Coordinating Committee, which consists of nine officers elected by the GEO membership, and the Steward’s Council, an organizing body open to any GEO member. Fundamentally, the GEO needs member participation and feedback in the decision as to whether or not to authorize a strike.