Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) protest is shut down by university officials
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Contacts:
Karla Sanabria-Veaz
Communication Liaison
Co-President Elect
officer2@uigeo.org
787-203-5958
Megan Mericle & Savannah Wills
Communications Officers
commcomm@uigeo.org
Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) protest is shut down by university officials.
(Champaign, IL) At this year’s commencement celebration, a protest by the GEO was shut down by university officials. This was following a peaceful demonstration where several GEO members held up a banner demanding a living wage for grad workers. The Union condemns this censorship of graduate worker voices, with one member stating,
“Unfortunately, this is just one more example of UIUC administration silencing graduate workers' concerns and ignoring our right to protest in favor of protecting their own image," says GEO member Megan Mericle.
The GEO notes that this censorship is very characteristic for the University of Illinois administration, as it has relied on policing, surveillance and other punitive measures to silence workers and students on its campus stretching back at least to the anti-war movement in the 1960s.
“As a Union we have the right to protest our working conditions and demand the University to take action. We will not accept this censorship of dissenting and activist voices by the University,” states president elect, Karla Sanabria-Véaz. According to the GEO, the University’s censorship and abuse of power has been seen through police threats during previous GEO protests, and the university’s discipline process to repress labor activity among graduate workers. On the other hand, the new campus expressive policy under revision seeks to restrict protest locations and the usage of megaphones and necessary forms of protest. The GEO will continue to challenge the university’s abuse of power by incorporating additional protections for labor actions in their contract negotiations this summer and fall.
The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009 and in February 2018, over 1,000 GEO members and allies participated in a strike to secure a fair contract and more accessible UIUC campus. With an active presence in the community, the GEO continues to work for high-quality and accessible public education in Illinois.
For more information, please contact geo@uigeo.org. More information can also be found on GEO’s website at www.uiucgeo.org.
Twitter: @geo_uiuc
Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm
Instagram: @geo_uiuc