GEO Statement in Support of UC Strike
Monday, November 28, 2022
Graduate Employees Organization Local 6300
GEO Statement in Support of UC Strike
The Graduate Employees’ Organization at UIUC, IFT/AFT Local 6300 stands in solidarity with the 48,000 Academic Workers currently striking over unfair labor practices across all ten University of California (UC) campuses. The UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) authorized the open-ended strike for November 14th, 2022 as year long contract negotiations failed to reach an agreement in the union's struggle for living wages, child-care reimbursements, paid parental leave, transit passes, and worker protections (anti-bullying, international student fee reductions, and more).
Academic Workers across the University of California are organizing within the UAW 5810, UAW 2865 and the newly-formed Student Researchers United-UAW. With 98% of these Postdocs, Academic Researchers, Graduate Student Researchers, Trainees, Fellows, Graduate Student Instructors, Readers, and Tutors voting yes, this is the largest strike authorization vote in US history for academic workers. These UC academic workers remain united in their struggle against daily issues with severe rent burden, lack of job security, and lack of support for working parents, workers with disabilities, and international scholars. Over the course of bargaining, rather than coming to fair agreements, the University administration has engaged in a wide variety of unlawful tactics, ranging from unilaterally changing working conditions to refusing to provide the information UAW needs to bargain. Without the University changing course, they cannot win their demands for living wages and fair compensation, childcare benefits, sustainable transit incentives, and support for international workers. UC Academic Workers have made it clear that they are fighting for a UC that centers workers and equity in its mission to deliver world class education and research.
We at the GEO are all too familiar with this struggle, as the needs of our members are continually dismissed while UIUC administrators receive incredibly bloated salaries. Our members who are first generation scholars should not have to struggle with housing and food insecurity, and should not have to be burdened with debt in order to pay their bills. We are also fighting for a UIUC in which academic workers who are parents, have disabilities, international students, LGBTQ+ are protected against discrimination and harassment. Like UC academic workers, we too are subject to wage theft via massive mandatory fees each semester, which cut into our already low-wages. As the GEO, we also understand that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. When graduate workers struggle to survive and face unfair working conditions, this impacts the thousands of students we teach. Graduate workers make the university run!
The future of higher education in California, and across the nation, depends on solidarity. The GEO offers its unwavering support to our fellow academic workers across all ten University of California campuses, and condemns the UC administration for their lack of good faith and unlawful tactics during bargaining. We will do all we can to support UC academic workers on strike in their struggle for a fair contract!
Please donate to the UAW-UC Academic Workers Strike Support and Hardship Fund and the DSA will match your donation.
Solidarity forever!
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org
The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 3,000 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