Tenth Bargaining Session

***Our contract expired today!***

Today, the GEO Bargaining Team (BT) and the UIUC Administration held their tenth bargaining session. Thank you to all members who attended!

Please read below for more information on what happened today and what comes next.

NEXT BARGAINING SESSION: Tuesday, August 24, 2017, 9:00am-12:00pm, Illinois Fire Service Institute (11 Gerty Drive, Champaign). All members are welcome! You can also find more information about bargaining on our website.

What we did:

GEO gave the administration a response to their package proposal on Leaves and Holidays, proposing flexible Parental Leave and stronger language to protect international graduate employees for Visa and Immigration Leave. Three members shared testimonials about their experiences with parental leave and childcare.

And a huge THANK YOU to all the members who shared their moving testimonials, demonstrating the necessity for language which guarantees both flexible parental accommodations and a child care subsidy.

What the Administration did:

The Administration rejected our proposal on more flexible parental leave, calling it “operationally challenging”–even though it isn’t a monetary proposal and benefits departments as well as grad employees. They also added a sentence to the Visa and Immigration Leave article stating that supervisors and Human Resources would “strive” to help graduate employees with these issues, but the language does not guarantee protection.

How we responded:

GEO refused to sign the Administration’s package proposal, as we want to try to win even stronger language for our parents, international, and DACA students. We cannot win this fight without member support. The Administration has shown that they are not interested in our rational arguments for why our proposals are necessary, so come to our rally, come to our next bargaining session, and show the Administration how powerful we are. If we want to win anything substantive related to visa and immigration or parents’ rights, we need everyone to step up and help organize. Come to our rally tomorrow, and be sure to come to our next bargaining session on August 24th!

If you have questions about bargaining or the BT’s proposal, attending a meeting is the best way to address them. You can reach us at barg@uigeo.org. You can also find more info about bargaining at our website.

What Comes Next:

Join the Rally For A Fair Contract, which will take place the day after GEO’s contract expires. The GEO will hold the rally in tandem with other campus labor unions to declare that “The University Only Works Because We Do”! All community members are invited to the rally on the main quad on Wednesday, August 16, from 12:00 to 1:00pm Central Time, to stand up for the rights of graduate workers and to demonstrate unity and power, while sending a message to the Administration to “work with us” at the bargaining table to secure a fair contract for all graduate employees. There will be multiple speakers from GEO, NTFC, and AFSCME. Attendees are invited to wear a GEO shirt and bring a sign. From 11-11:45, GEO members will be in the Courtyard Cafe of the Illini Union with materials to make signs and posters, and the rally will begin at noon.

Members, we need all of your participation for this struggle! Please attend the next bargaining session: we need you! The Bargaining Team represents members at the table. We look to you, the members, for input when we go to break out sessions. The more members in the room, the better informed our decisions at the table.

Attending bargaining sessions is the best way to actively engage in the negotiation of your wages, healthcare, and other protections. It is perfectly acceptable to come late or leave early from a bargaining session if you can’t stay the entire time. Just being present demonstrates our unity and strength to the Administration. You can even bring your work if you want. Coffee and food will be provided.

If you can’t make it to the bargaining session, you can still keep up with bargaining updates by attending GEO committee meetings and general membership meetings, following GEO on social media, and reading GEO emails.

Our Contract Expires Today–What Does That Mean For You?

The GEO has been bargaining with the administration since March, working hard to secure a new, more equitable contract based on the four pillars our membership voted on last spring: Tuition and Fee Waivers, Healthcare, Wages, and Access and Equality.

Because we are still negotiating with the Administration, we are entering the fall semester without a new contract. However, the expired contract includes a clause stating that it will remain in effect during negotiations, so you can go to work as you normally would.

GEO is committed to winning a better contract for all our members, but our power is directly determined by our membership. We won our first major victory a few weeks ago by expanding our non-discrimination clause to include ethnicity, gender expression, visa and immigration status, and arrest record as protected categories. We were only able to achieve this because members organized around this issue, and came to bargaining sessions to show their support –and there’s a lot of work still to be done! If you haven’t been involved with GEO in the past, now is the perfect time to join a committee, become a Steward for your department, or come to a bargaining session. Together, let’s win our best contract yet!

Here’s some information that our Bargaining Team research group compiled on the surprising state of university finances: Setting the Record Straight on University Finances

Are you a member?

Our members are why we succeed at the bargaining table! If you haven’t signed a membership card yet, don’t delay! Contact us at geo@uigeo.org to sign a membership card. If you’re not sure of your membership status, please ask!

Call for Testimonials

One powerful tool in bargaining is member stories, and we want to hear from you! If you have a story related to our contract, email barg@uigeo.org to share it with the Bargaining Team.

Our pillars of bargaining are protecting tuition waivers, raising wages and eliminating fees, ensuring quality healthcare, and promoting access and equality, which includes creating childcare support, strengthening our nondiscrimination statement, and expanding parental, bereavement, and immigration/visa leave. If you have an experience to share about these (or other!) issues, please consider sharing it with the Bargaining Team. If you do not feel comfortable speaking in the session, that is OK too. With your permission, someone else can read your written statement without mentioning you as the author. You can indicate to the Bargaining Team how you want your story shared. You can find examples of testimonials from bargaining on our website under “Member Stories.”

Note: When choosing to have your testimonial read at a bargaining session, the GEO’s bargaining team wants to ensure you know and understand your rights. Interactions that happen at the bargaining table become part of a record that may be referred to later in legal decisions that determine the intent, meaning, and scope of new contract language. As an official action at the bargaining table, your testimonial will be a part of that record.

To ensure that the Administration does not misrepresent your words, the Bargaining Team requests your permission to deliver printed copies of your testimonial to the Administration’s Bargaining Team. While your testimonial is being read, notetakers on both bargaining teams will be taking notes, but providing a paper copy of your testimonial ensures that the Administration cannot misrepresent, misquote, or twist your words at a later date. Testimonials can still be made and submitted anonymously.

See the GEO event calendar for future Bargaining Team meetings, bargaining sessions, and other events. Add it to your Google calendar by searching for geo@uigeo.org. Bargaining Team meetings and bargaining sessions are open to all members. Please contact the Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) with any questions.

Follow GEO Online:

Website: www.uigeo.org

Twitter: @geo_uiuc

Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm

Instagram: @geo_uiuc

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