Welcome (and Welcome Back)! Upcoming GMM, 2020 Bargaining, & More!
Table of Contents:
Announcements
Welcome Back!
2020 Wage Reopener
Annual CGEU Conference 2020
Events
January General Membership Meeting
JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!
CONNECT WITH GEO!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome Back!
We hope all our members had a fulfilling holiday and welcome new members to GEO! We’re looking forward to another semester of organizing alongside you all in our efforts for fair, equitable, and dignified working conditions as the people who make this university function.
Bargaining in 2020
GEO’s current collective bargaining agreement (contract) allows us to negotiate raises for the academic years starting in August 2020 and August 2021. That process has begun but you can still get involved!
Join the bargaining team. Any member can join! Email geo@uigeo.org
Attend the General Membership Meeting on Jan. 29 (see below)
Attend bargaining sessions. All members are welcome to attend. We’ll share more info once these are scheduled.
Volunteer to keep your department informed about what’s happening in bargaining. Join the GEO Stewards Council. Email geo@uigeo.org
Volunteer to keep the public informed about what happens in bargaining. Join the Communications Committee. Email geo@uigeo.org or commcomm@uigeo.org
Elect the bargaining team you want representing you. Make sure to come and vote to elect the bargaining team (see below)
Make sure everyone in your department is a GEO member. The more members we have the more power we have at the bargaining table! Any graduate student can join. Info about union dues and an electronic membership card are here.
The Bargaining Research Team is meeting regularly and those interested in being on the Bargaining Team are training in preparation for the first negotiations with the university administration in mid to late February.
CGEU Conference 2020
UIUC and UIC GEOs are hosting this year’s annual conference for the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions! The conference will be held May 29-31 on the UIUC campus, therefore all our members are strongly encouraged to attend!
The theme for this year will be Restructuring and Refashioning, allowing us to discuss the history of past graduate labor and envision a future for GEO and our comrade unions across North America. The events at the conference will all be determined by grad employees, so if you have any ideas for things you would like to see or put together, email geo@uigeo.org with your suggestions! You can submit presentations ideas, performances, informal discussion topics, panels, or anything you might find relevant and worthwhile. Check out last year’s conference website to learn more about what these conferences are like and what you can expect for ours this summer!
Organizing a conference is an exciting opportunity for us, but to host a successful conference, we need as many volunteers as possible! If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out this volunteer form and let us know how you would like to help. There are plenty of jobs for anyone to take care of!
If you would like to be more involved with the conference organizing NOW then please email geo@uigeo.org for more information or to join the conference working group!
EVENTS
General Membership Meeting
Our first GMMs of 2020 will be on Wednesday, January 29th! The new year is bringing with it some challenges and tasks that we have been preparing for since last semester, but now we are preparing to put those plans into action. We will give you an update on our wage bargaining reopener efforts and discuss our preparation to host this summer's Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions (CGEU) Conference. We will also be voting on Bargaining Team members at the GMM! If you would like your voice to be heard, make sure to attend! Meetings will be at 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM at the Channing Murray Foundation, with food and childcare available at both times. We hope to see you there!
JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!
We are a member-run union; we depend on the commitment of our members to stay as strong as possible. You can find details about what each committee does and how to contact them on our website. No special knowledge is required. You can also follow the calendar of events on our website for the date and time of upcoming meetings: http://uiucgeo.org/calendar. Meetings are open to membership, and coming to a meeting does not commit you to joining a committee.
Upcoming meetings:
Healthcare Working Group (health@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Stewards’ Council (sc@uigeo.org) - Tuesday February 4, 5:30-6:30pm
Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Friday February 7, 4:30-6pm
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Thursday January 30, 10-11 am
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday January 30, 4:30-5:30pm
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Monday February 3, 4-5:30pm
RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Bargaining Team/Bargaining Research Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
CONNECT WITH GEO!
Have comments about the GMM? Other kinds of feedback for us? We want to hear it! Reply to this email or use our anonymous google form. You can also get in touch through our website and social media:
Website: www.uiucgeo.org
Twitter: @geo_uiuc
Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm
Instagram: @geo_uiuc
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org