COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Session Summary
Hello, GEO members! We hope that you are all staying safe and socially distanced during this time. Yesterday, GEO hosted a virtual Town Hall as a way to meet up for the first time since classes moved online and Illinois’ shelter-in-place order went into effect. If you missed it, or need a written recap, here are some of the important points we touched on. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to email us!
Table of Contents:
Announcements
Impact Bargaining Summary
List of Resources for those affected by COVID-19
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CONNECT WITH GEO!
Impact Bargaining Summary
On Thursday, March 26 the GEO met with the UIUC administration to bargain the impact of the administration’s response to COVID-19.
Pay Continuity: The administration had previously announced the Pay and Benefit Continuity Protocol, which ensures that all UIUC employees will continue to be paid and receive whatever benefits they were receiving as of March 9 through the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. The Impact Bargaining Team was appreciative of this policy and it came up repeatedly during our conversation with the administration.
Healthcare & COVID-19: On the subject of healthcare, the administration has not been in contact with United Healthcare about COVID-19 testing and treatment. For mental health services, graduate employees now have access to the mental health services offered to Faculty and Staff. Though we were not told how to access those services, we have made the following list of mental health resources available to our members:
Online counseling via http://telehelp4students.com
Phone appointments via the Counseling Center at 217-333-3704
After business hours, emergency counseling via the Rosecrance Crisis Line at 217-359-4141
Faculty/Staff Assistance Services (FSAS) at fsas@illinois.edu or 217-244-5312
FSAS has a list of therapists in the community providing telehealth services and can facilitate those referrals.
Summer Healthcare: In response to our request to waive summer healthcare charges, particularly for those students who do not have a summer appointment but are unable to return home, the administration said they “are not anticipating waiving summer healthcare charges at this time,” and they did not have plans to change the current charges and coverage.
Zoom & Privacy Concerns: We raised concerns about online privacy regarding Zoom. The administration agreed to provide the GEO with the University’s contract with Zoom. They made it clear that the University owns the materials that graduate employees produce for instruction on Zoom, but we confirmed that they do not plan to use the uploaded lectures to reduce the number of TA jobs available in the future.
Evaluations: On evaluations and ICES forms, the administration said that they believe supervisors will take into account the extenuating circumstances in which TAs are in and that these evaluations will not be used against future job prospects.
Paid Sick Leave: We also brought up BU members' questions and concerns about extending our paid sick leave. The administration informed us that they have set up a task force to implement the recently passed Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for university employees, which would extend two weeks of paid sick leave to those with COVID-19 related issues. They suggested to us that upon an initial reading of the act, it will apply to GEO members in the BU, although this has not been confirmed. They said they would have an answer for us this week.
Overwork: In response to our concerns about overwork in the chaotic transition to online courses, the administration repeatedly suggested treating cases of overwork on an individual basis, despite our objection that the change to online courses and related overwork affects nearly all graduate employees and should be addressed collectively. Keep your eyes peeled for a work action on this subject!
Spring Semester Fees: As the bargaining session drew to a close, we proposed that our members should be partially reimbursed for on-campus fees related to transportation, the fitness center, etc. The administration indicated that it was a reasonable request to at least prorate these fees, although no resolution was reached during this initial session.
Academic Concerns: We also brought up concerns about graduation time limits and academic withdrawals and how these policies might be damaging to BU members in the current situation. The administration did not directly address these issues, saying that they would need to liaise with the provost and graduate college to get us definitive answers. We hope to continue these conversations in our next impact bargaining session which has yet to be scheduled.
Employees with Disabilities: While graduate employees have access to Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as students, we asked what support might be provided for graduate employees with disabilities as classes and other responsibilities moved online. These concerns were not addressed by the administration in our initial meeting.
List of Resources for those affected by COVID-19
While the COVID-19 crisis is ongoing, our number one priority will always be the health and safety of our members. To that end, we will continue compiling resource documents for those who have been affected by the virus.
GEO Members have made this quick guide to resources in the Champaign-Urbana area for health, food, and other needs. This document is linked in the banner on our website.
Graduate workers in the Psychology Department wrote this document with advice regarding health, forced changes to work and lifestyle, and resources for those feeling unwell or unsafe.
Our parent union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), recently wrote this FAQ-style document focused on international students and scholars working in the United States on visas, discussing how their work status has and has not been affected by the virus. AFT has also launched a new service offering trauma counseling programs, which is available to all GEO members.
We will continue adding to this list as more information and aid resources become available.
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 April 7, 5:30-6:30pm
Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Friday April 10, 4:30-6pm
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 9, 9-10am
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 9, 5-6pm
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 2nd, 6-7pm
Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
International Students Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Note: Due to COVID-19, all meetings are now held online. Contact by email or check the calendar for more information on how to join remotely.
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