Wage and Impact Bargaining, April GMM, & More
Table of Contents:
Events & Announcements
2020 Wage Bargaining Session #3 Scheduled
April 15th General Membership Meeting
COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Update
Labor Education Classes
JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!
CONNECT WITH GEO!
2020 Wage Bargaining Session #3 Scheduled
Our third wage bargaining session with the university administration is coming up next week from 9-11 AM CT on Tuesday, April 14.
COVID-19 has disrupted our personal and professional lives, which were already quite precarious for many of us. However, we have decided to proceed with bargaining virtually: putting our collective struggle for a living wage on hold may make matters worse for many of us.
The bargaining room and caucus room (which will also be virtual!) are crucial sites for grad employees to voice our needs and concerns. So far, we’ve been doing a great job showing up and making ourselves seen and heard in solidarity with one another. We need to keep it up, even with these circumstances. If you can attend, please fill out this form to receive the invite for the session.
April General Membership Meeting
Our April GMM will be on Wednesday, April 15th, at 5:30-7PM CT. We will meet virtually via Google Hangouts, so make sure to tune in and share your thoughts! We will be discussing COVID-19 Impact Bargaining (recent updates above), the Campus Labor Coalition, the Health Insurance Premium Fee Increase, and the reactivated International Students Working Group.
COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Update
On Tuesday, April 7th the university administration sent a response to a document, which listed our concerns and questions, we gave them at our first impact bargaining session. Some of their responses contained new information, which is what we will be updating everyone on. For more details please come to the General Membership Meeting (GMM) next week: it is important for the impact bargaining team to hear how these decisions affect you -- bargaining is not over yet!
Healthcare and COVID-19: The university administration has affirmed that United Healthcare will cover COVID-19 testing and treatment. For more information about what United Healthcare will cover and how to access testing and treatment, see: https://si.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/UHCSR_Updated_COVID.pdf
Summer Healthcare Charges: 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 will not waive summer healthcare charges.
Paid Sick Leave: The university will follow the leave requirements set forth in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which applies to graduate workers. See: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave
Overwork: The university administration will not provide compensation in any form for overwork. They reiterated their position that graduate workers should contact their direct supervisors regarding overwork issues, despite the fact that current overwork stems from a university-wide decision to move classes and work online, which is a systemic process, not an individual one.
Zoom & Privacy Concerns: At the last bargaining session, the administration agreed to provide the GEO with the University’s contract with Zoom. Recently, they stated they could not readily obtain the contract and sent us a two line excerpt of the contract.
Academic Concerns: In response to our concern about the graduation time limit, the administration has stated that it is an academic policy and therefore outside the scope of bargaining. Their response to our concerns about academic withdrawals and resignation of an assistantship was pointing to exceptions already in place in the Graduate Policy Handbook.
Spring Semester Fees: On Tuesday, April 7, the administration affirmed it would not reimburse graduate workers for any spring semester fees, despite the fact that we are not using many of the services that these fees cover. On Friday, April 10, in a university massmail, the chancellor announced some slight changes to fees that affect some graduate workers:
“Students who were assessed the Service Fee and/or the Campus Transportation Fee will see a 53% adjustment credit to each. The Service Fee credit amount will be $157. The Transportation Fee credit amount will be $33. Many undergraduate and graduate students who received fee waivers for the semester have already had the Service Fee waived.
These credits will be applied to student accounts. You may view the status of your account with the Self Service app. Please allow up to two weeks to see changes reflected.”
Graduate Workers with Disabilities: During the last bargaining session, the bargaining team raised the question of expanding DRES services for graduate workers who require assistance and accommodations with the shift to online work. The university administration contacted DRES and the Office for Access and Equity about these issues.
DRES responded to these issues as they impact students with disabilities, not workers:
“All accommodations that students with disabilities had in their courses transferred over to the online courses. In addition, if a student isn’t sure how their accommodations work in an online environment or if they need additional accommodations, they just have to contact their access specialist to discuss via phone, email, Zoom, or Skype.”
And the response from the Office for Access and Equity:
“As with all accommodations under the ADAAA, individuals seeking accommodations should request them through the ADA Division of the Office for Access and Equity. If an individual has a specific question or concern they are welcome to go to the ADA Division website and request more information or accommodations from there: https://oae.illinois.edu/reasonable-accommodations.html”
International Students: In response to our question about providing subsidies to international students who cannot go home and may not have an assistantship this summer, the administration has responded that it is not their intent to provide housing subsidies.
Labor Education Classes
We want to let you all know about these two upcoming classes that are available to GEO members for free! These classes are through the Labor Education Program at UIUC and their job is to put on these types of classes for union members.
Labor History
Online-Class Meeting: Monday April 13 6-8 PM
Online-Class Meeting: Monday April 20 6-8 PM
What does the history of the U.S. look like when viewed from the point of view of those who built the country? The class reviews working class and labor history since the Civil War, but focuses (with films) on some key labor struggles such as the 1894 Pullman Strike; organizing in the mine and textile industries; the growth of trade unionism; the rise of the CIO and the autoworker sit-down strikes; the impact of McCarthyism on the labor movement; and the expansion of public sector unionization (1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and the 1970 Postal Workers Strike).
Joining the Conversation about the Economy
Online Class Meeting Saturday April 25, 10 AM-Noon
Online Class Meeting Monday April 27, 6-8 PM
The country is embroiled in debates over economic issues, and this class gives you the information you need to effectively enter these debates. Some topics to be discussed include: What is the response to the argument that raising the minimum wage will hurt workers by increasing inflation? What arguments do unionists use to rebut the argument that so -called “right to work” laws are needed to improve the business climate? Do prevailing wage laws hurt or help workers? Should private sector workers welcome legislation to cut or eliminate public sector workers’ pensions? How does increasing globalization impact these economic questions?
If you are interested in taking both or either of these classes, please email andreaherrera@uigeo.org.
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 21, 5:30-6:30pm
Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Friday April 24, 4:30-6pm
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 23, 9-10am
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 23, 5-6pm
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Monday, April 13, 4-5:30pm
RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 16th, 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