GEO Local 6300 IFT/AFT AFL-CIO at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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News and GEO-L

Member Communications

GEO Elections, Summer Healthcare Actions, May Day Rally

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Table of Contents:

  • Announcements

    • GEO Elections

    • Survey for Campus Workers: Mutual Aid Network

    • PSL Mutual Aid in CU

  • Current Healthcare Actions

    • Survey for All Grad Students: Healthcare & Impact Bargaining Items

    • Requesting Faculty Support for Graduate Student Healthcare

    • Drive to Survive May Day Rally

  • JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!

  • CONNECT WITH GEO!


GEO Officer Elections:

GEO will be holding online elections on May 13th. On election day, we will post a link to the election site here. We are a member led union, and that means we need every one of you to make your voice heard in these elections! We will be voting on a change to our constitution and on elected representatives for the next academic year. 

The proposed change to the constitution creates a new Secretary position. The Secretary’s duties would be to maintain the accuracy and security of GEO’s membership database, and to work with GEO staff to analyze membership data to assist with organizing efforts. The full text of the amendment can be found here, with edits in red.

The representative positions up for election are below, with descriptions of each here:

  • Co-presidents

  • Communications Co-Chairs

  • Solidarity Co-Chairs

  • Co-Treasurers

  • Grievance Officer

  • Officers-at-Large (up to 3)

  • Secretary

Any member can nominate themselves for any position. If you are interested in running, please email geo@uiucgeo.org. Even if you don’t want to run for an elected position, now is a great time to join a committee or working group! Committee meetings are open to all members, and meeting times are listed in the GEO calendar and at the bottom of every GEO-L.


Faculty Support for Graduate Student Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled the GEO to revisualize and step up the pace on both our organizing and bargaining fronts. For the remaining few weeks of the academic year, GEO Committees and Working Groups are now coordinating our work around a central, 2-pronged project: 

  1. Secure healthcare coverage for ALL graduate students over the summer 2020

  2. Revoke the healthcare fee hike for ALL students for AY 2020-21

GEO is approaching these goals from a number of fronts. In addition to Impact Bargaining the University’s response to COVID-19 (where summer health insurance is a line-item under negotiation), issuing a Joint-Statement with the Campus Labor Coalition (CLC), and conducting a call-out last month about the healthcare fee increase, GEO has been discussing the essential matter of healthcare with faculty and seeking to build solidarity for the long term. We are thrilled to announce that the Non-Tenured Faculty Coalition (NTFC) and the Campus Faculty Association (CFA), two other critical academic labor organizations at UIUC, have agreed to send this letter with us to the Provost, Chancellor, and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. This letter has a chance at shaping Administration’s decisions -- if you circulate it!

  • Healthcare @UIUC: Open Letter to University Admin from Academic Labor Orgs

    • Share this letter with your professors, mentors, and colleagues, especially Heads of Department, Directors of Graduate Studies, Unit Executives, and other influential individuals (i.e. representatives of campus ministries)

    • Ask them to add their name and title if they support (letter is in a Google Form)

  • Email templates for contacting faculty

    • Feel free to use the email templates we have drafted in the body of your emails asking faculty and others to sign onto the Healthcare Open Letter

    • If you have any questions or concerns about writing to faculty or other individuals, contact geo@uigeo.org


Healthcare and COVID-19 Aid Surveys

GEO has put together two different surveys for membership: 

Healthcare & Impact Bargaining Needs Survey

  • GEO needs to know what grads need in order to effectively bargain and organize for these needs. 

  • For all graduate students on campus: you do not need to be a GEO member or a Bargaining Unit member (TA/GA) to submit responses.

COVID-19 Impact & Mutual Aid Survey

  • Please fill out this survey to help us get a sense of the issues, needs, and resources of campus workers and to join us in building a mutual aid network so we can come together to support each other's needs. 

  • All campus workers are invited to participate in this survey. You do not need to be a GEO or union member to fill out the survey.


Mutual Aid in the CU Community

  • The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is launching a grocery delivery program to help assist those in the CU area who are having difficulties obtaining groceries during the COVD-19 pandemic.

  • There is no delivery fee or shopping fee.  The PSL asks you to reimburse them for the cost of the groceries, but no one will be turned down because of inability to pay.

  • You can view the details of the program here.  All grocery orders will be taken through this order form.


Drive to Survive May Day Rally

Join GEO on May Day (May 1st) for the Drive to Survive May Day Rally! As we continue to fight for summer healthcare coverage, join us as we rally in our cars (or bikes, scooters, motorcycles, tennis shoes, etc) in two visible campus locations to let the administration and Board of Trustees know that social distancing does not mean distancing from solidarity.

Please meet at 12:00 PM CT in parking lot A of Orchard Downs. From there we will make our presence felt on two visible campus locations. When we are forced to be apart, it is more important than ever to show up for each other and demand the university provide summer health insurance and refuse to increase health insurance premiums in August!

Those who can’t participate in person are encouraged to participate via social media, sharing why summer healthcare is vital and tagging the university in their posts. (Post templates will be available on 5/1.)

Sign up here!

Facebook event!

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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 May 5, 5:30-6:30pm

Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more

Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Friday May 8, 4:30-6pm

Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Thursday May 7, 9-10am 

Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday May 7, 5-6pm

Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Monday May 11, 4-5:30pm

RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 30, 6-7pm

Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Tuesday May 5, 5:30-7pm

International Students Working Group (geo@uigeo.org ) - Wednesday April 29, 2-3pm

Work Action Group (uiucgeowat@gmail.com) - Thursday April 30, 3-4pm

Mutual Aid Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Wednesday April 29, 2-3pm

GEO Tech Working Group (dg49402@gmail.com)- 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