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

COVID Impact Bargaining Update, GEO Officer Elections, May GMM

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Table of Contents:

  • Announcements

    • COVID Impact Bargaining Updates

    • Supplementary Summer Block Grant Program

    • Healthcare and COVID-19 Aid Surveys

  • Events

    • May GMM

    • GEO Officer Elections

  • JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!

  • CONNECT WITH GEO!


Announcements

COVID Impact Bargaining Update:

On Thursday April 30th, we met with the University administration for our third impact bargaining session. In this session, we discussed summer healthcare, the zoom contract, and compensation for use of personal equipment for work. 

Summer Healthcare: The University bargaining team repeated their position that "the University has no intention of offering any subsidy for summer healthcare for graduate students." We reiterated that we want to keep having conversations about this topic, but given their position we will have to continue with actions outside the bargaining room.

Zoom Contract: We learned that the University's contract with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. has a non-disclosure agreement clause (NDA), which is delaying the University's ability to provide the contract to our bargaining team and membership. The bargaining team shared its plans with the University to file a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) for this information.

Equipment Compensation: The University and the Union had a collaborative discussion about a 'tech subsidy,' wherein graduate students using their personal equipment for work-related activities would receive either a one-time subsidy for that use, or the ability to request reimbursement on an ongoing basis. In the GEO’s view, the subsidy or reimbursement should cover 'wear and tear' in addition to discrete costs such as upgrades to wifi, routers, computers, etc. The University will investigate the possibility of this 'tech subsidy' and discuss it further with the GEO bargaining team at the next impact bargaining session.


Supplementary Summer Block Grant Program:

Last week, the Office of the Provost announced the Supplementary Summer Block Grant Program (SSBG) to support graduate students who will not have assistantships or fellowship funds in Summer 2020. The funds will be distributed by departments in consultation with their respective colleges. Graduate students will receive between $1,111 and $2,083 per month for two months; the exact amount will be determined by departments “based upon need and availability of funds.” This includes a full tuition and fee waiver, along with an 87% subsidy of the $696 summer health insurance fee (amounting to $90.48). 

The GEO has been bargaining the impact of COVID-19 with administration since March 26th. We have maintained since our first impact bargaining session that the pandemic increased precarity among graduate employees who have had summer assistantships, fellowships, and research opportunities cancelled or postponed. The GEO has been organizing to get the University to cover summer health insurance premiums for all grad workers and to revoke the 33% health insurance premiums for AY 2020-2021, and the SSBG announcement indicates that our organizing is having an effect. Thank you to those who participated in our #MayDay2020 Drive To Survive Rally, and our April 24th Call-in event - when we fight, we win! 

However, the SSBG will still apply funding unevenly across departments, and graduate students in self-supporting and cost recovery programs are ineligible. We must continue to organize to address the coming 33% hike in healthcare premiums that will begin in the fall, when we will likely still be dealing with COVID-19.

What to do?


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.


Events

May General Membership Meeting

Our next GMM will be on Wednesday, May 6th from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM Central Time. We'll be talking about officer elections, a proposed change to the GEO constitution to create an elected Secretary position, and updates about summer healthcare for grad students. You can join the call via Google hangouts!

Google Hangouts Link

Facebook event

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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.


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 May 14, 6-7pm

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

International Students Working Group (geo@uigeo.org ) - Wednesday May 6, 2-3pm

Work Action Group (uiucgeowat@gmail.com) - Friday May 8, 12-1pm

Mutual Aid Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more

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