Wage Bargaining Session #5, Healthcare & Mutual Aid Updates
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Announcements:
Wage Bargaining Session #5
Healthcare Survey Part 2
PPE Survey
Events:
No Police CU and other WAG updates
JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!
CONNECT WITH GEO!
Announcements
Wage Bargaining Session #5
Our fifth bargaining session for our contract’s wage reopener will be on Wednesday, June 17th, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Central Time. University administration and our Bargaining Team will both be bringing new offers to the bargaining table, and we want to see as many members as possible in the caucus room both to hear from all of you and to show admin our strength and unity regardless of time or circumstances! Follow this link so that you can be emailed ahead of the session with instructions on how to join the caucus room, and check out the Facebook event here.
GEO Healthcare Survey Part 2
The Summer Sustainable Block Grant’s program, announced the morning of the GEO’s May 1st Drive to Survive Car Rally, should be considered a success by our union. We phone banked, bargained, and rallied to win this--excellent work! But, we recognize that some graduate workers are still left struggling to afford healthcare this summer. To help us assess where to put our healthcare campaign energies next, we’ve put together a second healthcare survey. By giving just 5-10 minutes of your time, you can help GEO help you!
Mutual Aid Requests & Volunteers for PPE
As many of us are returning to work, the university has finally started providing some of the necessary masks, hand sanitizer, and other PPE necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, despite many essential university workers being left to work without PPE or provide their own for the past few months. In the recent COVID-19 Impact and Mutual Aid survey, PPE was reported as one of the highest needs among graduate workers. UIUC has the resources to provide for all of its workers, so why were we left without basic essentials in the midst of a pandemic? The GEO Mutual Aid Team wants to make sure all of us, whether we’re returning to work on campus or working from home, get the PPE we and our loved ones need to stay safe and healthy. If you need PPE—masks, gloves, or hand sanitizer—please fill out the brief, two-minute form linked below, and we will do our best to meet your needs. We also need help with providing PPE—please fill out a different, two-minute form linked below if you can help with making, donating, or distributing masks, gloves, or hand sanitizer. The link to both forms is at linktr.ee/UIUCMutualAid.
Interested in getting involved in the Mutual Aid Working Group? Email geo@uigeo.org to learn more!
Events
No Police C-U Meeting
The GEO’s Work Action Group hosted a first “No Police C-U” coalition meeting on Wednesday, June 10. There were close to 50 participants, both community members as well as representatives from over 10 local organizations. The objective of the first meeting was to provide a gathering space for organizing related to defunding the police in Urbana-Champaign, and reinvesting in Black communities and the life-affirming structures that actually keep communities safe. Along these lines, we invite everyone to read, sign, and share a statement -- signed by community members, UIUC staff, faculty, undergraduates, graduate workers, and other stakeholders in life on and near UIUC’s campus -- demanding that UIUC divest from its relations with local police, and instead invest in student and community wellbeing: https://bit.ly/3cXtgAO. All students, organizations, and community members are invited to attend the second “No Police C-U” coalition meeting on Tuesday, June 23, at 5:30 pm Central Time: meet.google.com/qxa-apzx-dxd.
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) - Contact email for more
Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more
International Students Working Group (geo@uigeo.org ) - Contact email for more
Work Action Group (uiucgeowat@gmail.com) - Contact email for more
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 our current efforts and initiatives? 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