People First Week, Wage Bargaining Session 7 on Monday, Grievance Update, and More
Table of Contents:
Announcements
Wage Bargaining Survey Part 2
The GEO is doing another wage bargaining survey! At our most recent bargaining session, the Administration offered us a minimum wage of $18,321 next year and $18,780 in the following year (our current minimum is $17,788). We need to hear from you: what do you think about these numbers? What numbers would you propose for the next two years? Please fill out this very short survey. We can only move forward with bargaining if we hear from you!
ICE Announcement Recap
The ISWG and the whole of GEO supports the University’s decision to join the existing lawsuits, and we are relieved to see the new ICE regulations struck down. However, we believe the fight is far from over. ICE (and by extension the Trump Administration) has shown how easily they can upend the lives of thousands of people in our community, and we call on the University to be proactive in questions of immigration. We believe the University should declare itself a sanctuary campus, and provide a legal fund for immigration issues of international and DACA students. Our diversity is our strength and we must protect it!
Grievance Committee Update: Tuition Waivers Issue Headed to Arbitration
This week the Grievance Committee met with the Administration about their proposed changes to the Tuition Waiver Policy. We were unable to find common ground and have submitted the matter to arbitration, where an impartial outside party will look over the facts and make a binding decision for either the GEO or the Administration.
The GEO needs your help to win! To present the most compelling case to the arbiter, we need to know how this proposed change will affect you. The Grievance Committee is collecting statements from those who will be harmed by this change, along with other information. To contribute a statement, or to ask us any questions, drop us a line at grievance@uigeo.org.
Legal costs are being covered by our parent union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
GEO Stands in Solidarity with Striking Nurses in Joliet
More than 700 nurses at the AMITA Health Center in Joliet, IL have been holding an unfair labor practice strike since July 4 in response to intimidation, threats of termination, and continued dismissal at the bargaining table. Even as healthcare workers are on the front lines of the pandemic response, they are fighting to protect the safety of patients while hospitals fight to protect their bottom line. Read the GEO’s statement of solidarity and donate/share their strike fund!
Ameren Planning to Resume Electricity Shutoffs
Ameren Illinois plans to resume sending out disconnect notices on July 29, which is allowed under the state’s Phase 4 of reopening. Households in IL deserve to have their human rights, including electricity, protected. Here’s how you can help:
Write a testimonial: Let us know how Ameren resuming shutoffs on July 29th would affect you as well as your friends, family, and community. Testimonials will be used for social media and press releases to pressure Governor JB Pritzer to act. You can choose to include your name or submit anonymously using this Google form.
Send an email: Write to Lt. Governor Stratton and Governor Pritzker’s office and demand that Phase 4 of the pandemic response be changed to include a prohibition on utility shutoffs.
Events
Wage Bargaining Session #7
Round 7 of Wage Bargaining is coming up, and it's time for us to Pack the (Virtual) Room! Let's tell the admin they need to put people first over profit!
Please RSVP here if you would like to be personally invited to the next GEO virtual bargaining session, which will take place online, Monday, July 20, 1–3PM CT!
People First Week
Join the GEO for a People First week to demand that the University put people first over profits! We are holding a week of events, culminating in a People First Procession and Rally on Thursday, to demand:
Pandemic Care!
All coursework during the COVID-19 pandemic must be held online when technologically possible. The health of students, faculty, and staff must be prioritized before profits.
Liberate University COVID-19 resources: The University's COVID-19 testing should be available to everyone in the Champaign-Urbana community, not just UIUC students, faculty, and staff.
No Austerity! The University must pay graduate workers a living wage. No layoffs or pay cuts to campus workers!
A People’s Budget! University budgeting must be done in conversation with all unions and labor organizations on campus. Campus workers and students must have a say in the University’s budget and must be given direct decision-making power over the budget.
Divest from Police, Reinvest in Black Lives! The University must divest from policing as a step toward abolition, and reinvest in Black students and communities.
Abolish ICE! The University must declare itself a sanctuary campus, provide a legal fund for immigration issues of international and DACA students, and actively work to resist ICE’s racist, xenophobic policies.
Divest from Fossil Fuels! The University must sever all relationships with corporations that participate in planetary degradation. Environmental justice now!
Divest from Militarization & Occupation! The University must sever all relationships with corporations and institutions responsible for militarization and occupation, from Palestine to Mexico.
Full People First Week Schedule:
Monday July 20th
All day: Join GEO in solidarity with the #StrikeForBlackLives where thousands of workers nationwide will be walking off the job. Read more for political education resources & summaries and ways to participate via social media and email!
1-3 PM CT: GEO Wage Bargaining Session! Please RSVP here.
Tuesday July 21st
All day: Join GEO members in emailing University of Illinois administrators in support of the demands listed in the UIUC Divestment from Local Police letter.
10 AM - 1 PM CT: Join GEO in a phone zap campaign to call the same University of Illinois administrators and let them know we demand cops off campus.
Wednesday July 22nd
All day: Join GEO members and keep up the emails to UIUC administrators! Email in support of the demands listed in our initial ICE statement.
10 AM - 1 PM CT: Join GEO members in calling the same administrators to demand the University declare itself a sanctuary campus, and provide a legal fund for immigration issues of international and DACA students.
Thursday July 23rd
8 AM: GEO members will read our People First Demands at the online Board of Trustees meeting.
4-7 PM: Join the GEO for a People First procession and rally!
8 PM CT: Check out a panel on Will-TV: “What Should Be the Role of Police in Champaign-Urbana?” featuring: GEO member Tariq Khan, UIUC Professor Naomi Paik, activist Titianna Ammons, Parkland Professor Evelyn Reynolds, along with the mayors of Champaign and Urbana, Champaign police chief, and Champaign County sheriff. Find more info here.
Friday July 24th
We are working on planning an outdoor socially distanced social gathering (with masks!) at 5 PM. To plan this, it would be useful for us to get a sense of how many people are interested. Please indicate your interest on this form (even if you’re not 100% sure if you can make it), and we will keep you updated on details!
People First Procession and Rally on Thursday July 23rd:
4 PM: We will be meeting in Parking Lot A of Orchard Downs. There will be supplies for sign-making and for dressing up your car! Feel free to use any language from our messaging above.
5 PM: We will head out of Orchard Downs in a long, slow car and bike procession. Once we are out of the parking lot, feel free to honk and make lots of noise throughout the entire procession. Go slowly, follow the cars in front of you, and follow all traffic laws.
6 PM: The car and bike procession will arrive at Parking Lot A9 / A3. Parking is free after 5pm. We will then march over to Alma Mater (less than 2 blocks). For those who are skipping the car procession, meet us at Alma Mater at 6 PM for the embodied rally!
We are looking for volunteers to help out with several aspects of the Thursday protest! Please fill out this form if you can offer your time or donations in any of the following areas:
Supplies: car chalk, poster board, masks, hand sanitizer, water, & snacks
Check-in: we need people to help with checking folks in & getting people’s phone numbers if they want to be added to the Signal group for updates during the protest
Bikers: we are looking for bike volunteers to help keep everybody together throughout the procession.
Musicians: please bring your instruments/voices to the protest!
Artists: please come at 4 PM as we will be making signs and painting a banner!
Virtual Debrief for UIUC Faculty and Staff on DACA Supreme Court Decision
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (OVCDEI) is organizing a debrief of the DACA Supreme Court decision for faculty and staff, including graduate workers. College of Law Professor Lauren Aronson will discuss what all of this means for our students, staff, and community on Tuesday, July 21st, at 11 AM CT. Attendees must register here by Monday 7/20 at 12 PM CT.
Other
Help with Shirts!
GEO’s Communications Committee is planning to order new GEO swag in the next few weeks! We are working on a new shirt design that says “We are GEO” in all languages represented in our union and on campus. Here is a viewable list of the translations we have collected from members, but if you are able to translate “We are GEO” in any additional languages, please fill out this form so we can make our shirt as inclusive and representative of our membership as possible!
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org