Campus Elections, Referendum to Invest in People not Police

Table of Contents:

Announcements:

• Vote YES Today & Tomorrow on Referendum to Invest in People not Police

• Adrian Wong is on the ballot for Student Trustee!

• We Won Summer Healthcare!

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Announcements

Vote YES Today/Tomorrow on Referendum to Invest in People not Police

A purple flyer says “VOTE” in white text and “Yes” in orange text, next to a checkbox with an orange checkmark. “Mar. 23-24, 2021” is written underneath in orange, followed by white text that reads “on the referendum to reallocate 25% of UIPD’s funds to resources for students, workers, and community members via participatory budgeting!” At the bottom studentelections.illinois.edu and #DefundUIPD are in orange text. On the right side, there is an image of a police car with a red X over it and a green plant that is growing out of a dollar bill.

The flyer says “UIUC is a billion dollar business, but does it give back? in black text on a white background with images of yellow coins with a question mark at the bottom. To the right of this, it says “$1.2 billion UIUC’s operating fund in the 2020-21 budget” on a light purple rectangle and “$0 Property taxes paid by UIUC” on a light blue rectangle. At the bottom it says in white text on a dark purple background “VOTE YES on the referendum to reallocate 25% of UIPD’s funds to resources for students, workers, and community members via participatory budgeting!” followed by a link to studentelections.illinois.edu and a QR code on a yellow background.

The first flyer, translated into Spanish.

The first flyer, translated to Simplified Mandarin.

The first flyer, translated to Traditional Mandarin.

Today and tomorrow, please vote YES on a referendum by Defund UIPD & People First Cancel Debt, sponsored by the Illinois Student Government (ISG). The referendum calls on UIUC to reallocate 25% of UIPD’s funds to resources for students, workers, and community members via a participatory budgeting process! Vote at studentelections.illinois.edu!

From July 2019 to June 2020, the University spent $8.2 million on UIPD. This referendum asks that 25% of that funding—approximately $2.05 million—be redistributed to resources for students, workers, and community members (for example, mental health resources). Currently, only the University Board of Trustees and administration can make direct budgetary decisions. In contrast, participatory budgeting allows a community to democratically decide how to spend a portion of a public budget.

For more information, you can find Defund UIPD's full statement on the referendum here, and this Daily Illini article that quotes GEO & Defund UIPD member Angela Ting and Campus Faculty Association and Defund UIPD member A. Naomi Paik. Please share our flyers to help get out the vote (but do not share in classrooms—that is against the campaign rules)!

[Hover your mouse over the flyer to access image descriptions. Versions of the first flyer in Spanish, Simplified Mandarin, and Traditional Mandarin can be found by navigating through the slideshow with your arrow keys. Translations provided by GEO members Andi Lee Quasebarth and Stephanie Perez.]

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Adrian Wong is on the ballot for Student Trustee!

The GEO also encourages you to vote for our co-president Adrian Wong for Student Trustee, so that we can have a voice representing graduate workers at the decision-making table of the University system! Again, the link to vote is at https://studentelections.illinois.edu!

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We Won Summer Healthcare!

Image Description: Flyer with white and yellow background with multi-colored red, yellow, and blue sprinkles. At the top of the flyer, in black, bold text, reads "Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO), AFT / IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO." In the middle of the flyer, in a big, light red banner, reads "We Won Summer Healthcare!" The type is yellow, blocky, and bold. At the bottom of the flyer is text that reads, in red type, "Full coverage of McKinley Fee. 87% Coverage of Health Insurance Fee. For more information visit [and then this web address]: https://grad.illinois.edu/current/summer-insurance." A GEO Logo—a black circle with the letters G, E, and O—is in the lower right-hand corner of the flyer.

When we work together, we win! After months of bargaining, one email campaign and one phone campaign, the COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Team has secured healthcare fee waivers for grad students enrolled in Spring and Summer ‘21, regardless of appointment status. Visit https://grad.illinois.edu/current/summer-insurance for information on the current program, and stay tuned for further details from admin.

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In Solidarity,

Graduate Employees’ Organization

809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room

Champaign, IL 61820

Email: geo@uigeo.org