Welcome Back! COVID-19 Emergency Grants, Get Involved with GEO, New Student Orientations, and more
Table of Contents:
Announcements:
Has your tuition bill still not reflected your waiver and financial aid? Click here!
Bargaining Research Team
Grievance Committee
Communications Committee
Stewards Council
Finance Committee
Solidarity Committee
RA/PGA Working Group
Disability Caucus
Short-Term Help
Announcements
WELCOME BACK, GRAD WORKERS!
Whether you’re brand new to UIUC or returning for another year, the GEO is here to help you navigate the challenges of grad school during the COVID-19 pandemic. This newsletter contains crucial information about safety protocols and policies, emergency grant funding for graduate workers, and how to get involved in our union to help ensure that UIUC remains a safe place to live and work. To get you started, here are a few staple resources:
The GEO New Member Packet contains all you need to know about the rights and benefits our union has won for grad workers at UIUC through the power of collective bargaining. There’s also info on upcoming social events with fellow GEO members!
If you’re a TA or GA, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with your contract, which explains in great detail your compensation package, healthcare, immigration leave, and general working conditions.
Finally, if you’re new to Champaign-Urbana, GEO members collaborated on an Unofficial Guide to Life in Chambana, which might help you feel more familiar with your new home! It contains info on popular coffee shops, study spots, where to get your car repaired or take your dog to the vet, as well as general tips on life in CU.
Got COVID-19 Questions? View the GEO COVID-19 Safety Guide!
The GEO COVID-19 Impact Bargaining team (IBT) has been negotiating with the University on behalf of graduate employees since March 2020.
The COVID-19 IBT recently released a Fall 2021 COVID-19 Safety and Policy Guide, which answers frequently asked questions about COVID-19 on campus and includes safety suggestions for graduate employees.
View the Fall 2021 Safety and Policy Guide here: https://tinyurl.com/GEOCOVID19Safety.
If your tuition bill has not yet reflected your tuition waiver, assistantships, fellowships, and other financial aid, DO NOT PAY ANY FEES YET! Follow these instructions to report your financial aid in Student Self-Service:
Log onto Student Self-Service here: https://apps.uillinois.edu/selfservice/
Click on Financial Aid
Click on Financial Aid Notification, and choose the current Aid Year (Aid Year 2021-2022)
Scroll to the bottom of the Notification page and click on Request Changes.
When you click on Request Changes, the page will give you instructions on how to report any additional aid that you have, including your tuition waiver, your assistantship, and any other fellowships and scholarships. Having your offer letter on hand is convenient for reporting all of this information.
Once you submit this form, your tuition bill should automatically update within a few days, so check your bill periodically until the charges disappear. If the charges persist, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@illinois.edu.
HEERF III COVID-19 Emergency Grants
The application period for COVID-19 Emergency Grants will begin Monday, August 23, and close Friday, September 17, 2021.
Graduate and professional students may submit a request for an emergency grant of up to $1,000 to help with financial challenges associated with COVID-19. Students enrolled in an on-campus or online program are eligible to apply regardless of nationality or citizenship status.
More information about this grant is available online.
Make sure you apply and spread the word!
HEERF III COVID-19 Doctoral Program Disruption (DPD) Grants
The application period opened on Monday, August 16, and will close on Friday, September 3, 2021. This application IS NOW OPEN!
This grant is specifically for PhD and MFA graduate students, who demonstrate exceptional need and are registered at the time of application, regardless of citizenship or nationality. Examples of exceptional need may include food, housing, health care (including mental health care), child care, and/or a COVID-related disruption or a delay in your studies that has delayed your graduation.
DPD grants are available in the amount of $5,000. For more details about the DPD grant, see the Graduate College website.
If you are eligible, you can apply for both grants just make sure to submit an application for each one. Application to or receipt of the HEERF III Emergency Grant does not impact your eligibility for the DPD grant.
Know your rights!
Did you know that your employing department is required to provide you with the things you need to complete your job duties, including technology like laptops? Before you go out and buy a bunch of stuff...
Check which classroom you will be teaching in and if it has a resident PC (a computer that lives in the classroom).
Teaching in-person? You can request to rent a microphone from the University.
Ask your department to provide you with the tech you need to do your job.
If you believe your rights as a graduate employee have been violated, please reach out to your departmental steward or contact grievance@uigeo.org.
Get involved with the GEO!
Are you interested in helping GEO conduct research on our contract in preparation for the upcoming 2022 bargaining cycle? Join the Bargaining Research Team! We meet biweekly to work on preparing a contract proposal and gathering feedback from GEO members and committees. If you love doing research and digging into the data, this committee is for you! Currently, our fall semester meeting day and time are TBD. Contact barg@uigeo.org if you are interested in joining. We look forward to meeting you!
Whether it’s late wages, a missing tuition waiver, or retaliation in the workplace, the Grievance Committee enforces the union contract and helps GEO members navigate and resolve issues with the UIUC administration. The Grievance Committee also educates union members about the contract and distributes information to the larger campus community. We are looking for members who are interested in labor issues, like to advocate for others, and are detail-oriented! We are working hard defending members who are experiencing potential violations of the contract. If you are interested in joining the Grievance Committee, email grievance@uigeo.org!
The Communications Committee produces GEO-Ls and flyers, manages GEO’s social media, responds to interview requests, sends out press releases, designs and orders swag, and more. We need people with a variety of skills, for one-off and ongoing projects. For info on joining the Communications Committee, or if you have a project you’d like to take on with us, email commcomm@uigeo.org or just come to a meeting! Follow us on social media for regular updates: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
The Stewards’ Council (SC) is the primary organizing and planning body of GEO. This is where representatives from across campus come together to discuss the needs of our membership. Right now, stewards are doing office visits to sign up new members and planning events for this semester. If you are interested in becoming a Steward, email sc@uigeo.org for more information.
The Finance Committee is tasked with accounting and reporting to members on how dues are spent. Email treasurer@uigeo.org to get involved!
The Solidarity Committee (SolComm) builds connections between the GEO and other unions, social movements and local, national and international social justice causes through financial endorsements, statements of support, collaborations, and more. SolComm supports several organizations and movements that work towards economic, racial, gender, disability, prison, and environmental justice. In addition to graduate employees, we welcome undergraduate students and C-U community members to participate. If you are interested in joining the Solidarity Committee, email solcomm@uigeo.org.
The Disability Caucus is a space for d/Disabled graduate workers and allies to organize around issues that affect us and our working conditions. Contact officer3@uigeo.org for more information or to join our next meeting!
Want to help your union out on a short-term basis without joining a committee? Contact Andrea at AndreaHerrera@UIGEO.org to help input new membership cards in our database.
People First Cancel Debt Committee Pamphlet
The People First, Cancel Debt Committee presented their work around creating a Manifesto for debt resistance and organizing at the Annual Congress of the Coalition for Student Employee Unions (CSEU). The recording will be available soon, but until then don't forget to read their pamphlet below and sign up here if you would like to join. ¡Alegría para luchar, organización para vencer!
The pamphlet headline reads “People First Cancel Debt” in green text on a cream/yellowish background. Underneath, there is a picture of 10 people participating in a People First Cancel Debt event on campus. One person is holding a Mr. Monopoly Man head and a few people are dressed as Wall Street vultures. At the bottom of the page, there is a word cloud with words generated during a visioning session asking people how a People First university would look to them, e.g., “More faculty and smaller class sizes,” “Healthcare,” “Free tuition.” Next to that are three jars filled with jolly ranchers. The jar labeled “Diversity and Inclusion” has one jolly rancher (representing ~$1 million), the “Policing” jar has eight, and the “Debt Payment” jar has a lot of jolly ranchers. On the next page, there is an image of Assata Shakur along with a quote that says “Part of being a revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane. That is more loving. That is more fun, too. It's really working to create something beautiful.” Next to that is an image from the Debt Reveal that shows people talking by a table and a white board with sticky notes. The text below is on the pamphlet:
The People First, Cancel Debt Committee of the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) was founded in the summer of 2020. We believe in investing in people over property and profit. Debt, whether that of students or institutions themselves, often functions as a system of exclusion and oppression. As this committee strives for a “People First” university, we must abolish the system of endebtment that increases tuition, reduces state funding and places wealthy bankers and donors to decide over our lives and education. The University has the money and over 870 million dollars in reserves to invest in us. Through political education, and organized coalitions we will continue to work towards these ends.
We believe that a People First University IS:
Democratic and Community Based: All students, workers, unions, and community members must participate in the decision making of our public University, rather than the 10 politicians and wealthy donors of the Board of Trustees.
Free tuition and subsidized resources: Education is a right, not a commodity and by eliminating costs and subsidizing food, housing, child care and other services we regain our humanity instead of perpetuating inequities and exploitation.
Liberatory and Critical Education: Provides students and community with a critical view of society and its inequities to use education for social transformation and the common good.
Radically diverse and inclusive: To create a People First society, we must dismantle (not reform) all systems of oppression related to race, class, gender, ability and more. We are workers and internationalists! Our committee is multilingual with active Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) members.
Divested from Debt and Imperialistic Funding: We want more state funding for our Universities by taxing the rich, rather than borrowing money from corporations, donors and banks. We must abolish funding related to military forces that oppress colonies and BIPOC individuals around the World.
TO Build a "People First" University We WILL:
engage in affectionate responsibility toward a collective vision that is anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, and anti-abilist.
increase our political education around debt and university finances to convey our vision as part of the #ThePowerofUs campaign.
create a People First Coalition and Assembly so that any worker, community member and student can propose a collective plan for our University.
recruit amazing people like you to build a movement that starts creating the society we want to see in the World.
In the past year, WE:
participated in the national debt reveal from #TheOtherDebtCrisis that included a skit featuring Wall Street Vultures and Mr. Monopoly, a budget guessing game with candy, and a sticky note visioning session. UIUC students pay 1,700 USD a year in debt service that could be used for subsidized goods.
researched budget documents, developed financial literacy, and read and summarized texts that contributed to our political analysis.
hosted a teach-in with our political analysis around debt and shared it with Unions on Campus.
hosted a forum on the 2017 University of Puerto Rico student debt strike that inspired our movement.
To create a People First University, we need your passion and commitment! Join us today by filling out this form: https://tinyurl.com/CancelDebtForm or reach us via email at officer2@uigeo.org.
Events
Steward’s Social at the Blind Pig: Friday, August 20, 8 PM CT
Image description: On a white background, the image contains The Blind Pig’s logo in gold at the top, which is the silhouette of a pig facing the right and standing on a line, while the sun’s rays emanate from the pig. Underneath the logo in large blue letters reads: SUMMER STEWARD’S SOCIAL. In smaller black text underneath, it states: Join the GEO Steward’s Council for an evening at The Blind Pig! In even smaller black text underneath, it says:
The Details:
What: SC Happier Hour
When: Friday, August 20th at 8 PM
Where: The Blind Pig (120 N Neil St. Location).
It’s that time again! Join us at The Blind Pig this Friday, August 20th at 8 PM for some brews with the stews and wind down a little before the semester begins. Stay tuned for upcoming events hosted by the Steward’s Council in future GEO-Ls!
New Graduate Student GEO Orientations: Tuesday, August 31, 11 AM-12 PM, 1-2 PM, 3-4 PM, 5-6 PM CT
Know a new graduate worker who has not attended a GEO orientation yet? Help recruit them to the union by letting them know that stewards will be hosting four virtual one-hour orientation sessions on August 31st at:
11:00 AM
1:00 PM
3:00 PM
5:00 PM
The link for these sessions is meet.google.com/mqa-obdk-wtr. At each of these sessions, they will have the opportunity to sign a membership card. As an added bonus, new members who sign a membership card during or prior to orientation will be entered into a drawing for exclusive GEO swag!
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org