TODAY at 2 PM! Next Impact Bargaining Session
Subject: Impact Bargaining Today!
***February 28, 2022***
Table of Contents:
Events:
Virtual COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Session 2/28/22, 2 PM CT
Thank you to everyone who attended or contributed to GEO’s action and impact bargaining session last week for safe COVID-19 working and learning conditions! Thanks to all of our amazing work, UIUC admin has made substantial movement on our proposals for the first time in months and we are now very close to winning progress toward our health and safety demands! However, the fight is not over. We anticipate a surge in cases due to the changes in face covering guidance, student travel over Spring Break, and the potentially more contagious Omicron BA.2 subvariant. The University administration’s recent update to the face covering guidance still contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC’s) new metric for determining risk: Community Levels.
Though Champaign County is ranked as Medium Community Level, these calculations were not made from the most recent data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The more recent, IDPH data reports high levels of transmission, bumping Champaign County up to High Risk. These metrics indicate that everyone still needs to wear masks indoors.
We have a virtual impact bargaining session today (Mon 2/28) 2-4 pm, but without members like you packing the Zoom room to show UIUC admin we care about our community’s health and safety, we cannot win these demands for high quality masks, COVID-19 exposure notifications, regular testing and building access status checks, worker choice, and changes to mask mandate policy!
You don’t have to stay the whole session and you’re welcome to come late/leave early. You can also bring other work—your mere presence in the room is powerful! RSVP here to receive a Zoom link to attend the session Monday 2-4 pm: https://tinyurl.com/COVIDIBSess20.
Add your voice to the conversation on social media using #ILLatIllinois.
[alt text: a table. The left column reads metric, the center “cutoff criteria,” and right column “champaign county. The first row reads: “New cases in the last 7 days per 100,000, If < 200, then low, 277*” The second row reads: “New COVID-19 admissions in the last 7 days per 100,000, If < 10, then medium, 11.5*” The Third row reads: “The proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, on average, over the last 7 days, If < 10%, then medium, 5.5%. Beneath the table is an asterisk explaining “IDPH reports 277 per 100,000 and was last updated 2/25/2022. CDC reported 185.99 per 100,000 and was last updated 2/24/2022.”]
[Alt text: Blue poster with red, green, and yellow bars stemming from the top left, bottom left, and middle right of the page. Big white text on the middle left says “COVID-19 IMPACT BARGAINING SESSION - 2/28/22”. The GEO logo in white is on the top right. Bottom right white text says “PACK THE SCREEN! Attend virtually and support our union’s Impact Bargaining Team! Monday, February 28, 2022, 2:00-4:00 PM CDT. Register here:
https://tinyurl.com/COVIDIBSess20. IBT members will be negotiating for a more comprehensive COVID-19 notification system, unlimited PPE (K/N95 masks), and extension of the UIUC mask mandate past February 28.“]
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org