Officer elections, Solidarity Open House, and GEO Speaks!
Subject: Officer elections, Solidarity Open House, and GEO Speaks!
***April 11, 2022***
Table of Contents:
Announcements:
Events:
Announcements
Upcoming Officer Elections
The current Coordinating Committee is collecting names of GEO members who are interested in running as officers for next year. These roles are essential to both keeping the union going and winning a strong contract next year.
Here are some of the possible officer roles:
Co-President
Stewards’ Council Co-Chair
Co-Treasurer
Secretary
Grievance Committee Co-Chair
Communications Committee Co-Chair
Solidarity Committee Co-Chair
Officers-at-large (3)
Stewards’ Council Supporting Officers (3)
Some of the positions have tentative commitments from candidates, but many do not! You can find more information about the union’s committees here and learn more about the GEO as a whole here.
If you’re interested, please email cc@uigeo.org!
GEO Speaks!
We are asking anyone who is interested to fill out a survey on their experience in the GEO to share on socials, and possible to be part of a short video. If interested follow this link to the google form: https://tinyurl.com/GEOSpeaks, and let us know if you would be interested in filming a short testimonial video!
[alt text: Blue, white and yellow flyer advertising GEO speaks. At the top there is a yellow triangle with blue font that says: Calling All Members. Below that on the right side a blue background with yellow font says GEO Speaks, with a megaphone and below that says: “Share why you joined and what you hope we can achieve together.” On the left side, there is a white background that says in blue font: “We want to hear your GEO story.” Below that there are two bullet points that say: “Be featured on GEO socials or in a short video” and “Tell us what YOU see as the potential for collective action” below that says: “Link to Survey Here: https://tinyurl.com/GEOSpeaks,” with a QR code. At the bottom there's a yellow triangle with blue font that says: “Questions? Email: Karla Sanabria-Véaz or Savannah Wills sav.elizaw@gmail.com”]
Union Solidarity
On Campus: Join AFSCME (UIUC clerical, extension, and childcare workers) for a rally Wednesday April 13, 12-1 pm for a fair contract with retroactive pay and fair annual increases for all workers. Meet at the South Entrance of the Illini Union (Quad side).
Off Campus: Graduate workers at Indiana University, Bloomington are organizing to win better wages and an end to the mandatory fees (which are over $700 per semester, more for international students). Contribute to their strike fund here.Members of AFSCME Local 1110 at Illinois State University are preparing to go out on strike—and your support is urgently needed. These building service, food service, and grounds maintenance employees have been treated with total disrespect by the university. EMAIL UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENTin support of a fair contract for AFSCME members.
EVENTS
Solidarity Committee Open House on April 13
GEO’s Solidarity Committee invites you to our annual Open House at 6pm on April 13th (in-person or online)! Join us to learn about all of the amazing work our team has been up to this past year - from supporting IL union picket lines to building international solidarity! Do you have ideas for what solcomm should focus on next? Or want to be more involved in building community but don't know how? We would love to chat and hope to see you there! Everyone is welcome and food from Stango will be provided to in-person attendees. Join the Facebook event here. Please RSVP here so we can get a head count for food for in-person attendees and so we can send a link to online attendees: bit.ly/SOLCOMMGMM
[image description: Mustard colored Flier advertising G-E-O's Solcomm open house on Wednesday April 13th at 6:00pm (R-S-V-P link: bit.ly/SOLCOMMGMM), in the IMC - address 202 S. Broadway, Urbana. Dinner is provided. Food provided by Stango Cuisine. Pictured are four cartoon individuals holding protest signs that read National Strike, S-E-I-U Local 73, Anti-racism, and Stand with Women.”]
Parkland: Fire Finney! Thursday, April 21, 11:30 AM
Parkland College has hired ex-Champaign Police Chief RT Finney, who was directly involved in the police killing of Kiwane Carrington, an unarmed Black teenager in Champaign in 2009. Finney is currently teaching a criminal justice class at Parkland. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and local community activists are acting to put pressure on Parkland’s President Tom Ramage to Fire Finney. Join us Thursday April 21, 11:30 AM, Parkland Main U building in demanding that anti-Black policing stop being taught at Parkland College.
Bargaining Session 3 on Thursday, April 28th from 3:30-5:30 PM
Thursday, April 28, 3:30-5:30 pm CT
Via Zoom. Register to attend at https://tinyurl.com/GEOBargSess3.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Thursday, April 28th from 3:30-5:30 PM. The Bargaining Team needs as much support as possible, make sure to pack the screen for this virtual session! We will continue to work towards a fair contract!
[Image Description: Orange poster with lime green bullhorn on the top right. Big text in alternating white, white with black borders, and green says: “FULL CONTRACT BARGAINING SESSION #3 4/28/22”. Underneath this says “3:30 PM-5:30 PM” in green. Under this says “On Thursday, April 28 from 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM, GEO’s Bargaining Team will be negotiating with university administration on topics of access and justice, wages and waivers, and health and safety in our contract.” To the right of this is the GEO logo in white. At the bottom is green text that says “RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/GEOBargSess3”]
Learn How to Organize for Power with GEO This Summer! (May 10-June 14)
Want to be a part of winning a strong contract this year? Join your fellow GEO organizers at the Organizing for Power (O4P) Core Fundamentals Training this summer!
This FREE training is held in 2-hour sessions on Tuesdays for 6 weeks, with two different time options (11:00 am or 7:00 pm CT, which we'll vote on as a group). The program is run by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and covers the basics of organizing around a campaign. Sessions cover topics like language use in organizing, having successful organizing conversations, record-keeping, and power analyses.
O4P is completely online and will have thousands of participants from all over the world. It's a 15-18 hour total commitment, but it will be useful, energizing, and a great way to get to know your GEO colleagues! Rank and file members, stewards, and officers are all encouraged to attend.
Register and vote for your preferred session time at https://tinyurl.com/O4P-2022. Please send any questions to Lesley at LLesleyOwens@Gmail.com.
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.
https://www.uiucgeo.org/committees-and-working-groups
Upcoming meetings:
Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday, April 14th 5:00pm-6:30pm. Virtual. Google Meet https://meet.google.com/cjv-rvbu-aym
Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Friday, April 15th, 1:00pm-3:00pm. Contact email for link.
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Wednesday, April 13th 3:00pm-4:00pm. Virtual. https://meet.google.com/see-bcwq-gbn
Stewards’ Council (sc@uigeo.org) - Tuesday, April 19th 6:30pm-7:30 pm. Virtual. Contact email for link.
People First Cancel Debt Committee (officer2@uigeo.org)- , Tuesday, April 12th 5:00pm-6:30pm Hybrid (online via Jitsi) and GEO Office (809 S 5th St Geneva Room. McKinley Foundation.
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Meetings open to all GEO Members. Monday, April 25th from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Hybrid: Google Meet and GEO Office. Contact email for more.
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday, April 21th 5:00-6:00 pm. Every other Wednesday on google meet (schedule conflict, Thursday this week only!). Contact email for more.
Disability Caucus (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Tuesday, April 12th 3:00-4:00 pm. Every Tuesday on google meet. Contact geodisabilityuiuc@gmail.com or officer3@uigeo.orgfor more.
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org