The Time is Now! Rally, Bargaining Session & Tutor-In
THE TIME IS NOW! Let’s show up for ourselves for Bargaining Session #18
We're currently in a very critical moment in bargaining and your participation will make a huge difference. As we explained in our State of the Union address, our contract expired more than 3 months ago. We know all of us are struggling to afford rent, groceries and healthcare. On the other hand, the administration is not only offering us a meager 4% increase and only 2 out of 5 years of summer health care, but is also presenting proposals worse than our current contract. For example, they want to replace our ability to grieve discrimination through our contract with an opaque, bureaucratic process they control that can take more than a year to address harrasment and discrimination. The time to show up for ourselves, our Union and our community is NOW.
Because we know our power as researchers and teachers, we have a plan for all of us to win. Our first ask is for you to attend our next rally and bargaining session on Thursday December 1st (rally at noon, Illini Union; bargaining session 12:45pm-4:30pm, Illini Union Room A). Please find the flyer attached and invite your friends to attend as well! We also need help with tasks for the bargaining session; sign up for a role here: https://tinyurl.com/GEOBARGROLES! No prior experience needed!
[Image description: Blue flyer with the title Bargaining Session #18, 12/1/22 next to a white illustration of a megaphone. Time and date specifics under the title read, Rally 12:00pm CT at Main Quad Illini Union, Session 12:45-4:30pm CT at Illini Union Room A. Underneath is a picture of two graduate workers holding up signs with GEO logos that read Fair Wages for Grad Labor, next to the quote, We need a living wage above inflation, free year round health care, child care, overwork protections, and justice. Underneath is a picture of Robb Craddock, the administration’s lead negotiator, next to the quote, Your proposals are far too much and too many, and in many cases so operationally burdensome that we wouldn’t do it. Text at the bottom reads The time is now to show up for ourselves. Divided we beg, united we bargain. There is a yellow GEO logo in the bottom right corner.]
Sign Up for the Tutor-In!
[Image description: Blue flyer with background image of a past tutor-in event. Grad workers and students are clustered on chairs and the floor with laptops in the Illini Union. The title reads, The Graduate Employees' Organization All Day, All Night Tutor-In, followed by date and time, Reading Day, Thursday December 8 to Friday, December 9, Noon to 8am. Paragraphs underneath read, Join your union as we occupy Illini Union for an all-day tutor-in to make our work visible & push for a fair contract! We will hold office hours, study sessions, and one-on-one tutoring sessions. All grads welcome! Bring your work, hold your office hours here & invite your students! Graduate employees' working conditions are students' learning conditions! There is a yellow circular GEO logo in the bottom left with the website underneath, uiucgeo.org. The location next to the logo reads, Illini Union North Lounge, Food and childcare available. There is a QR code labeled RSVP with the link underneath: tinyurl.com/TUTORIN22]
Graduate working conditions are students' learning conditions! Free food, dance lessons and more! There is a yellow circular GEO logo in the bottom left with the website underneath, uiucgeo.org. The location next to the logo reads, Illini Union North Lounge (Nearby Starbucks). There is a QR code labeled RSVP with the link underneath: tinyurl.com/TUTORIN22]
On Reading Day, December 8 beginning at noon in the Illini Union North Lounge, your GEO will hold a Tutor-In! This is a GEO tradition dating back to 2017, where we work and tutor undergraduate students together to make our labor visible as we fight for a fair contract. All graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to attend! RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/TUTORIN22
We’ll start at 12:00pm, joining our colleagues in the NTFC who will be hosting their semesterly work-in starting at the Illini Union. We encourage all members to stop by whenever and for as long as they are able, and to invite their students! You can use the email template copied below and the flyers in this message (also available to download in this Drive folder) to announce the event to your students.
Coffee and snacks will be provided at 5:00pm and 11:00pm, and dinner will be provided at 8:00pm. There will also be creative workshops for grads, including dance and drawing, and feedback workshops on research, writing, and proofreading.
Most important will be our overnight Tutor-In at 11 pm. Whatever your availability during the day, we hope all GEO members can participate for at least part of the overnight, beginning at 11pm. Again, this action is going to be crucial for showing our power to the administration and moving the needle during bargaining—and doing so in a way that helps our students! Feel free to bring your pillow, PJs, or a sleeping bag!
Please sign up for all the times you will come, and get as many of your grad worker friends as possible to sign up as well! And be sure to invite your students!
Join other TAs from your department, or add another subject to our tutoring list! TAs from the following departments are confirmed:
Arabic
Art History
Computer Science
ECE
Education
English
Geology
German
French/Italian
Hindi/Urdu
History
Math
MATSE
NPRE
Physics
Psychology
Russian
Sociology
Spanish/Portuguese
Swedish
Turkish
Ukrainian
And more!
Undergraduate email template:
SUBJECT: Free tutoring on Reading Day, Thursday, Dec. 8 - Friday, Dec. 9
Dear students,
Graduate workers will offer free tutoring to help you prepare for your final exams from Thursday, December 8 at noon - Friday, December 9 at 8 am in the North Lounge of the Illini Union.
Please stop by to ask graduate workers questions related to your classes or what it’s like to be a graduate student-worker at the University of Illinois. We’ll have graduate students from a variety of disciplines. Check the Facebook event for an updated list of subjects and the times graduate students will be available to help you in each subject. Please see the attached flyer.
I’ll be there from ______ pm - _____ am, and I’ll be able to answer any questions about _______(insert class you have with students). [If applicable, let students know if they will be able to get extra credit, make up points for missed assignments, attend a review session at the Tutor-In, etc.]
[Image description: Flyer with three blue squares at the top. The left-most square contains a drawing of two hands shaking, the middle has a black circle with the white letters GEO inside, and the right has a drawing of a megaphone with sound waves radiating out. Underneath is a yellow rectangle with white text reading General Membership Meeting. Beneath that, two columns separated by a vertical line list dates and times. On the left reads Thurs. November 3rd 5:30-7:00pm In-Person Channing Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon St. Urbana, 61801. In the right column, text reads, Wed. November 2nd 12-1:30pm Virtual Scan the QR code to register or go to https://tinyurl.com/GMM1102. There is a QR code under the line between the columns of text. A blue rectangle at the bottom has white text reading, Topics: Bargaining Updates. Black text at the very bottom of the flyer reads, Questions? Email: geo@uigeo.org.]
General Membership Meeting
[[Image description: Flyer with three blue squares at the top. The left-most square contains a drawing of two hands shaking, the middle has a black circle with the white letters GEO inside, and the right has a drawing of a megaphone with sound waves radiating out. Underneath is a yellow rectangle with white text reading General Membership Meeting. Date and time are listed underneath as Monday, December 5th 6-7:30pm In-Person Channing Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon St. Urbana, 61801. A blue rectangle at the bottom has white text reading, Topics: Tutor-In and Bargaining Updates. Black text at the very bottom of the flyer reads, Questions? Email: geo@uigeo.org.]
Let’s pack Channing Murray for our last General Membership Meeting of the semester! We’ll meet on Monday, December 5 from 6 - 7:30pm to talk about plans for the Tutor-In, and check in on how the December 1 bargaining session went, as well as next steps for bargaining.
We need you there to discuss what we can do to build pressure in the bargaining room and win a contract with fair wages, year-round health care, protections against overwork, and more!
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. Meetings are open to membership, and coming to a meeting does not commit you to joining a committee.
Upcoming schedules:
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. Meetings are open to membership, and coming to a meeting does not commit you to joining a committee.
Upcoming schedules:
Communications Committee (Contact Megan and Savannah at commcomm@uigeo.org) - Monday, November 28, 5-6pm. Meets online every Monday from 5-6pm. Google Meets link: https://meet.google.com/vej-hmah-tks (Note: The regular meeting time has changed!)
Work Action Group (WAG) (Contact Davut at officer2@uigeo.org) - Monday, November 28, 7-8:30pm. Meets every Monday from 7-8:30 in the GEO office and online. Google Meets link: https://meet.google.com/nky-novo-xjc
Solidarity Committee (Contact Jessennya at solcomm@uigeo.org) - Wednesday, November 30, 4-5pm. Meets online and in-person in the GEO office every other Wednesday from 4-5pm. Google Meets link: http://meet.google.com/snh-zzei-sni
Bargaining Team (Contact Sam at officer1@uigeo.org) - Monday, December 5, 10:45am-12:45pm. Next bargaining session is Thursday, December 1, 12:45pm-4:30pm. Regular fall meetings will be every Monday from 10:45am-12:45pm. Online and in the GEO office, contact email for the link. Interested in joining BT? Nominate yourself or a friend: https://tinyurl.com/jointheBT.
People First Cancel Debt Committee (Contact Karla at cc@uigeo.org) - Contact email to get involved.
Grievance Committee (Contact Dante at grievance@uigeo.org) - Tuesday, November 29, 4:00pm-5:00pm. Meets every other Tuesday from 4-5. Online and in the GEO office, contact email for the link.
Stewards’ Council (Contact Grace at sc@uigeo.org) - Thursday, December 1, 5:00-6:30pm. Meets every other Thursday from 5-6:30. Online and in the GEO office, contact email for the link.
RA/PGA Working Group (Contact Bram at bram.osterhout@gmail.com) - Contact email to get involved.
Disability Caucus (Contact Kel at GEOdisabilityUIUC@gmail.com) - Contact email to get involved.
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org