Table of Contents:

Announcements

Reproductive Justice Statement

GEO is outraged by the abhorrent leaked majority opinion revealing the Supreme Court’s plans to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey! Read our statement and call to action here.

Disability Caucus Statement

The GEO Disability Caucus urges the university to reimplement a mask mandate in all indoor campus facilities. As COVID-19 positive test results rise across the country and on campus—including that of University of Illinois President Tim Killeen in spite of having his whole vaccine series and booster shots—a mask mandate inside and beyond the classroom will keep our campus community safe. This is especially important for campus community members who are d/Disabled, including those who are immunocompromised and have other underlying risk factors.
As of April 25, 2022, the current campus 7-day positivity rate is 3.22%, and there have been 1,563 positive cases on campus during the month of April. Due to rising cases andthe science behind mask wearingshowing it to be an effective method to prevent COVID-19 infection, including research conducted by University of Illinois faculty, the GEO Disability Caucus encourages the university to reinstate the mask mandate in all indoor campus facilities.

Join the Bargaining Support Team!

Are you interested in helping out with GEO’s bargaining effort with UIUC admin? Well, GEO has recently started up a Bargaining Support Team (BTS) to give more opportunities to GEO members to help out with this year’s bargaining cycle. Unlike the bargaining team which is responsible for planning for actual negotiation and putting together contract proposals, the BTS helps out with such things as note taking for bargaining sessions, member outreach, and, when we start bargaining in person, with caucusing and room prep. Right now, the main responsibility for someone on the BTS would be to show up to bargaining sessions and join the BTS slack channel to stay up to date with how you can help. If you or somebody you know would be interested in joining the BTS, email barg@uigeo.org.

Let us know if you’re graduating!

Are you graduating this spring or did you graduate recently (within the last year or so)? We would love to hear from you and to find out what your grad school experience was like! Fill out this form to tell us more and to also let us know if you’d like to keep hearing from us! You can also reach out to us with any questions/thoughts at geo@uigeo.org.

GEO Elections Results

The GEO elections committee has reviewed and ratified the results of the elections last week. Below are the officers that will comprise the GEO Coordinating Committee for 2022-2023. Congratulations to all the candidates and thank you for helping to lead our union as we fight for fair wages, benefits, workplace protections, and a just university for all!
Co-Presidents: Nachiketa Adhikari (they/them), Mathematics; Karla Sanabria-Veaz (she/her/ella); Linguistics.
Secretary: Advith Govindarajan (he/him), Mathematics.
Grievance Committee Co-Chairs: Salvador Vargas Salfate, Psychology; Dante Dabaghian (he/him), Law.
Co-Treasurers: Tony Mirasola (he/him), Physics; Rachel Birchmier (she/her), Physics.
Communications Committee Co-Chairs: Savannah Wills (she/her), Art History; Megan Mericle (she/her), English.
Solidarity Committee Co-Chairs: Anna Flood (she/her), English; Brittany Leatherman (she/her), Art History.
Co-Officers at Large: Chelsea Birchmier (she/her), Psychology; Sam Froiland (he/him), History.
Officer at Large: Madie Farris (they/them), Mathematics.
Officer at Large: Essam Elkorghli (he/him), EPOL.
Amendment to the duties of elected Officers at Large: Passed.
Regarding the Steward’s Council: The Co-Chairs and leaders of the Steward’s Council (SC) are elected via a separate process that takes place within the SC itself. SC writes its own by-laws to govern its internal operations. For more information on SC and the GEO electoral process, you can refer to the GEO Constitution.
EVENTS

Tutor In

The bi-annual GEO tutor in is happening at the Illini Union and online RIGHT NOW! Make sure to check out this wonderful tradition either here online or in person at the Illini Union.

[alt text:The image provides a schedule of when different subjects are being taught on a beige background with art of office supplies.
In-Person Tutoring Available at the Illini Union In:
Academic Writing, Anthropology, Art Education, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Coworking Space, Italian, Information Sciences, Linguistics, Math, Physics, Psychology, Spanish, Statistics
Online Tutoring Available at https://meet.google.com/kgk-gwjr-kyn In:
Art Education, Biology, Coworking Space, Italian]

Rally for Reproductive Justice on 5/8

Join a Rally for Reproductive Justice on the UIUC campus at Alma Mater on Sun. May 8 at 12 pm! (Instagram here; Facebook event here)

Join the GEO stewards and officers for an informal social to celebrate the end of the semester! We’ll meet on Friday, May 13 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on the patio of the Blind Pig. All graduate students and workers are invited to attend, so bring a friend!

Bargaining Session #4

The date and time of our next session is not yet finalized, though it will be held via Zoom. Be on the lookout for an announcement on GEO social media and email for how to register and attend the next bargaining session.

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, May 12th 5:00pm-6:30pm. Hybrid. Google Meet https://meet.google.com/cjv-rvbu-aym and GEO Office (809 S 5th St Geneva Room. McKinely)
Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Friday, May 6th 2:00pm-4:00pm. Contact email for link.
Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Email for information. Usually Tuesdays 1:00pm-2:00pm. Virtual. https://meet.google.com/see-bcwq-gbn
Stewards’ Council (sc@uigeo.org) - Tuesday, May 17th 6:30pm-7:30 pm. Virtual. Contact email for link.
People First Cancel Debt Committee (officer2@uigeo.org)-, Tuesday, May 10th 5:00pm-6:30pm Hybrid (online via Jitsi) and GEO Office (809 S 5th St Geneva Room. McKinley Foundation.
Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - To be determined with officer transitions. Hybrid: Google Meet and GEO Office. Contact email for more.
Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Wednesday, May 18th 5:00-6:00 pm. Every other Wednesday on google meet. Contact email for more.
Disability Caucus (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Tuesday, May 10th 3:00-4:00 pm. Every Tuesday on google meet. Contact geodisabilityuiuc@gmail.com or officer3@uigeo.org for more.

In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org

News and GEO-L

Statement on Reproductive Justice, COVID-19 Latest, Info on Rally For Reproductive Justice, and more!