GEO Local 6300 Sanctuary Union Resolution

GEO Local 6300 represents around 2,700 teaching assistants and graduate assistants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). We are a member run union whose members include international students, immigrants, people in mixed status families, and people from all walks of life. We are a social justice union and therefore fight for all our members rights outside the workplace!

Whereas, GEO Local 6300 will continue to enthusiastically embrace its responsibility to represent all of its membership, regardless of the member’s race, citizenship or immigration status, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and will not be impeded or intimidated from exercising its responsibilities, and

Whereas, due to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that have been raiding and arresting immigrants on the flimsiest of pretexts, with no regard for how long they’ve lived in the U.S, how dependent their families are upon them, or the ties they harbor with their communities, and

Whereas, President Trump has instituted a zero tolerance policy that has resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 children from their families

Whereas, GEO is committed to ensuring that their Union is a safe and welcoming place for all its members and their families regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, and

Whereas, many cities such as Urbana and Chicago, have declared themselves Sanctuary Cities, and universities such as Dominican University, Sanctuary Campuses, where officials have vowed not to collaborate to volunteer the immigration status of their residents, workers, or students, or to cooperate with ICE.

Therefore, be it resolved that:

GEO Local 6300 declares itself a “Sanctuary Union,” that will protect the rights and safety of all of its members and their families and will do everything within its power to ensure the safety and security of its members regardless of one’s immigration status,

• We will not cooperate with ICE or local law enforcement in the prosecution or attempted deportation of our members for alleged immigration violations

• We will oppose UIUC assisting or facilitating ICE

• We will oppose the use of the knowledge generated at this University to aid and abet the deportation and detention machine

• We will commit to collectively bargaining new contract language that strengthens workplace protections for immigrant members and international members

• We will enforce our new contract language on immigration leave to ensure that our members receive the necessary support when they need to attend a required meeting or a proceeding before a government agency

• We will continue to build alliances in the community with others engaged in similar work to protect communities and the undocumented, and participate in protests in response to ICE raids or employer collaboration for the sake of union-busting;

• We will support the continuation of DACA and of a just immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship and does not include the militarization of the border or the building of a border wall.

• We will not share any personal information from our members that may be used against them in terms of their immigration status;

• We will mobilize support for Sanctuary Unions, Sanctuary Cities, Sanctuary States, and Sanctuary Campuses;

Be it further resolved:

GEO Local 6300 stands in solidarity with all communities under attack, and understands that the time for unity is now, and that standing united with all workers, particularly the most vulnerable among us, is key to beating back the attack on our unions, our communities, and our standard of living in the years to come.