GEO Condemns U of I Increasing Healthcare Premiums During COVID-19 Pandemic

The Graduate Employees’ Organization at UIUC, Local 6300 AFT/IFT, condemns the University of Illinois Board of Trustees’ decision to increase undergraduate and graduate student healthcare premiums by 33%. Undergraduate premiums will increase by $179 to $723 per semester, while graduate premiums will increase by $231 to $927 per semester. 

Less than 24 hours before COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, the Board of Trustees (BOT) passed their decision to increase healthcare premiums. It is appalling that the U of I raise healthcare fees during a global pandemic. We, the GEO, have been struggling since 1995 to secure healthcare benefits, with the ratification of our 2017-2022 contract seeing an 87% healthcare premium coverage. Despite these victories, we graduate employees are still overburdened by healthcare fees every semester, and especially over the summer. We now face an unprecedented crisis that the entire world is unprepared to face, let alone financially vulnerable graduate and undergraduate students. We, the Graduate employees, who are responsible for teaching more than 30% of undergraduate classes and discussions, continue to bargain for a living wage with the UIUC administration. We are currently being asked to reorganize our lives and working conditions due to the pandemic with no extra compensation. At a time when UIUC graduate employees already struggle to pay for healthcare during summer months, the UI BOT has unilaterally decided to increase the financial burden we hold just to stay healthy. We condemn this decision and will do everything in our power to fight it. We will live and we will thrive. We will organize in solidarity for accessible healthcare for all, on UIUC’s campus and beyond.

The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009 and in February 2018, over 1,000 GEO members and allies participated in a strike to secure a fair contract and more accessible UIUC campus. With an active presence in the community, the GEO continues to work for high-quality and accessible public education in Illinois.

For more information, please contact geo@uigeo.org. More information can also be found on GEO’s website at www.uiucgeo.org.

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