University Kicks Graduate Workers Out of Illini Union While Trying to Tutor Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Contacts:
Megan Mericle & Savannah Wills
Communications Officers
336-613-5921
commcomm@uigeo.org
Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) University Kicks Graduate Workers Out of Illini Union While Trying to Tutor Students
Champaign-Urbana, IL - On Thursday, December 08, 2022, the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) hosted an All Day/All Night Tutor-In from noon (Dec 8) to 8 am (Dec 9) at the Illini Union. Teaching assistants and their undergraduate students were ordered to leave the Illini Union at 11:00pm despite peacefully occupying the space to help undergraduates prepare for final exams. This event was conducted in protest of the administration’s unfair labor practices and refusal to provide a fair contract during the bargaining process.
Teaching assistants and students left the Illini Union as ordered but GEO questions why the University would interfere with TA’s simply making their labor visible and demonstrating dedication to their students.
To highlight issues of overwork and the amount of labor that graduate workers provide for the university, GEO displayed a visual in the Illini Union representing the hours of free tutoring provided[IMAGE ATTACHED]. Graduate workers provide over 20% of all undergraduate class hours taught at UIUC, and over 30% of first-year course hours. They are also frequently the face of instruction for undergraduate students: GEO instructors teach classes, run labs, provide feedback and grades, and write letters of recommendation. Graduate workers are a vital source of mentorship, both for undergraduate students and each other, making the university run
Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Graduate Assistants (GAs) have been working for 113 days without a new contract. The GEO has been negotiating with the Administration since March of this year. The Administration has made little movement in bargaining, refusing to offer wage increases above the rate of inflation, and year-round healthcare for all years of the contract. The administration has also refused to eliminate student fees, which GEO argues constitute wage theft and cost graduate workers about $1,200 a year. The GEO is also bargaining for robust nondiscrimination protections and more equitable English Proficiency requirements.
Data and member testimonials presented during negotiations have demonstrated repeatedly that GEO’s demands are reasonable and in line with the standards of other peer institutions. GEO’s proposals are crucial to the livelihood, health, and productivity of graduate employees on this campus, most of whom make thousands of dollars less than the cost of living listed on the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
GEO will continue to bargain with the administration and demonstrate the importance of their work until their demands for fair wages, year-round healthcare, and justice are heard.
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 a 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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