Third Bargaining Session
Today, the GEO Bargaining Team (BT) and the UIUC Administration held their third bargaining session. Thank you to all members who attended! Please read below for more information on what happened today and what comes next.
NEXT BARGAINING SESSION: May 23, 2017, 9:00am-12:00pm, location TBD (see below!).
What GEO Did
Despite the repeated insistence by the Administration to hold bargaining sessions at the Fire Service Institute (FSI), away from central campus where we teach, research, and work, GEO successfully negotiated McKinley Foundation as a more member-friendly location for our third meeting, and came prepared to reiterate why FSI is an unsuitable location going forward.
Prior to this session, we reiterated the need for a comprehensive counter-proposal from the Administration to help move forward with bargaining. We must know everything that’s on the table before agreeing to anything. After presenting our original proposal on March 30th, the administration has now had over a month to respond. We came prepared to begin moving forward on the four pillars decided by the membership.
Key Takeaways of the Session
The Administration won’t agree to bargain in a central campus location. Despite today’s success in having the meeting at the McKinley Foundation, the Administration is still pushing to meet at the FSI going forward. In fact, they’ve indicated that they’re only willing to meet somewhere else if FSI is booked!
The Administration’s response was unprepared and inadequate. GEO presented the Administration with a full and comprehensive proposal at our first bargaining session. The Administration has not done the same. They still have not provided us with their full and comprehensive proposal, and they even claim that they do not need to (despite it being standard practice in bargaining and established precedent at this University). We need to see their full proposal in order to bargain fairly. As our lead negotiator pointed out, they are behaving like a student unprepared for class. In fact, one of the “new” articles they proposed was already included in the current contract–something the Administration apparently didn’t realize.
The few things that the Administration proposed would harm GEO employees. The Administration gave us several proposed changes to articles today.
In our comprehensive proposal, GEO proposed expanding our contractual non-discrimination clause to protect members on the basis of parental status, medical status, ethnicity, gender expression, or union membership, and to explicitly define and protect against discrimination, harassment, and micro-aggressions. Despite claiming a strong desire to protect graduate employees, they’ve refused to go beyond anything than the bare minimum of “what is covered under the law.” When reminded that they could choose to go above and beyond the bare minimum, they reiterated their intent to merely comply.
The Administration said that getting appointment letters out within at least 60 days of the start of the appointment is “not practicable,” and proposed eliminating the deadlines on appointment letters altogether! GEO recently won an arbitration based on the fact that 95% of appointment letters are late. Rather than addressing the problem, they want to eliminate the deadline.
Overall, the Administration refuses to give us what we need for bargaining–a comprehensive proposal. We’re ready to bargain whenever they are.
What Comes Next
Please attend the next bargaining session: we need you!
The Bargaining Team represents you at the table. We look to you for input when we go to break out sessions. The more people in the room, the better informed our decisions at the table.
Attending bargaining sessions is the best way to actively engage in the negotiation of your wages, healthcare, and other protections. It is perfectly acceptable to come late or leave early from a bargaining session if you can’t stay the entire time. Just being present demonstrates our unity and strength to the Administration. You can even bring your work if you want. Coffee and food will be provided.
The BT and the Administration agreed to meet for our next bargaining session on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Administration proposed to meet at the FSI. GEO will respond soon. If we do meet at FSI, we’ll have a carpool to make sure all members who want to attend can do so.
If you can’t make it to the bargaining session, you can still keep up with bargaining updates by attending GEO committee meetings and general membership meetings, following GEO on social media, and reading GEO emails.
More Ways to be Involved with Bargaining:
Talk to your GEO department Steward
Attend a Bargaining Team meeting
Attend bargaining sessions
Talk to your GEO colleagues
The next GEO Bargaining Team meeting is on Thursday, May 4, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., at the GEO office in the McKinley Foundation Sun Room (809 S. Fifth St., Champaign). All members are welcome to the meeting. If you have questions about bargaining or the BT’s proposal, attending this meeting is the best way to address them. You can also reach us at barg@uigeo.org. All members are welcome!
See the GEO event calendar for future Bargaining Team meetings, bargaining sessions, and other events. Add it to your Google calendar by searching for geo@uigeo.org. Bargaining Team meetings and bargaining sessions are open to all members. Please contact the Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) with any questions.
Call for Testimonials
One powerful tool in bargaining is member stories, and we want to hear from you! If you have a story related to our contract, email barg@uigeo.org to share it with the Bargaining Team.
Our pillars of bargaining are protecting tuition waivers, raising wages and eliminating fees, ensuring quality healthcare, and promoting access and equality, which includes creating childcare support, strengthening our nondiscrimination statement, and expanding parental, bereavement, and visa/immigration leave. If you have an experience to share about these (or other!) issues, please consider coming to the bargaining sessions and voicing it. If you do not feel comfortable speaking in the session, that is OK too. With your permission, someone else can read your written statement without mentioning you as the author. You can indicate to the Bargaining Team how you want your story shared.
Follow GEO Online:
Website: www.uigeo.org
Twitter: @geo_uiuc
Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm
Instagram: @geo_uiuc
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