Graduate Employees' Organization at UIUC
GEO Local 6300 IFT/AFT AFL-CIO at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Banner.jpg

News and GEO-L

Member Communications

Virtual Town Hall, Healthcare Call Out, Wage Reopener Bargaining, and More

GEObanner.png

Table of Contents:

  • Announcements

    • Teleworking Contract

    • 2020 Wage Reopener Bargaining Session

    • CGEU Annual Conference Updates

  • Events

    • Virtual Town Hall

    • Healthcare Premium Hike Call Out

  • JOIN A GEO COMMITTEE!

  • CONNECT WITH GEO!

GEO members, 

We all have been handling a lot these days in our personal and professional lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than the rest or catch-up we likely planned for this spring break, we have been working to readjust - in our relationships, research, work, and to an uncertain future. We must work together as a union to secure the resources and rights we require to achieve the stability necessary to support ourselves and our loved ones during this critical time. 

Department Teleworking Contracts

During spring break, many graduate employees received teleworking contracts from department administration. Signing these contracts would have removed some of the protections for graduate employees that GEO negotiated for in our 2017-2022 Contract. The Grievance Committee immediately brought this issue forward to UIUC Human Resources, and received the following response: 

“After consulting with University Leadership, it has been determined that graduate employees will not be required to fill out the teleworking agreements."

GEO understands this to apply to all graduate employees, regardless of employment category (TA, RA, GA, PGA). If your department attempts to retaliate against you in your refusal to sign, contact the Grievance Committee at grievance@uigeo.org.

GEO Work Action Flyer.png

Healthcare Premium Fee Increase

On March 12th, less than 24 hours before COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees increased undergraduate and graduate student healthcare premiums by 33%. 

To protest this hike, the GEO calls on all its members to please join together in a Call Out to the University tomorrow at 9 AM and 1 PM. Let’s fill their voicemails and inboxes to tell them how unacceptable this is, especially during a global pandemic.  

Check out the Facebook event for more information.

Virtual Town Hall

March25_GEO_Virtual_Townhall.jpg

GEO will be holding a Virtual Town Hall this Wednesday, March 25th, from 5:30-7:00 PM CST on Twitch. This meeting is open to all grad workers--member and non-member employees in all categories are welcome: it will be an opportunity to discuss changes to our working conditions related to COVID-19, ask questions, make proposals, and plan the future of grad labor at UIUC.

  • Join us on Twitch

  • Fill out this Google Form if you have specific questions or topics of discussion

  • If you want to ask questions during the stream, you can either create a twitch account to comment in the video chat  and/or go to https://www.menti.com/ and use the code 57700 (no account required). Please keep discourse and questions civil and on topic. 

Check out the Facebook event for more information.

2020 Wage Reopener Bargaining Sessions

Our third bargaining session, originally scheduled for March 30th, has been postponed to mid April -- finalized date will be announced in a subsequent GEO-L. 

CGEU Annual Conference Update

It is of great disappointment to us that we have decided to cancel hosting the CGEU Annual Conference at UIUC. The safety and health of our members and unions across the world is a top priority that we will not jeopardize. It is possible that the conference may be hosted online or at a later date -- organizers will make sure to keep membership informed of any changes.

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. 

Upcoming meetings:

Healthcare Working Group (health@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more 

Stewards’ Council (sc@uigeo.org) - Tuesday March 24, 5:30-6:30pm

Finance Committee (treasurer@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more

Solidarity Committee (solcomm@uigeo.org) - Friday April 3, 4:30-6pm

Grievance Committee (grievance@uigeo.org) - Thursday March 26, 9-10am 

Communications Committee (commcomm@uigeo.org) - Thursday March 26, 5-6pm

Coordinating Committee (cc@uigeo.org) - Monday March 30, 4-5:30pm

RA/PGA Working Group (geo@uigeo.org) - Thursday April 2nd, 6-7pm

Bargaining Team (barg@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more

International Students Working Group (iswglist@uigeo.org) - Contact email for more


Note: Due to COVID-19, all meetings are now held online. Contact by email or check the calendar for more information on how to join remotely.

CONNECT WITH GEO!

Have comments about the GMM? Other kinds of feedback for us? We want to hear it! Reply to this email or use our anonymous google form. You can also get in touch through our website and social media:

Website: www.uiucgeo.org

Twitter: @geo_uiuc

Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm

Instagram: @geo_uiuc


In Solidarity,

Graduate Employees’ Organization

809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room

Champaign, IL 61820

Email: geo@uigeo.org

NewsCommunications CommitteeNews