You can join one of the walk-overs or bus-overs scheduled by GEO organizers across campus! The meeting times and locations are below.

• 10:00 am: Meet at Morrill Hall east entrance, bus ride to Ikenberry, look for Xenia

• 11:00 am

  • Meet at CLSL atrium, bus ride to Ikenberry, look for Will

  • Meet at Crop Sciences Building atrium, walk to Ikenberry, look for Kayla

  • Meet at ECEB atrium, bus ride to Ikenberry, look for Seb

  • Meet at Loomis Grad Lounge, bus ride to Ikenberry, look for Freddy

• 12:15 pm: Meet at the Engineering Quad (near the big sculpture), bus to Ikenberry, look for Alina

• 1:00 pm 

  • Meet at the Espresso Royale on Daniel Street, walk to Ikenberry, look for Togzhan

  • Meet at the Illini Union bus stop (north side of Green St.), bus ride to Ikenberry, look for Yile

  • Meet at the Psychology Building, walk to Ikenberry, look for Chelsea, Raymond, and Viki

• 2:00 pm

  • Meet at the Loomis Grad Lounge, bus to Ikenberry, look for Grace

  • Meet at the Natural History Building Core (3rd floor atrium), bus to Ikenberry, look for Carolina

• 2:10 pm: Meet at the Astronomy Building lobby, bus to Ikenberry, look for Maggie

• 2:30 pm: Meet at Engineering Quad (near the big sculpture), bus to Ikenberry, look for Alina

Yes! To travel by MTD bus, take the Yellow, Gold, or Illini Limited bus lines to the Gregory at Ikenberry Commons stop.

Directions from the Agricultural Engineering Sciences Building

Directions from Beckman Institute

Directions from Chemical & Life Sciences Building

Directions from the Siebel Center for Computer Science

Directions from the Vet Med Basic Sciences Building

Directions from the Illini Union

Directions from Orchard Downs

Research Assistants are eligible to vote if they were/are employed as an RA at UIUC with a 25% to 67% appointment both

• During the pay period that ended on May 15, 2025, and 

• On the date of the election (July 10).

Unfortunately, this means that some RAs cannot vote. This group includes 2024-2025 academic year RAs who don’t have summer appointments, and RAs with Summer 2025 appointments who were not employed as RAs in the spring semester. This restriction is due to the IELRB’s policy for determining election eligibility and is out of GEO’s control.

Yes! The university administration has confirmed that eligible RAs will be allowed to vote during their work hours as long as your absence “will not create any operational issues (e.g., interference with ongoing experiments, the need to care for animals, etc.).” The university administration has told all RA supervisors that they should give RAs permission to leave to vote at times that won’t cause operational issues. RAs will not lose any pay if they take time off to vote.

Remember that union activity (including voting in a unionization election) is safe; participating in GEO activities is protected by state and federal law, regardless of your immigration status. If a supervisor tells you that you cannot vote or if you are retaliated against for requesting time to vote, contact GEO immediately at geo@uigeo.org.

There is no set number of votes needed for unionization to happen. Instead, a majority of voting RAs will need to vote in favor of unionizing with GEO, meaning 50% of votes plus one.

At this election, RAs will vote to determine whether we want GEO to be our exclusive bargaining representative (meaning that we will be able to negotiate a contract with the university through GEO).

If you are an RA eligible to vote (see below), go to Ikenberry Commons on Thursday, July 10 between 9:30 and 4:00 pm to vote. You may be asked to verify your identity by showing your identification, so be sure to bring your driver’s license or your I-Card.

The ballot text will read, “I choose the following employee organization (or no representative) to represent me in bargaining with my employer with respect to my wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment:

• Graduate Employees Organization, IFT/AFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO

• No Representative”

To vote for unionizing with GEO, you should select the “Graduate Employees Organization” option.

Yes. Voters will be asked their name at the polling location to determine their eligibility, but your vote will be secret and not linked to your name. No one—including your advisor, GEO, or the university—will know how you voted.

To get an absentee ballot, you will need to request one by email no later than 10 days prior to the election. 

To request an absentee ballot, email Board Agent Ryan Sinclair at Ryan.Sinclair@illinois.gov using the subject line "2025-RS-0035-C Absentee Ballot Request" by June 30. Your email should explain why you are not able to be physically present at the polling place at the time the election is scheduled. (Inconvenience is not enough of a rationale.) The request must include your physical mailing address. 

The Board will mail absentee ballots through the U.S. Postal Service. Absentee ballots may be returned by U.S. mail, overnight delivery service, or hand delivery to the Board's Chicago office (160 N. LaSalle, Suite N400, Chicago, Illinois, 60601). If you are sending your ballot back by mail, please remember to add postage! Absentee ballots must be received by the Board by the close of business (5:00 P.M) on July 9, 2025.

Note for RAs Working Abroad: Ballots can be sent internationally, but they will still need to be received by the IELRB by July 9. We recommend that you request your absentee ballot as soon as possible to ensure that it is counted!