GEO delivers full-contract proposal, UIUC admin shows up empty handed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Contacts:
Lesley Owens
Co-President & Bargaining Team Member
CC@UIGEO.org
Karla Sanabria-Véaz
Officer-at-Large & Bargaining Team Member
Officer2@UIGEO.org
Owen MacDonald & Angela Ting
Communications Officers
commcomm@uigeo.org
GEO delivers full-contract proposal, UIUC admin shows up empty handed
Champaign-Urbana, IL - The Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) met with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC’s) administration for the first time on Monday, March 7 for four hours of bargaining. Lead negotiators Sam Froiland and Ben Wallis presented GEO’s full contract proposal which included increased wages, year-round healthcare coverage, the elimination of fees, improvements in grad workers’ health and safety protections, overwork protections, and strengthened anti-discrimination and anti-harrassment language. More than 30 members were in attendance, eager to observe productive negotiations.
Though GEO’s Bargaining Team (BT) joined the session with a full contract proposal, UIUC director of Labor and Employment Relations Robb Craddock and his negotiating team were not prepared to present a proposal, despite GEO’s prior request that they be prepared to do so.
Despite the university’s lack of preparation, GEO’s lead negotiators presented the Bargaining Team’s full proposal, which included nearly 40 pages of detailed contract proposal language meant to increase the well-being and protect the rights of graduate workers.
The Bargaining Team also proposed ground rules for the contract negotiation process; the administration proposed their own ground rules, as well. While the two negotiation teams did not come to a consensus on these ground rules, they were tabled for a future conversation.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, April 1 from 2-4 PM. GEO has asked the administration to present their full contract proposal at this session, and the administration has agreed to present their proposed changes to the contract language.
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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