In this newsletter: ※ Impact Bargaining about Fall reopening THIS THU ※ Recap of last week’s Membership Meeting ※ Solidarity call from UAW2322 siblings

※ Fall reopening, Impact Bargaining this Thu 3-5 [Zoom link]

A lot has happened since the membership meeting on Thursday (recap of meeting below), most importantly the final plan for Fall reopening has finally been shared by the Chancellor (today’s email entitled “Message from the Chancellor: Fall 2020 Reopening Plan”. Teaching will be online for the most part, which is a  relief to TAs/TOs. In terms of impact on our working conditions, some of the specifically impacted groups are internationals and graduate workers in Res Life. We will work to ensure the safety of ARDs who will need to be on campus and to provide job security for those who the university may lay off. According to our data, there are around 90 grad workers in Residential Academic Programs or in Residential Life – please email geo@umass.edu to share your inputs if you work in this area.

There are also certain impacts that are more general and will affect many members. Some issues already identified by the Bargaining Committee and Health & Safety Committee. Props to the many rank and file members involved in this work. Again, please email us your inputs asap.

  • Actual implementation of online teaching: please inform geo@umass.edu immediately if you have an appointment that can work online but are not being allowed to, or are being asked to give medical or other justification for working remotely
  • Sufficient access to personal protective equipment provided by the university
  • Normal payment as per contract for those who are abroad, or elsewhere within the US
  • Option to defer appointment
  • Not reducing standard length of semester contracts (19 weeks) for Fall 2020
  • Impact of shortened summer on grad workers currently on summer practicum/co-op  
  • If certain in-person classes require an increased number of discussion sections to maintain social distancing, there must be a corresponding increase in contracted hours of employment, either as more assistantships, or assistantships with more hrs/wk.
  • Compensation for holidays lost
  • Hazard pay for on-campus work
  • Safety for Res Life employees
  • Childcare plan for parents including what happens to a hard-to-get CEEC spot if parents do not want to send their children to childcare in a pandemic 
  • Plan in place in the event that a grad worker gets COVID

Due to these impacts, we are entering Impact Bargaining once more, to negotiate over the unilateral changes imposed by our employer, coming up this week. Please join the session on THIS THURSDAY July 2nd, 3-5pm. Zoom link here.

※ Membership Meeting recap

We had a well-attended virtual membership meeting last Thursday the 25th (84 at highest count). Below are the main issues discussed, decisions made, and information related to them.

– GEO Endorsement: Structural changes to support the UMass Black and Brown Community

Rank and file member Wayne Barnaby shared an important action plan and petition created by community members and leaders in the College of Natural Sciences, to implement institutional change in combating racism at UMass Amherst: (1) effecting systemic change to make hate crimes well-defined, and punishment actionable, (2) making customized action items, for all programs and depts, and (3) Chancellor and Provost using their influence to speak up and out to MA officials on early stage vigilant structures in the judicial pipeline. Members voted to officially endorse the petition. For individual Umass students to learn more and sign petition, check out www.change.org/UMassforBlackLives. 

– Info: UMass Racial Justice Coalition (RJC)

Rank and file member Marwa Amer shared info about the Racial Justice Coalition, a team of UMass students, workers, and community members working to push UMass to take proactive measures to become an anti-racist campus and support BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color). To learn more about how to be part of the coalition, click here. Follow on Instagram @UmassRJC, join Slack. Grad student contact: Jessica Scott jessicascott@umass.edu.

– Police on campus

Extended discussion on people’s experiences with police; reopening the question of GEO’s historical stance for abolishing UMPD (UMass Police Department), majority of members in favour, some against. Rank and file member JR spoke about coalitions, thinking bigger than the campus, and shared a link about how to support Black Liberation Locally.

– Vote: Yes to go to arbitration over vacation payout The union contends that the university’s online-transition in March made us all collectively lose our contractually guaranteed vacation. Admin should have given us a collective payout approval but did not. A grievance had already been filed on this issue. Now we are at the next stage: arbitration. This is an expensive legal process but we all as members already pay dues that can fund these costs. Membership approved this use of funds to help fight for everyone, especially those who took action to demand their rightful vacation. The funds must also be approved by UAW2322 Joint Council where we have GEO member reps.  Update from Nefeli Forni Zervoudaki from Work 2 Rule working group

Nefeli who is also an elected rep to Steering, spoke about the importances increasing awareness about all the work grad student workers do for free. Working “to rule” as a tool to leverage to fight for our rights in the Fall. This is not an action of withholding labour, but rather it is a withholding unsalaried/unpaid labour and only doing exactly what the rules/job descriptions say, no more. This is an invitation for grad students to value themselves and their work. This very important committee needs more members so that there is representation and a democratic voice. Please email nforni@umass.edu to get involved!

– Vote: Yes for fully-online Fall 2020

Heard from rank and file members EJ Nielsen and Brendan McCauley (Health and Safety Committee Co-Chairs). Members voted (over 90% Yes) in favour of going fully online for Fall 2020 (with limited necessary exceptions), confirming results of our advisory poll (sent out June 18th; over 85% Yes).

※ Join fellow UAW2322 members at Providence Hospital, Holyoke, July 1st

While we deal with the issues at our own GEO shop, other shops need our solidarity too. This Wednesday at 1 pm join folks from our Local for a memorial for the closure of Prov Hospital’s Mental Health beds. There is a mental healthcare crisis in Massachusetts and the for-profit model of care is broken, leaving our communities underserved. We mourn the loss of these services, but we will also use this heartbreak to fight for long-term structural change. Hospital executives cannot be allowed to close services under these conditions: MA legislature must change the law.

Published by GEO