Recap from last week:
✭Bargaining Updates✭
While we didn’t meet with management to bargain last week, the Bargaining Committee focused on planning and organizing around Work to Rule and Coalition work with other Unions in order to strengthen our positions at the bargaining table and engage more workers across campus faced with similar fights.
At last week’s Stewards Assembly, the Work to Rule Committee Co-chairs and members of the Committee facilitated a Work to Rule training and Stewards discussed the state of Impact bargaining.
Members of the Bargaining Committee, along with a few rank and file members who work in Residential Life, attended a labor relations meeting on Wednesday. We mostly asked questions around Res Life worker-safety and around international graduate student workers. Many of the answers we received reiterated what we have already heard at the bargaining table, and many questions remain unanswered. It seems apparent that there are conflicting or unfinished plans which the Chancellor’s reopening plan has yet to address or which COVID resurgences in other parts of the country are generating doubt around. There have been daily UMass Union meetings with management that GEO joined throughout March and April, but which we were unable to continue attending on a daily basis and which often did not address or speak to issues pertaining to our members. However, we now aim to increase our efforts to have a GEO representative (staff OR a rank and file member) in as many of these daily meetings as possible.
✭Stewards Assembly✭
We had a robust Stewards Assembly last week. The Work to Rule committee took the lead with some important materials (survey, FAQ sheet, hours-tracking sheet, slides, email template and so on) to share. Thanks to the input from the Stewards, the W2R committee had a chance to collect some insightful feedback and prepare for the upcoming special membership meeting.
Please bring any questions you have to the meeting. If you haven’t already, please fill out the work-to-rule survey.
Want to learn more about Work to Rule? Visit geouaw.org/geo-works-to-rule/. And follow us our instagram account: geo_uaw2322
✭Town of Amherst Rental Assistance Grant Application✭
(Deadline for applying is 8/6)
The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Funds’ COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Grant Program, administered by Community Action Pioneer Valley, will provide short term emergency rental assistance for households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by providing up to 3 months of assistance to eligible Amherst renters.
Community Action has confirmed that families who are/were residing in UMass North Village apartments are eligible to apply for this assistance regardless of whether you have relocated off campus or remain in your NV apartment so long as you reside in Amherst – international students residing in Amherst are also eligible. The program may be able to cover ½ of your rent for up to 3 months – either bills that you owe for housing backdated to April or upcoming bills – so long as you can document that you lost income due to COVID and meet the other eligibility criteria. The application is the first step – once you complete the application, their staff will reach out to provide additional details.
Get Involved and Take Action:
✭Impact Bargaining✭
Want to hear what UMass Management has to say?
So far we have passed two proposals on July 2 [link] and July 15 [link], yet Admin has not given us any response. They said they are planning on responding to our proposals this Thursday! Please join us at the bargaining table at 3. [Zoom Link]
✭GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING✭
TOMORROW! Please come join us from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. EST, for a very special membership meeting, chaired by our Work to Rule Committee, to kick off our WORK-TO-RULE action for the coming academic year. [Zoom link]
✭Solidarity with RAPMU✭
RAPMU is the union for Resident Assistants and Peer Mentors. They live in the residence halls of UMass and are part-time, undergrad student/staff members. While anticipating around 7,000 students coming to campus, UMass Admin turned down RAPMU’s demands for free COVID testing, option to work remotely, clearer protocols for operations, hazard pay and job security (read more: Boston Globe/ Daily Hampshire Gazette). In response to the University’s callous refusals, 95% of RAPMU members voted not to come back to work until their demands have been met. In doing so, RAPMU have demonstrated their impressive sense of unity, collective power, and willingness to take direct action to win fair and reasonable working conditions for Res Life employees. We are blown away by our fellow UAW 2322 workers, and join in solidarity with their important work to win a safer and healthier re-opening plan for all of us.
To show your solidarity as a GEO member, please sign and share the petition [link] to any UMass Community members.
✭First meeting for Abolishing UMPD Working Group✭
Our grievance coordinator, Anna Klebanowska, is hosting the first meeting for this working group. If you are interested in participating, please feel free to join at 2 on this Thursday [Zoom Link].
In Solidarity, Dora and Jyoti, GEO Co-Chairs
