Want to get more involved in the nitty-gritty process of negotiations? Want to learn more but can’t come to our standing Wednesday meetings? Support the 2023 bargaining efforts by joining one (or several!) of these bargaining research groups.
These important groups will support our arguments at the bargaining table. Don’t see a committee for the issue you’re interested in? Write to geo@umass.edu! We’ll help create that space and bring people together in it. If you have any questions, reach out to the respective point people or email bargaining@geouaw.org.
Disability/Accessibility Caucus
This working group will do research about the many issues faced by students with accessibility needs that UMass refuses to address, which prevents this institution from becoming a safe working and learning environment. In particular, this group will look into the proposed changes regarding reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. If you want to work with this group, please email Thomas Morrison (tmorrison@geouaw.org) and Kaleb Karolak (kkarolak@umass.edu)
Oppositional Research
This working group will do research about the members of GEO’s opposition: the administration’s bargaining committee and UMass leadership who want to maintain an exploitative contract. If you want to work with this group, please email Terrell James (tljames@umass.edu)
Financial Research
This working group will conduct research related to UMass’s financial holdings. How rich is UMass? Where does all that money go when they tell us they cannot afford to pay us fair wages? If you want to work with this group, please email Shady Lawendy (shady@geouaw.org)
Harassment/Discrimination Research
This working group will do research around changes to the sexual harassment (18) and harassment (19) articles, regarding strengthening protections for workers by expanding the definitions and by giving workers the right to request alternative assignment, along with other issues related to several ongoing grievance cases that the union has filed against the university. If you want to work with this group, please email Chris Claypool (chris@geouaw.org)
MA/MS Research
This working group will do research on the discrimination that Masters students face in the appointment and reappointment process. For example, several departments do not allow their MAs to apply for GEO funded positions in order to maintain MA students as a source of department funding. What are other ways that MA students are short-shrifted by discriminatory rules for funding opportunities at UMass? If you want to work with this group, please email Jessica Scott (jessica@geouaw.org) and Niharika Pola (pniharika@umass.edu)
Cost of Living Research
This working group will research the current cost of living faced by graduate students living in the Pioneer Valley to support GEO’s position that graduate workers need a significant raise to make a UMass education possible. If you want to work with this group, please email umasscola@googlegroups.com
Workload Working Group
This working group will focus on research and mobilization related to the proposed changes to workload. In particular, this group will conduct research on costing out the TO 20-hour minimum proposal as well as working with various departments where folks are contracted to teach a 3-credit course for less than 20 hours per week (e.g., the writing program, studio arts MFA, anthropology, etc.) If you want to work with this group, please email Alejandro Beas-Murillo (abeasmurillo@english.umass.edu) and Danielle Bradley (danielle@geouaw.org)