This is a quick check-in as a response to the UMass Chancellor’s email we all received 11 March 2020 about steps being taken. Please take the time to read through the official UMass email (copied below). There are currently no cases of coronavirus on campus, but we must all take prescribed precautionary measures that we can and should take to help stop a problem before it starts.
- Progressive South Asians (Five College) candlelight vigil Wed 7 cancelled
- International Caucus Thu 2-5 work-party cancelled
- International Caucus Thu 5-7 dinner cancelled
- Stewards’ Assembly Thu 5-7 cancelled
- Spanish and Portuguese Coffee Hour Fri 4-6 cancelled
Please email us if you (or your family member) are sick and have any questions about how to take medical leave. This is generally true, not only for coronavirus. We can explain your rights, how much leave you have based on your employment, how much of that is paid (lots!), and how to fill your paperwork for medical leave under FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act).
For any questions at all, please email us at geo@umass.edu. We encourage TAs and TOs to get in touch with their department heads for online-teaching policies; some depts have already shared some tools. RAs, especially lab-workers please ensure you take adequate precautions, stay home if you need to. If you are planning to stay home and your supervisor is not letting you do that, or you need help with employment issues due to travel, please get in touch.Our phone is not working because we just moved rooms and the phone lines have not moved yet, please use email.
More information coming soon. We are working on a general mailer about your GEO rights. Those of you who have already contacted us, we hear you, and we want all our members to be safe.
