Labor unions need information about their members in order to effectively and actively represent the needs and interests of those members. Typically, employers are required to provide this information to unions by federal labor law. However, UMass Amherst maintains that they cannot comply with these laws because we are graduate students; therefore, our information cannot be disclosed without prior written consent due to the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA).
This is a distortion of the facts, to say the least. GEO is not a corporation, it is a labor union. FERPA largely applies to your educational record—things like your grades and your class schedule. None of this will ever be disclosed to any GEO leader or representative unless you yourself personally provide that information. GEO is interested in information about your work and working conditions, including contact information, data about appointments and reappointments, the number of assistantships in different departments. We need this information to uphold your rights in the workplace, and to keep you informed about what’s going on in GEO, at UMass, and in the surrounding community.
This is why we ask all GEO members to take 3 minutes to log onto SPIRE and waive FERPA. See below for a detailed illustrated guide to waiving FERPA.
How to waive FERPA on Spire
- Go to Spire and login with student role (this may be your “alternate role”)
- Note that on mobile, to see FERPA you must “Go back to old interface” as the interface shown below does not have this option visible at all
