Please read the emergency impact bargaining update below to learn what the union is collectively fighting for. The union is not simply a small group of elected reps. A union is all of us. Stay informed, get involved.
To show mass GEO support for these proposals, please SIGN A PETITION for your housing, summer funding & vacation payout:
- GEO Members please sign this one
- Community-version to support GEO: please circulate this one to friends, coworkers, anyone you like
Come to Zoom GEO Membership Meeting: Monday, March 30th, 5pm-6pm GEO Members only [Add to Google Calendar] [ZOOM LINK HERE] (link asks you to register, then you get join-link emailed to you)
Come to the next Bargaining Session: Tuesday, March 31st, from 3pm-5pm. [Add to Google Calendar] Join us to show management who has the power here, and that UMass works because we do! (link will be shared when we get it from management)
March 24, 2020 Bargaining Update
On Tuesday, GEO entered virtual contract negotiations over Zoom. This first bargaining session was unconventional, but fully showed our power and unity as union members. Our meeting was packed, with almost 70 GEO members from a wide range of departments sitting at the virtual table across from management. Our large presence sent a clear message to management that we grad workers care deeply about our rights, our contract, and our community. GEO rank and file members and elected representatives spoke powerfully at the bargaining table about the need for the university to act quickly and decisively to address the COVID-19 crisis. During Tuesday’s session, we focused on the need for emergency action around housing, vacation payouts, and summer funding.
Housing
North Village and Lincoln residents are still being told that they must move out on June 1, with no consideration for the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic. University chief negotiator Michael Eagan acknowledged that it is “contradictory” and “stressful” for these residents to be told to move out while also being told to shelter in place. North Village and Lincoln residents argued at the bargaining table that being kicked out of their homes at this time is not only “stressful,” but a potentially deadly public health risk. GEO is demanding that North Village and Lincoln residents be allowed to remain in their homes rent-free through the summer and the following academic year.
Vacation Payouts
Due to the need to move courses online, many graduate workers were unable to take vacation time during spring break. The University’s representatives acknowledged that this loss of vacation time is a problem, and should be corrected. GEO is demanding that the university pay out all graduate workers for lost vacation time during spring break, with no need for workers to fill out a request form.
Summer Funding
The current pandemic and its economic effects have made the future uncertain for all of us. Off-campus jobs that domestic graduate workers have relied on to make it through the summer months may no longer exist once the semester ends. GEO members and representatives argued powerfully at the bargaining table that the University has a responsibility to prevent the starvation and homelessness that graduate workers may face this summer. GEO is demanding that the University grant a 20-hour/week summer RAship, or bring everyone up to equivalent, for every graduate worker who lacks a full-time summer appointment.
