May 5: Administration Stalls Bargaining, Forces Federal Mediation After Only Second Session

By odellcampbell | May 6, 2009

Despite our presentation of a comprehensive contract proposal to the
administration team during our first bargaining meeting, the University
continued to refuse to respond to or discuss any aspect of our proposal at
the second meeting. Instead, the administration team attempted to insist
on the imposition of extraneous restrictions on Union activity as the
grounds for bargaining. The bargaining team’s obligation is to negotiate
a fair contract for our membership; and we believe that these restrictions
hinder our ability to do so and indicate the administration’s lack of good
faith in the bargaining process. As the administration has refused to
discuss our proposal at all, we have been forced to accept federal
mediation, and are hopeful that this will enable us to move to a concrete
discussion of the issues in the contract.

Stay tuned for more updates, and for information about how we can protest the administration’s unwillingness to discuss the contract. If you’d like more information about the specifics of what is happening, why we’re in mediation, etc. you can contact Peter Campbell at odell.campbell@gmail.com. We’ll also have contact information for the bargaining team up on the website shortly.

The following is the press release we issued immediately after the bargaining session yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GEO DISAPPOINTED AGAIN IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WITH UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ADMINISTRATION

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (MAY 5) – On May 5, the Graduate Employee’s Organization (GEO) met with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign administration for the second time to bargain a successor agreement to the current graduate employee contract. At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided to jointly request federal mediation.

The GEO is very disappointed by this development, as it signals a lack of willingness on the part of the administration to respond to proposals related to the contract. The GEO made a comprehensive contract proposal to the administration on the first day of bargaining. The administration has refused to respond to our proposal, making it necessary for both parties to agree to mediation.

The GEO believes that it is the mutual obligation of the union and the administration to negotiate a contract in a timely manner. Consequently, the GEO is disappointed that the University administration is unwilling to respond to our contract proposals to date. We continue to be committed to working with the UIUC campus community and the administration to develop a contract that will foster teaching excellence at the UIUC campus.

In this spirit of cooperation, the GEO is excited by the overwhelming passage last week of a Illinois Student Senate resolution that expresses full senate support for the GEO’s bargaining platform in our current contract negotiations with the UIUC administration. “For the first time in recent history, this resolution sends a resounding message to the University Administration; that the student body is speaking with one voice, with both graduate and undergraduate students united in the cause of improving the lives of all those attending our great institution,” said Carey Ash, UIUC Student Body Vice-President. Dan Weber, a student senator for LAS, agreed and said that “this resolution, along with its overwhelming passage, shows that the goal of fair and just compensation for graduate student labor is not merely one supported by graduate students, rather it is a concern for the entire student body.”

The Graduate Employee’s Organization, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a labor union representing teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus.

The GEO is seeking a contract rooted in four ‘pillars:’ a living wage for all graduate employees, improved access to health care, working with the University to create a more family-friendly environment for graduate employee parents, and preserving the tuition waivers that allow graduate programs at UIUC to attract and retain the best graduate student employees available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283.

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GEO Bargaining Mini-Survey

By odellcampbell | May 5, 2009

The Bargaining Team needs your help! We’ve created a VERY short online survey to help with our proposals on health care and child care. It only takes two minutes, but it will really help our team to present the best proposals.

If you would like to take the survey, please contact Dave Beck at dbeck@uigeo.org or Peter Campbell at odell.campbell@gmail.com for the link.

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Press release: Illinois Student Senate Endorses GEO Bargaining Platform!

By odellcampbell | April 30, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Illinois Student Senate at Urbana-Champaign Overwhelmingly Votes to Endorse Graduate Employee’s Bargaining Platform

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (April 29) – The Illinois Student Senate at Urbana-Champaign voted overwhelmingly last week in favor of a resolution that expresses full senate support for the Graduate Employee’s Organization’s bargaining platform in the GEO’s current contract negotiations with the UIUC administration.

Speaking to the Senate prior to the vote, Rich Potter, a member of the GEO (AFT/IFT local 6300) communications committee, pointed out that the GEO’s proposed contract is consistent with other graduate employee contracts at Big 10 universities. Potter also argued that a fair contract and working conditions for graduate employees will help to maintain the high quality of undergraduate education that UIUC is known for; this view was echoed by several graduate and undergraduate student senators in the discussion prior to the vote.

“For the first time in recent history, this resolution sends a resounding message to the University Administration; that the student body is speaking with one voice, with both graduate and undergraduate students united in the cause of improving the lives of all those attending our great institution,” said Carey Ash, UIUC Student Body Vice-President. Dan Weber, a student senator for LAS, agreed and said that “this resolution, along with its overwhelming passage, shows that the goal of fair and just compensation for graduate student labor is not merely one supported by graduate students, rather it is a concern for the entire student body.”

The Graduate Employee’s Organization, American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a labor union representing teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus.

The GEO is excited by the passage of this resolution, and will continue working with the campus community to ensure fair compensation for graduate student labor and foster teaching excellence on the UIUC campus. The GEO is seeking a contract rooted in four ‘pillars:’ a living wage for all graduate employees, improved access to health care, working with the University to create a more family-friendly environment for graduate employee parents, and preserving the tuition waivers that allow graduate programs at UIUC to attract and retain the best graduate student employees available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283.

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Stay tuned for more information on GEO solidarity activities with undergraduates and student government at UIUC, and for strategies that TAs and GAs can use to communicate about the GEO and the bargaining process with students.

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April 21st: Bargaining Begins

By admin | April 28, 2009

On April 21st, the University of Illinois Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) will begin negotiations with the University of Illinois administration to determine our new working contract. This contract determines the wages, healthcare, benefits, and workplace protections of the nearly 3,000 TAs and GAs employed by the university.

This contract is a critically important document; it will determine TA and GA wages and benefits for years to come. But this document can only bring about improvements with your support. If you are a graduate student, we are your union; join the GEO or visit uigeo.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities. If you are an undergraduate student, you can support the GEO by supporting your TA throughout the bargaining process and spreading awareness about the status and importance of bargaining as it is ongoing. All are welcome at GEO events.

We all recognize the current national economic situation. As low income professionals, TAs and GAs are affected disporportionately by rising costs in everyday expenses and healthcare. Graduate employees like TAs and GAs do a crucial service for the U of I (for instance, 40 percent of all introductory courses are taught by graduate employees), and work hard every day to make this university a better instiution. As the university prepares to tighten its belt, it must also protect those who are important to its central mission of excellence in higher education.

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