There will be a strike tomorrow at the University of Illinois

[fishwax]

After seven months of negotiations and after three months of working without a contract, the Graduate Employees' Organization at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana authorized a strike last week, and that strike has now been called for tomorrow. The union has negotiated in good faith for months now, but the university's initial proposals were absurd, and only recently, with the threat of a strike, have they even bothered to negotiate on the things most important to the union membership: a living wage for TAs and GAs and protection of the tuition waivers that make graduate education affordable for those who aren't independently wealthy.

After seven hours of bargaining yesterday, there was some movement on the minimum stipend for graduate employees (though it is still not enough to meet what the university itself defines as the minimum income necessary to survive here in Champaign-Urbana). But the real sticking point has been protecting tuition waivers, which are standard at major research universities and without which a graduate education would be immediately unaffordable for the vast majority of current graduate student workers and economically prohibitive for future graduate students.

Please, if you have a moment and are so inclined, drop an email or make a call to the Board of Trustees and the Provost to let them know that you support the union's efforts. Anyone can call or write, of course, but if you're a resident of Illinois or if you have a connection to the university (as an alumni, an employee, a potential student, or the parent of a student, for example) please be sure to mention that.

University of Illinois Board of Trustees
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Interim Provost Robert Easter
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Here's the text of the www.uigeo.org

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (November 15): The strike committee of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), American Federation of Teachers/Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6300, AFL-CIO, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has authorized a strike against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois to begin at 8am on Monday morning. After six hours of negotiation on Saturday afternoon, the GEO and administration bargaining teams managed to reach mutually agreeable terms on all aspects of the GEO contract except tuition waiver security. The administration’s refusal to guarantee the continuation of its current tuition waiver practice not only means that the majority of graduate employees could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in additional tuition charges, but also indicates its plans to implement such a change. By making graduate education untenable for all but the most affluent students, the administration is abandoning its responsibility to ensure access to the highest level of public education for all. This is contrary to the University of Illinois’ mission as a public land grant institution. By calling a strike, the Graduate Employees’ Organization is holding the University of Illinois administration accountable to its stated commitment to excellent and accessible higher education.

The GEO is a labor union representing all teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus. With over 2600 GEO members, and over 2600 graduate employees represented in the bargaining unit, the GEO is one of the largest higher education union locals in the United States. Over the course of a three day vote, an overwhelming 92% of participating UIUC GEO members voted last week to authorize a strike against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, [e-mail], 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at [e-mail], 217-344-8283, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61820. Information about the GEO can also be found on our website at www.uigeo.org.

[Greyhound]

1. K&R.

[fishwax]

4. thanks, Greyhound!

:kick:

[kamel2190]

5. As a student at the University of Illinois...

I'm proud to say that I will express solidarity with the GEO tomorrow. The contract is full of unfair practices, and they deserve enough money to pay for the cost of living. Champaign is not as expensive as Chicago, and I must say that the University is being flat-out cheap.

[fishwax]

6. Thanks, kamel2190! And welcome to DU!

Hearing students and other stakeholders express their support for this move (which the union really did work hard to make unnecessary) provides a HUGE boost!

:hi:

[nemo137]

7. +1

[stray cat]

2. Whats a living wage?

and whats the difference in salary between TAs and research assistants?

For grad students in basic sciences I would expect $24,000 per year, free tuition and health care.

[fishwax]

3. the university has identified $16,086 as the living wage for Champaign-Urbana

I'm not precisely sure about the difference in salary between TAs and RAs because the RAs aren't actually part of the bargaining unit, and I think RA pay varies depending on department (and perhaps even within departments). But of the RAs I've known, their salaries are equal to or marginally less than TAs. I'm not an expert, though.

"For grad students in basic sciences I would expect $24,000 per year, free tuition and health care."

AFAIK, most GAs and TAs in the sciences make a good amount more than the minimum, but I don't think many make 24k. I think 22,000 might be about the standard rate for those who have summer appointments.

Health care isn't great, especially for those who have specific health concerns or who are older (it's basically designed like a plan for undergrads), but it's certainly better than the lack of coverage that so many Americans have to deal with. There is a health care fee, but it's partially covered.

The free tuition is very much under threat at this point, and has been a galvanizing issue for the members.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Good, these small signs that workers are starting to revolt

are warming to my heart... this is WHAT WE NEED.

And this union household stands behind you,

[KharmaTrain]

13. A Revolt in Champaign-Urbana? Hardly

My daughter is a grad student at UIC...and is dreading this strike for several reasons. Most important is it messes up her plans big time...she is working while she attends classes and she fears classes she's taking this semester will be wiped out and delay her graduation by up to a year...not to mention the money involved.

While upset about a strike, all of us understand the problems facing the school...tied into a state budget that was "tax cut" into massive defecits...and that was before the real estate and retail tax bubble burst. There are plenty of areas that are pissing people off...the same budget cuts mean less public transit in the Chicago area and shortfalls in almost every municipal budget. The options are to raise taxes...that most politicians know mean the end of their political carerrs (since so many expect services but seem to think the money to pay for them come out of thin air or Washington...georgie booosh made sure that wasn't going to happen.

In my daughter's case she knows that any money that goes to the U of I will likely come out of money for the school she teaches at...one that's already seen its budget cut several times in her two years of teaching. So which part of the budget do you let implode? Or do you raise taxes and tuition (it already costs about $23gs a year to attend UIC).

Will people rise up? Doubtful...so many are too concerned about their own economic situation...solidarity is only a word in the dictionary or a Polish history class.

[Greyhound]

9. .

[fishwax]

10. kick

:kick:

[fishwax]

11. kick for Monday Morning

:kick:

[Ava83]

12. Good Luck

Today.


Edited to add that...

The Tribune has a story on it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-u-of-i-strike-16-nov16,0,6450052.story

[rockymountaindem]

14. Good for them

I'd love to see something like that happen at my university but we don't have a union since due to a "technicality" (designed by the powers that be) our departments/profs are considered as our "advisers" and not our employers so we aren't allowed to organize.