Graduate Employees Organization

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Mediation Day 2:

Hello Stranger! The University’s original Bargaining Team leader, Tom Riley, showed up to this session. This is the first time he has shown up to anything related to bargaining with the GEO since November 2009. We are not surprised by this, because things are coming down to the wire.  

That was actually the second surprise of the day. The first one came when the University alerted us to the fact that they changed the scheduled time of the mediation time from 9:00AM – 12:30PM to 9:00AM – late afternoon. Because of this increased period, we were able to hash out the issues left in the contract. There has  been much movememnt on both the side of the University and GEO. The progress has been astounding. Why has this not happened before? Because the University has not taken this process seriously. Well, now that the Intent to Strike Vote has been filed the University is finally starting to realize they cannot play these games anymore. This contract needs to be settled and they need to start working!  

The University has finally addressed the issue of stipends, tuition waivers and fees. But discussion of fees did not include the Tuition Differential. It is almost as if they admit the TDs exist by putting mention of them in our contract that they will have to acknowledge the sneaky nature of the TDs. Well, tough shit. The University has implemented this sneaky, non-transparent fee that they are not held accountable for, and they must face the fact!  

But, the University has simply talked about the tuition waivers. They have not given us any definite language that states they are secured. The University offered some vague language that would allow them to, if they so decided, to change assistants’ receiving a full waiver, to offering them a partial waiver. Most graduate students would find that unacceptable, because tuition waivers are a huge part of our compensation.  

To learn how to put pressure on the University to settle this contract in a way that protects our full tuition waivers, keep reading: 

GEO MEDIATION UPDATE – MEMBERSHIP MEETING THURSDAY – NO AGREEMENT ON WAIVERS OR TDs

IN THIS EMAIL:

1. General Mediation Update

2. Tuition Waiver and Differential Update

3. Emergency Strike Meeting Thursday 4:30 PM in SCE

4. Button Up Tomorrow

1. GENERAL MEDIATION UPDATE

Yesterday, members of the GEO bargaining team had our second mediation session with the UIC administration.

Because we filed our Intent to Strike Notice last week, the administration came to the table ready to bargain all day, and we made progress on some outstanding issues. During mediation, we showed the university that we were willing to be flexible on some of our pending issues.

Despite the university’s claim that we asked for an 8.5% stipend increase, the union is only looking to protect the $500 annual increases to the minimum stipend that graduate employees have enjoyed for more than three years. In addition, we have proposed a very small annual stipend increase for continuing assistants.

2. TUITION WAIVER AND DIFFERENTIAL UPDATE

Despite the progress we made, the university's TUITION WAIVER AND DIFFERENTIAL proposals were regressive and, if we agreed to them, would potentially harm all graduate employees at UIC. This proposal would, for the first time, allow departments to set tuition waiver policy, opening up the possibility for partial waivers, limited-time waivers, and the use of other creative accounting practices to diminish our waivers.

The administration's proposal on differentials is the same as their waiver proposal. Departments would be allowed to impose differentials on graduate employees freely and without warning.

THESE PROPOSALS ON WAIVERS AND TDs WOULD DRAMATICALLY DECREASE OUR ECONOMIC SECURITY BY ALLOWING DEPARTMENTS TO CHANGE THE TERMS OF OUR EMPLOYMENT AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT WARNING.

For years, our tuition waivers have been threatened by skyrocketing tuition differentials imposed arbitrarily and without warning. Now the administration has proposed ANOTHER ATTACK ON OUR WAIVERS by allowing individual departments and administrators to decrease and limit them.

Economic security for graduate employees means that we must both guarantee the practice of giving full tuition waivers to all graduate employees, and put an end to skyrocketing differentials.

When the GEO bargaining team received the administration's proposals on waivers and differentials, we informed them that it was unacceptable. We now expect one more response on Wednesday, March 31.

3. EMERGENCY STRIKE MEETING

At our Thursday April 1 EMERGENCY STRIKE MEETING, we will present the responses we receive on Wednesday and vote on whether those responses are acceptable.

4. BUTTON UP TOMORROW

Tomorrow, we're asking every GEO member to wear a GEO READY TO STRIKE button, a red GEO t-shirt, and to hang READY TO STRIKE flyers on every bulletin board on campus. Come by the GEO office (310 S. Peoria, Suite 305) tomorrow morning after 7:00 AM to pick up these materials for yourself and your colleagues.