Who: All GEO members and supporters

What: nth Annual GEO WELCOME BACK PARTY

When: Wednesday, September 3, beginning at 7pm

Where: The GEO office, 330 E. Liberty Suite 3F

Why: Pizza! Beer! Solidarity!

The officers and committee chairs for 2008-2009 are:

Officers
PRESIDENT: Kiara Vigil, American Studies
VICE PRESIDENT: Ian Flora, Philosophy
SECRETARY: Rob Gillezeau, Economics
TREASURER: Denise Bailey, Sociology

Committee Chairs
ORGANIZING: Alex Reusing, Anthropology; Melissa Sanders, Psychology
GRIEVANCE: Patrick Parker, History
COMMUNICATIONS: Katie Will, English
SOLIDARITY/POLITICAL ACTION: Shana Greenstein, Urban Planning

Congratulations to all of our new leadership!

The statements are compiled in this pdf:

GEO OFFICER CANDIDATE STATEMENTS 2008.pdf
The nominees are:
PRESIDENT: Kiara Vigil
VICE PRESIDENT: Ian Flora, Melissa Sanders
TREASURER: Denise Bailey
SECRETARY: Open
COMM CHAIR: Katie Will
OC CHAIR: Melissa Sanders, Alex Reusing
GRRR CHAIR: Patrick Parker
S/PAC CHAIR: Shana Greenstein, Patrick Parker

Remember, the ELECTIONS MEETING is open to all GEO Members. It will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, at the GEO office beginning at 7pm.

The GEO Office is located at 330 E. Liberty St, Suite 3F.

Elections for next year’s officers and committee chairs will be held this Wednesday, April 16 at 7 pm in the GEO Office, at a Stewards Council meeting that is open to ALL members! We will post candidates’ statements here on the website by Tuesday.

GEO UM Tentative Agreement

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The file above contains a full text PDF of the Tentative Agreement reached between GEO and UM on March 25, 2008. Below is an article by article summary of the significant changes this Tentatave Agreement, if ratified, would make to the GEO Contract.

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Article I – Recognition and Definitions
Minor adjustments to definitions of “In Good Standing” and “GSSA”. Clarified definition of “GSI” and extended to explicitly include grad student mentoring as GSI work.

Article IV – Anti-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Employment
Addressed issue of academic bullying by adding language extending definition of harassment to include “repeated verbal abuse, threats, or intimidation that significantly interferes with the Employee’s ability to perform his or her job duties.” Introduced language concerning accommodations for Employees with disabilities. Signed a related Memorandum of Understanding directing the Equity and Access GSSA to work on projects related to improving accommodations for Employees with disabilities.

Article V – Union Dues and Representation-service Fees
Arranged to have Academic HR send an email to all newly hired employees informing them of their obligation to fill out a union dues/representation-service fee card. Clarified language on the card itself.

Article VI – Union Rights
Increased by 10 minutes the amount of time available to the GEO at trainings and orientations. Eliminated provisions which had allowed GEO to ask Academic HR to send mass emails on our behalf.

Article VII – Information
Clarified dates on which reports will be sent from the university, and method by which GEO may request other information. Eliminated clauses which had allowed GEO to ask UM to print mailing labels for cost.

Article IX – Posting, Initial Employment, and Re-employment
Established an email notification list for distribution of job postings to interested Employees

Article X – Salaries
Raised the Full Time Equivalent salary by 6.2% in 2008-09, 3.5% in 2009-10, and 3.5% in 2010-11. Established wage parity for low fractions. Raised the hourly rate for employees covering for absent co-workers so that it will be at parity with the hourly rate paid to .50 employees.

Article XI – Benefits
Extended zero premium health care to all employees, their partners, and their children. Signed Memoranda of Understanding clarifying OQA criteria and either extending cap on mental health visits from 25 to 30 or providing a pool of money to pay for visits by those who hit the cap.

Article XII – Child Care
Increased, in each year of the Contract, the amount of the child care subsidy for each child by $100 + the average annual increase in tuition at UM child care centers. Specific language added to the article making clear that Employees whose unique circumstances could impact nominal eligibility for the child care subsidy may apply directly to the Office of Financial Aid for a waiver. Provided for GEO representation on the Childcare Initiative Steering Committee.

Article XIII – Medical Leave, Parental Accommodation Period, Jury or Witness Service, Immigration Proceedings, and Bereavement Leave Pay
Established Parental Accommodation Period of six weeks with pay for birth mothers and three weeks with pay for other parents. Other parents may also take three weeks of unpaid leave, and any parent may choose not to return to job duties after the birth or adoption of a child while retaining benefits for the remainder of the term.

Article XVI – Grievance and Arbitration Procedures
Clarified and made consistent language relating to the first three steps of the procedure. Introduced a new system for selecting an arbitration panel.

Article XVII – Special Conferences
Updated language to make consistent with current practice, in particular empowering UM and GEO to reach enforceable written agreements during the term of the Contract. Reworked job description of Equity and Access GSSA to be project based.

Article XXII – Tuition Waiver
Extended full tuition waiver to all employees working 7.5 hours per week or more.

Article XXIII – Employee Rights
Clarified language relating to employee rights to work resources.

Article XXVI – Law Savings Clause
Updated to include reference to Other Qualified Adults.

Article XXVII – Term of the Agreement
Updated to reflect that the new Contract will run through March 1,

GEO leadership nominations are due to umgeo@umich.edu by April 9. Elections will be at the Stewards meeting on Wednesday, April 16 at 7 pm, and ALL members are invited to attend and vote for next year’s officers. Below is a description from our constitution of the officer and committee chairs of GEO, but note that officer/committee chair duties are always responsive to the needs of the union in a given year!

Officer Descriptions

The President shall:
1. Be the principal executive officer of the Organization;
2. Be one of the responsible financial officers of the Organization and shall be authorized to co-sign financial instruments and make regular and usual disbursement of funds;
3. Be responsible for signing all official documents of the Organization. This responsibility may be designated to a deputy with the approval of the Stewards Council;
4. Be, by office, the ranking delegate to the convention of the American Federation of Teachers and meetings or conventions of its affiliated subordinate bodies;
5. Represent the Organization as necessary to other organizations.

The Treasurer shall:
1. Be the principal financial officer of the Organization;
2. Receive, record and deposit all dues monies and other income in the name of the Organization;
3. Maintain accurate membership records;
4. Be authorized to co-sign financial instruments and make regular and usual disbursements of funds;
5. Shall arrange for an independent audit as required by law or the organizations with which the Organization is affiliated;
6. Transmit per capita payments as required to the American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Teachers-Michigan and to all other bodies with which the organization is affiliated;
7. Chair the Finance Committee;
8. Perform financial duties as required by law or the organizations with which the Organization is affiliated.

The Secretary shall:
1. Be the principal information officer of the organization;
2. Maintain the non-financial files and records of the Organization;
3. Be responsible for recording and keeping accurate minutes of meetings of the membership, Stewards’ Council and Officers’ Committee;
4. Oversee all elections and referenda of the Organization, record and report all votes.

The Vice-President shall:
1. Work with the President to oversee the operations of the Organization;
2. Assume the responsibilities of President if that person becomes unable to perform those duties;
3. Supervise the non-financial responsibilities of the staff;
4. Chair the Stewards’ Council.

Committee Chairs

Communications: Works to produce GEO’s communications materials, including but not limited to union newsletters, publicity materials, and web content.

Grievance: Works to resolve employee grievances through the grievance process outlined in GEO’s contract, organizes around contract issues, implements terms of the contract, and educates members of the university about the contract.

Organizing: Works to build GEO’s strength by recruiting new activists, helping to organize departments through steward elections and department meetings, turning members out to meetings and other events, and addressing the ongoing organizing needs of the union.

Solidarity and Political Action: Works to build coalitions, strengthen solidarity with other unions and labor organizations, and educate and advocate around political issues that are of interest to our members.

Tentative Agreement (scan)

We’re working on putting together a clean copy of the tentative agreement for members to review. In the meantime, here’s a pdf produced by scanning copies of the agreed upon articles. Please note: the file is quite large and may take some time to download.

MEMBERS: We’ve got a membership meeting coming up this Monday to talk about the Tentative Agreement of our new contract and to decide whether to send the agreement out for ratification. Bargaining team members will be on hand to answer questions about the agreement, and we’ll also talk about other important issues for the union. Please take a few minutes to help spread the word!

WHAT: GEO Membership Meeting
WHEN: Monday, March 31, 7pm
WHERE: Michigan League Ballroom
WHY: To decide whether to send the Tentative Agreement to the membership for ratification; to recap what has happened in the past week (and the past several months!); to discuss near and future activities of the union; to celebrate our successes; to sing.

GEO appreciates the support and solidarity of many unions and union councils, student organizations, and campus governing bodies, shown throughout this year’s negotiations process. Last week, we ran an ad in the Michigan Daily that included a list of some of our supporters; we thank all the people below (and more!) for “respecting the line” and standing with our union.
[ad design by Josh Mound]

STEWARDS COUNCIL MEETING
Tonight, 7 pm, at GEO. Discuss the walkout, our tentative agreement, and the upcoming membership meeting.

MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday March 31, 7 pm, Michigan League Ballroom. We will be recounting what has happened this week and voting to send out a contract ratification vote to the whole membership.

The walkout in pictures












Solidarity forever!

Here are some links to news coverage leading up to, during, and following yesterday’s walkout, which ended with the university and GEO reaching a tentative agreement on our new contract!

Detroit Free Press: 1-day U-M instructors strike gets big results [March 27]
Michigan Daily: New Deal Ends GEO Walkout [March 26]
Michigan Daily: Members form picket lines, cancel classes [March 26]
Chronicle of Higher Education: Teaching assistants at U. of Michigan end walkout a day early [March 26]
Ann Arbor News: UM settles with striking grad assistants [March 26]
Detroit Free Press: U-M, student teachers reach deal [March 26]
Ann Arbor News: GEO, U-M reach tentative accord [March 26]
Detroit News: U-M instructors back to class [March 26]
US News and World Report: Instructors and students plan walkouts [March 25]
Detroit Free Press [March 26]
Ann Arbor News: Classes disrupted by UM grad instructors walkout [March 25]
DailyKos: Walkout! (by Marc Bousquet) [March 25]
Ann Arbor News: University of Michigan graduate instructors strike [March 25]
Chronicle of Higher Education: Teacing assistants at University of Michigan begin 2-day walkout [March 25]
Michigan Daily: Don’t cross the picket lines (editorial) [March 25]
Michigan Daily: Negotiations fail, GEO set to walkout [March 25]
Michigan Daily: Stand with your GSIs (GEO’s op-ed to the Daily) [March 24]
The State News: U-M grad employees plan to stage walkout [March 24]

Dear GEO members and supporters,

Due to our successful walkout today, which shut down activity across campus, the Administration asked to reenter bargaining this afternoon in the interest of avoiding a second day. Following a marathon session of negotiating, at 11:42pm Tuesday night we reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

Because of this progress, the GEO Bargaining Team, empowered by stewards, activists, strike captains, and picketers has CALLED OFF the second day of the walkout Wednesday.

This is a HISTORIC contract that shows the power of organized labor. The administration has never been willing to bargain with us during a walkout before. They were also willing to engage us on particular issues on which they were previously unwilling to talk. We made huge progress in this round of bargaining, and it is all due to the power of our members and the support of other unions and workers supporting our issues. Some highlights include:

SALARIES: A combination of percentage and lump sum increases totaling 13.6% (only a percentage point less than our strike platform proposal). Salaries will increase 6.2% in the first year and 3.5% in the next two years. In the final year of the contract, a 0.5 GSI will make $17,395 for two semesters’ work.

LOW FRACTIONS: Since bargaining began, GEO membership voiced strong concern for the need to address the problems faced by those working the fewest hours and having the toughest time getting by. This contract includes several historic achievements for low-fraction employees that GEO has been working towards for decades. ALL of us will now receive zero-premium health
insurance. Low fractions will finally receive an equal hourly wage for their work. And all those working 7.5 hours or more per week will now receive FULL tuition waivers.

MENTAL HEALTH CARE: GEO members made it very clear that the University should take mental health care issues seriously. The administration has agreed to move forward by either increasing the cap on mental health office visits from 25 to 30, or by establishing a $30,000 pool to pay for those who max out their visits. GEO and the administration will meet to decide on the optimal approach.

PARENTS’ ISSUES: We continued moving toward ensuring access for student parents with increased child care subsidies and a new parental leave policy that ensures 6 paid weeks of maternity leave.

POSTING: We made significant progress in our efforts to make it easier for grads to find open GSI and GSSA positions away from their home department. From now on, we will be able to subscribe to a listserv to which all available positions will be posted (and unsubscribe when you get one).

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES: Through this contract campaign, we’ve raised awareness in the union and across the University about the issues faced by employees with disabilities. While we were unable to persuade the administration to immediately address these employees’ needs, we have put a process in place which will facilitate continued progress. Next year, GEO and the administration will jointly hire a GSSA whose projects will include working with employers with employees to address the barriers they face at this institution. Look for more action ahead as we continue to work with all of those across campus who are joining together to make this a truly accessible university.

The tentative agreement will be presented to the GEO membership at our March 31 Membership Meeting and sent for ratification by the entire membership. Questions and details about the contract will be addressed there.

As a union, we offer our heartfelt thanks to all the supporters who played a key role in making these historic gains possible: construction workers who took a day’s pay cut to stand in solidarity with us; students who marched on the picket lines; LEO members and other faculty who cancelled classes and respected our picket lines; Cafe Ambrosia who provided a strike headquarters for us; the great cooks from the Wobbly Kitchen who fed us; and the union brothers and sisters from around the country who sent in faxes and letters of support, and joined us in our efforts today.

In solidarity,

Colleen Woods
GEO Lead Negotiator

Helen Ho
GEO President

GEO’s Bargaining Team has reached a Tentative Agreement with UM on all major issues.  Details to follow.

There will be a GEO Membership Meeting on Monday, March 31 at 7pm in the Michigan League Ballroom.  At that meeting, members will discuss whether to submit the Tentative Agreement for ratification.

The administration has requested to start bargaining again with GEO. The GEO bargaining team will meet with the administration’s bargaining team at GEO’s office this afternoon. MEMBERS: GEO will be holding a meeting TONIGHT at 8 pm at the Tap Room in Arbor Brewing Company (116 E. Washington St.). It’s important to come and discuss whatever happens in negotiations today, and the progress of our job action. Our union has obviously demonstrated its strength today all across campus, from a rally on the Diag to an enormous showing of picket lines!

For our brothers and sisters who would like to send letters of support to administrative figures at the University, here is a list of fax numbers.

Jeffrey Frumkin
Assistant Provost
Sr. Directory, Academic Human Resources
(734) 936-8894

Mary Sue Coleman
President of the University
Fax: (734) 936-3529

Sally J. Churchill
VP and secretary of the University
734-763-8011

Teresa A. Sullivan
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
734-764-4546

Philip Hanlon
Associate Provost, Office of the Provost
734-764-4546

Janet Weiss
Dean, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
734 647-7826

Terrence J McDonald
Dean, College of Literature Science & the Arts
734-764-2697

GEO’s walkout began at 5 am this morning with GEO members at loading docks and construction sites at the Stadium and Ross School of Business. The Michigan Daily has published an awesomely supportive editorial rightly criticizing the University for its attitude toward negotiations (thank you!), as well as a news article; the walkout has also been covered by the Ann Arbor News, Detroit News, and Detroit Free Press.

Thanks to everyone for their support and all the encouragement we are getting. GEO especially appreciates the support of Cafe Ambrosia, which has generously lent its space to us in solidarity. Ambrosia is a wonderful local coffeeshop that you should patronize with your business!

GEO Members picketing on North Campus:

GEO Members picketing at the Stadium:

We still need picketers (more and more!), so head on over to the Diag! And make sure to be there for the RALLY AT 12:30 PM. Solidarity!