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NEWS & LETTERS, February 2008 - March 2008Students organizeUrbana, Ill.--As a new Spanish linguistics graduate student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), I was eager to become involved with the local Graduate Employee Organization (GEO). In existence since the 1970s, the GEO affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers in 1995 but was not recognized by the university as a bargaining unit until 2004 when the GEO won its first contract. The GEO currently represents over 2,500 graduate teaching assistants in over 130 departments. Last year the GEO won a three-year contract with the university guaranteeing a 3% yearly raise and ensuring that the administration contributes at least 50% towards health insurance. UIUC, the largest university in Illinois, is also represented by AFSCME and SEIU. Last fall SEIU local 119, representing food and building service workers, moved to strike if an agreement was not reached between university officials and SEIU representatives. To support those workers, the GEO formed a solidarity committee, pledging money towards a strike fund, distributing SEIU stickers and buttons on campus, and educating its members about relocating classes in order to avoid crossing picket lines in the event of a strike. The SEIU local eventually reached an agreement with the university. Since that effort, the solidarity committee has grown in membership and scope. They advised UIUC GEO members on how to conduct a solidarity campaign to show their support for building and food service workers on campus. Additionally, the GEO, through its solidarity committee, has established connections with those outside the university and begun working with a neighborhood organization fighting to force Ameren, the local power company, to clean up a toxic site in a low-income neighborhood in the community. As the GEO continues to organize among grad students and make connections with other labor and community organizations, it looks forward to hosting the Alliance of Graduate Employee locals conference this May. For more information on the UIUC GEO, see www.uigeo.org. --Grad student union member |
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