From the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

“GRAD STUDENT EMPLOYEES TAKE LABOR PROTEST TO UMASS STREETS”

by Kristin Palpini

AMHERST – “No contract, no peace” was the message shouted across the University of Massachusetts campus Thursday morning as a couple hundred members of the Graduate Employee Organization took their gripes over ongoing labor negotiations to the streets.

Graduate student employees said they are frustrated by what they see as a lack of progress during the 10 months students have spent brokering a labor pact with the university.

Student employees, who include teaching and residential assistants, are trying to secure adequate and transparent diversity funding, roll back student fees, maintain health insurance rates and increase access to child care in a one-year contract.

“We’re serious about this, and this is something that they (university administration) just can’t fizzle out if they drag us along. They hope we’ll forget about this and move on to something else,” said Aaron W. Winslow, vice president of the Graduate Employee Organization.

On Thursday morning a mass of about 150 to 200 students stomped through the Whitmore Administration Building and delivered a signed list of their contract demands to the chancellor’s office. They then marched to a new construction site to demonstrate how buildings at UMass are being established through student fees, Winslow said. Mandatory graduate student fees have increased by over 50 percent to $8,969 over the last five years.

Edward F. Blaguszewski, director of news and information at UMass, called the protest “peaceful” with no arrests. Blaguszewski also said that the university has a policy of not commenting on contract negotiations.

Winslow said protesters were unable to speak with any UMass administrators, but felt the demonstration was a success nonetheless.

“It went well,” said Winslow who promised increased protests if GEO’s demands aren’t met. “We did this to let people know our demands and mostly to let the administration see that we’re there, that our members are out there in response to the way in which bargaining has been going.”

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