Fellow workers,

Read on for our bargaining update from 10/16! You can also watch the update on this video.
On October 16, 2023, over 70 GEO members packed the bargaining room for our fourth session with UMass administration. In our previous session, we withdrew our proposed one-year package, and in this session we passed the first slate of proposals for a full, three-year successor agreement. We intend to share these proposals with the membership in the coming days and to create a real-time bargaining tracker so that members can follow along with our—and management’s—proposals as they are put on the table. In a nutshell, though, we passed updated and expanded protections from overwork, more specific language governing GEO’s access to bulletin boards in departments, a full reimbursement for the TOEFL for international grad workers when they matriculate at UMass Amherst, and a new article that would require the university to provide affordable housing (and more housing) to graduate workers. In the coming sessions we plan to pass even more proposals, and right now we need every member’s input in crafting this language! If you would like to be involved with drafting please contact bargaining.
You can see the full slate of proposals here.
Please fill out this whentomeet to set a time for future Bargaining Committee meetings.

In solidarity, Bargaining Committee
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