Fellow workers,

See below for candidate statements in connection with the upcoming GEO elections. As a reminder, the election will run from April 28-May 1, with electronic voting and an in-person component. The election will conclude at the May 1 membership meeting which runs from 5-6:30pm. Please let us know if you have any questions by reaching out to elections.

in solidarity,
The GEO Elections Committee

___

Isaac Pliskin (Co-Chair)

Fellow Workers,

My name is Isaac Pliskin, and I am a 4th year PhD student in Mathematical Physics. I am running for the role of GEO Co-Chair alongside Lilian Valencich, with Ciara Little and Shady Lawendy for Membership Organizers, Jessica Scott for Mobilization Coordinator, and Shane Henckel and Noah Williams for Steering Committee at-large, with all of whom I have established a strong bond as co-organizers within GEO. Our firm commitment to membership input and integrity is crucial for rebuilding members’ trust and a sense of community in GEO spaces.

I first became involved in GEO as a rank-and-file member several years ago, having since contributed significantly to the Bylaws Committee, Bargaining Committee, and as a representative to our Local’s Joint Council. After becoming frustrated with the lack of progress in our last bargaining campaign over the course of Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters, I dedicated myself to tackling the issues around transparency, mistrust, and manipulation GEO members were experiencing, by enforcing a return to the democratic values of open dialogue with membership and appropriately informed decision-making. I was elected as a Bargaining Coordinator in Summer 2024, and I committed myself to being the loudest—often the only—advocate on the Bargaining Committee for direct membership participation in the bargaining process. I served the membership by amplifying your voices, listening to what you actually wanted from the contract campaign, and highlighting your true priorities to the rest of the Bargaining Committee. My work on the Bargaining Committee culminated in a contract ratified by roughly 90% of the voters, in the largest turnout of GEO members in decades. I am proudly the only Bargaining Coordinator whose signature is on our contract.

As your Co-Chair, I will continue the work of prioritizing the best interests of graduate student workers. My mission is to repair GEO’s relationship with its members by inspiring an authentic sense of confidence in our union. A few of my primary goals include, but are absolutely not limited to:

• Extending the UMass Research Continuity Emergency (ResCoE) Fund beyond its August 31, 2025 expiry to protect the livelihoods of graduate student workers impacted by federal or any other funding cuts.

• Expanding the limited avenues of legal support available to graduate student workers in the current political climate.

• Increasing safeguards for workers at risk of potential job cuts as a result of impact bargaining, well before impact bargaining becomes necessary.

• Returning GEO to a state where it can serve as an interdepartmental community for graduate student workers.

• Making GEO a member-led union.

I am proud to serve on a slate full of dedicated members who believe deeply in GEO’s potential as a radical, fighting union. We are each ready to continue this work—alongside all of you—to build the collective strength we need to face the struggles ahead together. We are committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character, not through top-down directives, but through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike.

Democracy, Solidarity, Collective Power!

Lilian Valencich (Co-Chair)

My name is Lilian Valencich, and I am a Political Science PhD student running for the position of GEO Co-Chair alongside Isaac Pliskin, with Ciara Little and Shady Lawendy (Membership Organizers), Jessica Scott (Mobilization Coordinator), Shane Henckel and Noah Williams (Steering). Now more than ever, we are witnessing mounting attacks on the research institutions that structure our education, careers, and lives. The widespread targeting of international students, erosion of freedom of speech, restriction of what we can research, and the steady dismantling of the very funding we rely upon are becoming common practices in our current administration. We must remove barriers to union participation to ensure we stand together amidst political uncertainty.

As a first-year PhD student, I offer a new perspective on union solidarity, rooted in productive engagement among members of all disciplines. I am committed to building cross-departmental collaboration to ensure our rights, our contract, and our livelihoods remain intact. As a steward of Political Science, I’ve facilitated conversations about contract grievances within my department so fellow members have adequate support and resources to navigate policy changes.

Beyond my union work, I represented voters as an elected Precinct Committee Person in Oregon, keeping constituents informed on legislation while listening to their views on issues such as healthcare, education, and climate initiatives affecting local workers. As Assistant Communication Director for my county’s Democratic party, I led voter outreach campaigns, wrote press releases, and redesigned the social media engagement campaign to streamline communication between voters and officials. My work as a community organizer, campaign manager for two state senate races, and my ongoing advocacy for my community wherever I live positions me as a strong candidate to champion our union’s causes.

If elected as one of the co-chairs, I will foster proactive communication, promote transparency in union procedures, and ensure union spaces are more accessible. This includes fighting for increased summer funding and resource availability for international students through concerted cross-departmental organizing to prioritize the safety of those targeted by the current crisis. The university is already using the current political context to continue eroding our bargaining unit while imposing austerity measures that reduce our graduate assistantships, therefore compromising GEO’s collective power. I will take proactive stances to protect the bargaining unit, advocate for increased eligibility of MA students to apply to GEO positions, and help preserve contract hours to prevent losses to our membership.

I see this role not just as a title but as a responsibility to actively listen, organize, and build collective knowledge and collaboration within our ranks. I am running as a part of this slate because we are deeply committed to ensuring solidarity across all sectors of our union. We are all ready to move forward, standing with all of you, to build the coalition needed for the struggle ahead.

Our slate is committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character—not through top-down directives but through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike. Democracy, Solidarity, and Collective Power!

Char Nim (Co-Chair)

I’m Char Nim, a Master’s student in Anthropology and I am running for GEO Co-Chair. I am very happy to be running on a slate of active organizers and leaders: Aidan Khelil (Co-Chair), Christophine Claypool (Mobilization Coordinator), Terrell James and Lyndsey Saunders (Membership Organizers), Fei Han and Nina Fernandes (At-Large Steering Members).

I’ve been involved with GEO for the past 2 and a half years as an active member of my department, in various committees, and now as Membership Organizer. I have been in Western Massachusetts for 6 years now and find grounding in political education practices, learning from grassroots organizers.

My vision as co-chair is rooted in a union in which members have tools to truly step into their power as workers to win real, material change. I’ve learned this only happens when leadership is united in one thing–centering what members actually want and need. Our strength comes from rank-and-file workers claiming their power, not from top-down decisions. Especially right now, we are facing major repression and fear. We need to be united to truly defend ourselves and fight back.

What if everyone felt they could participate in ways, spaces, and languages that they felt most powerful and articulate? Alongside my slate, I hope to:

• Work to defend our jobs and statuses, from misclassification to threats against international students, with member-driven campaigns.

• Continue coalitional work that works to break down the barriers (i.e. masters/PhD, international/domestic, funded/unfunded, faculty/students, employment status) that the university uses to divide us.

• Root our organizing in popular education principles where members and departments have tools to lead and organize organically.

• Summer retreats and training so we are able to hit the ground running come fall on issues we need to ensure for future bargaining.

• Continue building our housing justice work (because nobody should be choosing between rent and groceries).

I have spent the past year strengthening connections with other campus unions through multi-union solidarity actions, workshops, and trainings + building relationships with local organizations, particularly around housing and legal resources, because of many shared struggles.

Especially now as federal funding cuts and immigration threats escalate alongside University’s policies to profit off of students, these connections are how we survive. When allied workers and our campus siblings ask US ‘How can we support graduate workers?’ It’s an indication that our power grows when we organize beyond just our graduate circles.

In addition to internally organizing, we must look beyond just the immediate concerns of current members. Across the country, workers are waking up to collective power as class consciousness grows. This moment demands bold, principled organizing. I am interested in continuing to deepen our alliances with other campus unions and community partners and bringing back better communication structures. But first, we must move past internal divisions that distract from our shared goals. Our campaign is ready to build this stronger, more united union together.

Aidan Khelil (Co-Chair)

I’m Aidan Khelil, a PhD student in the Physics department. I am currently a steward from the Physics department and a Co-Chair of the Stewards Assembly. I’m very proud to be running for GEO Co-Chair alongside Char Nim, and I’m delighted to share a slate with Chrissy Claypool (Mobilization Coordinator) Fei Han and Nina Fernandes (Steering), and Lyndsey Saunders and Terrell James (Membership Organizer).

As Co-Chairs, Char and I will rebuild membership’s trust and belief in our union’s ability and willingness to fight uncompromisingly for our rights. Our platform is based on the following goals:

• Democratizing organizing spaces

• Student protections, especially for international students

• Job security & workload protections

• Clear, consistent, and concise communication to all members

• More affordable housing

• A livable wage of $45,000/year

• Accessibility and ADA compliance across campus

• Organizing around grievances

The University has been violating our contract and eroding the power of our bargaining unit by misclassifying hundreds of jobs that were previously performed by union workers into positions called “graduate hourly” positions. We believe that the university’s stance is anti-worker. All graduate students should be GEO-eligible. These contract violations in conjunction with the growing federal attacks on free speech and research funding make it important that we have a strong, fighting union that prioritizes and protects its workers.

As one of the Physics stewards, I organized department check-ins where students shared issues and difficulties in their workplace. We then brought these concerns to the department head and organized meetings where the faculty expressed their plans to remedy the issues raised.

Previously, I was a member of GEO’s Bargaining Committee where I conducted financial research comparing UMass to 16 of our peer institutions. This research jumpstarted our organizing for a living wage of $45,000 per year for all graduate workers. To that end, we coordinated a move-in action in August 2024 to petition parents of incoming students and received around 900 signatures.

To address communication accessibility, I updated and restructured the GEO website, focusing on accessibility, readability, and organization. As a result, we saw the largest number of online membership forms signed in recent GEO history. On top of maintaining the website, I will revitalize the Communications Committee to revamp all of our union’s social networks to provide consistent, clear, and concise messaging to better involve our members.

While our union has made significant gains to improve our working conditions, we have a long way to go to provide workers with what they need to live in the Pioneer Valley–and those who must commute from further. We believe GEO leadership should be facilitators of the broader memberships’ needs rather than its executive authority. Through our organizing platform, we will recruit, identify, and retain member leaders from departments to put the power back into members’ hands.

It’s time that we put the power back into the hands of members because workers deserve a union that cares.

Ciara Little (Membership Organizer)

My name is Ciara Little, and I’m a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. I’m running for Membership Organizer alongside Isaac Pliskin, Lilian Valencich, Shady Lawendy, Jessica Antonia Casillas Scott, and Noah Williams, with whom I have demonstrated organizing relationships built on mutual trust and respect, shared responsibility, and dedication to our shared goals.

I ran for leadership last year to make the union a more inclusive and welcoming space that supported and empowered my fellow workers. Once elected, I spent the summer and much of the fall rebuilding the steward’s network by engaging with member leaders and repairing the structures to support their organizing, resulting in a functional network before the end of the fall semester. During this time, I also supported efforts to ensure the democracy and transparency of the bargaining process, including outreach to less involved members. More recently, I collaborated with a steering committee member to support the Housing Fund Working Group, composed of rank and file members, to determine the structure and criteria of the emergency housing fund won during our most recent bargaining campaign.

In addition to larger projects, relationship building is essential to achieving this goal and building collective power. I’ve continued to support my department’s steward, who is currently the only steward supporting all engineering departments. Together, we have hosted events and worked to re-engage engineering more broadly, leading to increased membership density in those departments.

Further, for a space to be welcoming and inclusive, members must first be able to access it. I’ve taken active steps to improve accessibility in the union, such as designating space and ensuring clear paths for members with mobility aids, or ensuring members attending meetings virtually feel included and can equally participate.

To continue moving forward, GEO needs to address its current organizing and working conditions. We cannot continue to harbor a divisive culture where members consider participation in their union as a detriment to their well-being. The best way to combat the growing threats from the federal government and protect graduate students is to foster a strong union where members feel safe and supported. It is our collective power that makes GEO strong, and our collective responsibility

If reelected as membership organizer, I commit to:

• Creating spaces within GEO for members to build community by addressing the longstanding culture of exclusion

• Increasing accessibility by removing barriers to meaningful member participation

• Maintaining the infrastructure and records necessary for union operations

• Cultivating the steward’s network to fulfill its role as an organizing and decision-making body within the union

• Providing resources and training to facilitate member organizing efforts

• Building union presence and increasing membership across engineering

• Strengthen relationships with campus unions to support our queer, trans, and international members while addressing concerns around funding cuts and workplace safety.

Our slate is committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike.

Democracy, Solidarity, and Collective Power!

Shady Lawendy (Membership Organizer)

I’m running for Membership Organizer alongside Isaac Pliskin, Lilian Valencich, Jessica Scott, Ciara Little, Shane Henckel, and Noah Williams—organizers with whom I’ve built strong working relationships through mutual respect, shared responsibility, and follow-through.

I’ve been an active GEO member for the past three years, during which I’ve taken on a range of roles, reflecting my long-standing commitment to building worker power. I began as a steward for the Economics Department, representing my department and supporting other stewards in organizing and grievance efforts. I served on the Joint Council of our Local, helping to pass resolutions such as GEO’s endorsement of and donation to the Amazon unionization drive, and on the Finance Committee, where I played a key role in crafting and passing an organizing-friendly budget in preparation for our recent contract campaign. I also served on the Hiring Committee that brought in our new UAW representative, Danielle Kutner. In moments of crisis and solidarity, I’ve worked to revive and build out structures that sustain member-led organizing—for example, helping re-launch the Palestine Solidarity Caucus in fall 2023 to support ongoing student-led efforts during the escalation of violence in Gaza.

As co-chair of the International Student Caucus in 2023, I worked to ensure international student voices were reflected in our contract campaign—promoting participation in issue surveys, keeping members informed, and contributing to article drafting. As an at-large member of the Bargaining Committee, I advocated for bringing permissive subjects—like housing—to the bargaining table, contributing to our successful effort to win the new housing fund. I also played a key role in ensuring the bargaining process remained democratic, member-led, and transparent, especially during critical moments at the end of the campaign.

If elected Membership Organizer, I commit to:

• Removing barriers for members to participate meaningfully and efficiently in GEO, especially for first-years and new members, without exposing themselves to harmful factionalism

• Revitalizing GEO as a space for cross-departmental solidarity and community-building, including more social and informal spaces

• Uplifting organizers from international students—particularly from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and East Asia—as well as students of color, queer and trans students, students with families, students with disabilities, and those from historically underrepresented departments within GEO

• Strengthening the stewards network to fulfill its core role in organizing and interdepartmental solidarity

• Supporting new and experienced organizers in projects they’re passionate about

• Hosting trainings and political education sessions, grounding members in both theory and practice

• Revitalizing the Organizing Committee and expanding GEO’s ability to respond to higher education’s ongoing crises

• Building deeper cross-union solidarity, especially with other UMass unions

I am part of a slate that believes deeply in GEO’s potential as a radical, fighting union. We are each ready to continue this work—alongside all of you—to build the power we need for the struggles ahead. We are committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character—not through top-down directives, but through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike.

Democracy, Solidarity, and Collective Power!

Terrell James (Membership Organizer)

My name is Terrell James, and I’m excited to run for one of the membership organizers leadership positions. I’m running alongside Char and Aidan (Co-Chairs), Lyndsey (Membership Organizer), Chrissy (Mobilization Coordinator), Nina and Fei (At-Large Steering Committee Officers). I currently serve as one of GEO’s Co-Chairs and have been active in our union since 2021. My experience as both a rank-and-file member and an elected leader has given me a deep understanding of our union’s strengths, as well as the areas where we need to grow. Our organizing platform includes:

• 1) Strengthening our union’s organizing with other unions on campus, such as MSP and PSU

• 2) Re-engaging members to build them as leaders and active participants within our union, such as encouraging departmental organizing drives

• 3) Rebuild our committees and caucuses that are inactive that are meant to address the workplace issues and concerns of marginalized student workers.

• 4) Organize against federal attacks on freedom of speech and funding lines, in addition to the university’s attempts to undercut our bargaining power

With current federal actions and management’s decisions that threaten our job security and livelihood in the country, it is crucial to get organized not just internally, but to also strengthen our coalition with other unions. As co-chair, I’ve helped organize multi-union events, rallies, and Know Your Rights trainings. My focus has been on building our strategic partnerships so that we can use our collective power to address the many collective challenges we currently face.

As a membership organizer, I will help identify, recruit, and develop members within departments and labs to strengthen our internal organizing drives. Our slate is committed to rank-and-file member engagement and participation through developing structure tests and providing folks the resources they need to conduct department meetings and social events. Over the past few years, I have heard concerns from marginalized students about workplace issues in their department and our union’s failure to resolve them. To address these concerns, I am working with members to rebuild the international student caucus with the goal to make it a member driven space that builds out ways to protect the international and immigrant communities on campus from federal actions.

Membership numbers and meeting attendance are low and that tells us something important. We have work to do to build our strength. Our slate will achieve this by organizing department meetings to learn about the challenges that graduate workers are experiencing and supporting them in developing solutions to those problems. We will also talk directly with members to learn what their vision is for our union and to develop them as organizers.

This political moment demands union leadership that not only shows up—but fights back alongside its members. If you want a GEO leadership team that is truly ready to stand against repression, vote for our slate.

Lyndsey Saunders (Membership Organizer)

My name is Lyndsey Saunders and I am asking for your vote to be elected Membership Organizer of our Graduate Employers Union. I am humbled to be running for Membership Organizer alongside my colleagues, Char Nim, Aidan Khelil, Terrell James, Chrissy Claypool, and Nina Fernandes. While our recent wins during our last contract campaign provided more important protections for a majority of graduate workers, we need to continue to build our power to protect each other from federal attacks on freedom of expression on campus, budget cuts that impact funding lines, and contract violations from Principal Investigators. Our organizing platform includes: 1) reinvigorating the rank-and-file, 2) rebuilding the stewards network and 3) providing our union the resources it needs to set us up for success at the table.

Over the last few weeks, graduate students have faced unpredictable changes to our collective working conditions and overall sense of safety. We are advocating for every graduate student. It is crucial that we take steps now to develop networks of support that can extend beyond the bargaining unit. Our colleagues with graduate hourly contracts or master’s degree students who still generate revenue for the university (but aren’t GEO-eligible) are an important demographic that has also been susceptible to university bargaining decisions and funding threats. As Membership Organizer, I will build upon efforts made in our previous bargaining campaign to ensure every graduate student is GEO-eligible and can access the full benefits of union membership.

Further, member experiences vary greatly by race, gender identity, department, citizenship status, access to financial support outside of our contract, sexual orientation, and many more important factors. Approaching the role of membership organizer with these experiences in mind can only make us stronger, especially considering how closely our intersectional experiences as graduate students here are intertwined with the success and day to day operations of GEO as a whole.

I hope to replicate some of the success we have had in Sociology to encourage a stronger community and an activated membership base across our union. We have approached organizing using two equally important tactics. First, we have thrown well-attended socials where members can go to have fun and build community. Second, we have conducted organizing meetings where member issues can be heard and we can brainstorm grassroots solutions. If elected, I will use our union’s resources to provide you and your departments with training on moving your coworkers into action and workshops on how to build relationships with each other.

Something that makes us unique as a membership is the vast amount of intellectual power. From data analysis to music composition, we are a talented and capable membership and there should be room for everyone to contribute what they can in a way that feels rewarding and empowering. I would like the opportunity to help each member in each department find the contribution they are able to make to strengthen our collective organizing power.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to fighting alongside you.

In solidarity, Lyndsey Saunders

Antonis Gounalakis (Mobilization Coordinator)

Hello fellow graduate student-workers,

My name is Antonis Gounalakis, and I am a Ph.D. student in Economics. I currently serve as the Mobilization Coordinator, and I have been involved with GEO since my first year (steward, Steering Committee). As an international student, I am aware of the complexities and difficulties related to immigration status that affect us both as students and as workers, especially under the Trump regime.

In my capacity as the Mobilization Coordinator I have contributed significantly to the increase in our membership ratio since 2022 (more than 8%). I have participated in and led dozens of departmental orientations signing up more new members than in any year since the Supreme Court’s anti-union Janus decision (2018). I have put systems in place to ensure that every membership form is processed correctly and quickly by the University, including more than 100 people from 2020 and 2021 that University had forgotten to process. I was responsible for transitioning all of GEO’s membership data to a new database named “Broadstripes” and creating a much more transparent and efficient information sharing with union leaders and organizers. I have also maintained an updated and accurate list of workers and members in every department, a crucial organizing tool that has enabled the Stewards to reach out and communicate with graduate workers and members.

I believe that leadership must steer the union to align with the needs and wants of its members. Since GEO is a democratically-run, member-driven union, it is crucial to have transparency and accountability in any action (or inaction) that we take. GEO should always aim to increase its member base, while keeping members engaged in every step of the process.

The deportation of international students due to minor infractions or based on social media posts and poltical activism is completely immoral and unconstitutional. The attack on free speech, academic research and funding is unprecedented and the administration’s intention is to simply terrorize us and force us to self censore. We need to organize and come together in order to fight them off successfully. In addition to these threats we are all impacted by the rising cost of living, especially under the current trade war, and the exorbitant rents. At the same time, the University and several of its departments (i.e. Computer Science, Education, Isenberg, Engineering Depts) are enriching themselves by admitting an ever-increasing volume of terminal master students, most of whom are international. They are treated like cash cows and their own departments actively deny them any graduate assistantships on campus in order to protect their tuition revenue.

The fight against fascism, structural inequities and financial precarity can only be successful through solidarity in action by the broadest coalition possible among the graduate student workers. We need to combat every aspect of racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, and discrimination wherever we encounter it. This will allow us to advance our collective interests and will bring us closer to a better and more equitable work, academic and living environment.

Solidarity,

Antonis Gounalakis

Jessica Scott (Mobilization Coordinator)

I’m running for the position of Mobilization Coordinator on a slate with Isaac Pliskin, Lilian Valencich, Shady Lawendy, Ciara Little, Shane Henckel and Noah Williams. We have already begun forging new collaborations between leadership and the rank and file to build up GEOs capacity from within, supporting a diversity of organizing tactics and ideas.

Having been actively involved in GEO for nearly 6 years—as a member, a Steward in the Studio Arts department and the History department—I have consistently brought my diverse work, leadership, and organizing experience to GEO. Drawing from my professional experience outside of higher education, with working class communities that do not conform to the rigid organizing dogmas rampant in academia, I am committed to organizing that builds real relationships as the essential foundation of collective power.

During quarantine, I led a class action grievance against the Studio Arts department for overwork and as a part of the cross-campus Racial Justice Coalition, I worked alongside Wayne Barnaby of UMass4BlackLives to disaggregate the UMass demographic reporting on its data dashboards. As a member of the GEO Organizing Committee in AY 2022-23, I led the development, distribution and analysis of the Issues Survey, results of which provided the foundation of our successful contract campaign, work I continued as an elected bargainer of our recent Bargaining Campaign. As a rank and file organizer, I drove a recall petition and successful censure of the 3 members of the Bargaining Committee who launched a “Vote No” campaign on a contract 90% of members wanted and subsequently ratified. As a current member of the Steering Committee, I promote respectful communication, constructive disagreement, and functional workplace practices between staff by implementing accountability processes and a comprehensive workplace conduct policy.

As your Mobilization Coordinator, I will provide a clear vision for how the union can protect graduate students against growing threats from the federal government and UMass administration, and I will put that vision into action with the following priorities:

● Removing barriers for busy rank and file members to participate in union spaces, including improving hybrid meeting protocols, administrative follow-through and digital practices.

● Increasing efficiency and transparency of union processes, expanding access to union business and documentation starting with a collaborative and functional staff who works with each other and members through respectful, professional conduct.

● Producing on-time union budgets as chair of the finance committee, to convene for the first time since 2023, thereby increasing member control of union funds.

● Demanding the University provide more funds and more experienced immigration lawyers to international students at risk of visa revocation and deportation.

● Insuring the University delivers benefits and compensation to students if visa revocation occurs.

● Fighting for queer and trans rights on campus, and increasing workplace accessibility and safety for all.
● Fighting funding cuts and continuing to address the housing crisis affecting all students.

Our slate is committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike.

Democracy, Solidarity and Collective Power!

Chrissy Claypool (Mobilization Coordinator)

Fellow members,

Greetings, my name is Chrissy, I am a PhD candidate in Organismic & Evolutionary Biology (OEB). I am running for Mobilization Coordinator to strengthen leadership, rebuild trust, and foster community in our union. As Mobilization Coordinator, I will help the union run efficiently and effectively. I have extensive experience in our union as a Steward for OEB and as a Bargaining Research & Proposal Coordinator. As a committed member of the bargaining team, I empowered countless members to advance our contract campaign and saw the entire process through to the end, winning material changes for members such as the elimination of the graduate service fee.

This past year saw a departure from so many norms that we should expect from our leadership, but I have many ideas on how to improve our union:

BUDGET: We have not seen a budget in years. These are your dues dollars – you deserve to know where they are going. To restore transparency around GEO finances, I will convene the Finance Committee, send updates, and present an operating budget for members to review because allocation of our union’s finances should be determined democratically.

INVOLVEMENT: Our union is people-powered, so we will re-invest dues back into members by addressing issues such as food insecurity. To boost attendance at meetings and events, we will provide members with earlier notice and real meals. I also want to create new digital spaces for members and re-form the rank&file caucus to foster member dialog.

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE: Our membership rates have declined markedly under the previous leadership due in part to a failure to conduct effective orientations at the beginning of the year. My plan is to prioritize orientation preparations this summer to be more effective and informative for incoming graduate workers. Because even existing members struggle to stay involved, I will launch an ‘Orientations Redux’ for returning graduate workers who don’t remember their orientation, never had a reason to get involved, took a break and want to get involved again, or simply want a refresher.

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS: Member involvement is vital, yet many members, myself included, are confused by and frustrated with the procedures at general membership meetings. Major reform for membership meetings will improve clarity around the process and ensure that all members are heard and understand what is happening and what exactly is being taken to a vote. It is my priority to make these spaces more inclusive and less hierarchical so they are facilitated in a way that is more collaborative, democratic, and conducive to the union-wide discussions indicative of a grassroots organization.

I am pleased to be part of the CARES slate alongside Char, Terrell, Lyndsey, Nina, Fei, and Aidan – fine people with a proven steadfast dedication to our union, and strong candidates whom I support. I will strive for a functional, cohesive team regardless of who members ultimately put into each position. We are one union, we are all on the same side.

In solidarity,

Chrissy

Noah Williams (Steering Committee)

My name is Noah Williams and I am a 1st year PhD student in Plant Biology. I am running to support member engagement and organizing. I have served on our housing committee, and participated as a rank-and-file member in UAW actions for the UMGWA-UAW (alphabet soup). Our internal outreach and conduct does not meet the difficulty of our times and the extent of our needs. I like to eat, I like to sleep in a warm and stable environment. These things are unevenly distributed within our bargaining unit and what we have is precarious. To keep what we have and fight for better,

I will do my best to ensure

1. Our paperwork is in good order and made accessible to membership

2. Members are regularly and well informed through all possible channels

3. Organizing efforts within the bargaining unit are supported to the greatest extent possible

S#@t is F#@@#d and members need to be engaged, informed and prepared so we can have our needs met and dignity preserved.

Shane Henckel (Steering Committee)

My name is Shane Henckel and I’m running for the GEO Steering Committee for 2025-26 with the slate that includes Isaac Pliskin and Lilian Valencich (Co-Chairs), Ciara Little and Shady Lawendy (Membership Organizers), Jessica Scott (Mobilization Coordinator), and Noah Williams (Steering).

I’m a PhD candidate in the Philosophy Department who has been a committed GEO member for five years. I served as steward for my department in 2021-22 and as the Grievance Coordinator in 2022-23 and 23-24. I’ve been an active participant in the Organizing Committee, Abolition Committee, and most recently Grievance Committee, and I’ve been involved in two rounds of collective bargaining between GEO and UMass, including helping write contract language.

During my two years as Grievance Coordinator, I investigated contract violations and other workplace issues (such as harassment, discrimination, and overwork), and my primary role was to directly support grad workers in navigating the grievance procedure and other relevant policies and resources. I helped dozens of members to win remedies such as overwork compensation, workplace and academic accommodations, and reassignments to remove them from hostile or unsafe work environments. Additionally, I focused on member education, including designing and facilitating “know your rights” and organizing trainings, and worked closely with other organizers (including some of my fellow slate members) to build GEO’s capacity.

My track record shows the high values I place on solidarity and accessibility. Our slate affirms the increasing importance of these values in light of impending external threats to our members, especially international students, and the climate of fear this creates. Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that many members have experienced GEO spaces as intimidating and exclusionary. Labor organizers throughout history have understood that our empowerment as a union, as a community, and as individuals depends on standing together as workers to protect one another from harm, even when we disagree on particular tactics or goals. As elected leaders, our slate is committed to building collective power by developing a strong member-led network of organizers and a strong community founded on mutual support and trust.

As a Steering Committee At-Large Member, I hope to continue using my experience to represent and support my fellow grad workers.

Our slate is committed to preserving and expanding our union’s radical character through grassroots organizing that develops the consciousness of rank-and-file members and elected leaders alike. Democracy, Solidarity, and Collective Power!

Fei Han (Steering Committee)

My Name is Fei Han and I’m a second year PhD student in the department of sociology. I’m proud to be running for At-Large Steering Committee member alongside Char Nim and Aidan Khelil (Co-Chair), Lyndsey Saunders and Terrell James (Membership Organizer), Chrissy Claypool (Mobilization Coordinator), and Nina Fernandes (At-Large Steering).

I joined UMass and GEO in the middle of the 2023-2024 contract campaign, where I saw the power we had as a united union, and the potential within our numbers. I’ve been a proud rank-and-file member and organizer ever since, where I would phonebank and conduct walkthroughs as part of the Contract Action Team to grow our organizing network across various departments.

While GEO had made strides during our last contract campaign, we have also seen infighting that has fractured our power. We deserve better as graduate workers and we need to move past factionalist tendencies. With cuts on federal funding and risk placed on international students, we are in ever urgent need of our union to support us. Yet we are the ones who empower the union. By identifying enthusiastic members to work together, my vision for GEO is for it to be, sooner rather than later, a strong and cohesive union that has the ability to fully protect its members as workers, domestic and even more so international. As a member of the steering committee, I will make it a personal mission to make sure that we put in our utmost effort in every grievance, every action, and every opportunity to mobilize our members to bolster the strength of our union. Having oversight as a member of the steering committee, I will not tolerate inaction and idleness from staff, and see to it that they deliver whatever membership demands. Leadership should and need to be held accountable to the roles they were elected to do.

My other plan is to make our union more accessible. As an international student, I understand first-hand the barriers to getting involved in GEO. Union jargon, technical and legal, as well as acronyms freely thrown around disoriented me when I first joined GEO. I believe that our union has failed to conduct outreach in the proper language and context to a great number of international workers, who are either not members or unengaged. The International Student Caucus is an important space for mobilizing international workers and I intend to bridge that gap by holding relevant information workshops, creating easy-to-understand introductory pamphlets, and providing general support to international students. Since last semester, I have been involved in efforts to revitalize that space, and we have had successes in making the caucus a place where students can support each other, receive valuable information, and be introduced to our union.

In these challenging times, we must, all the more so, be a strong and cohesive union that is prepared to fight whatever comes its way, not as atomized individuals, but as a powerful collective.

Nina Fernandes (Steering Committee)

I’m Nina Fernandes, a PhD candidate and department steward in Epidemiology and a proud rank-and-file member of GEO. I want to serve as a member of GEO’s steering committee for 2025-6. I am honored to share my candidate slate with Char Nim and Aidan Khelil (co-chairs), Chrissy Claypool (mobilization coordinator), Lyndsey Saunders and Terrell James (membership organizers), Fei Han (steering committee), and Sofia Cardenas-Cantu (local president). My organizing credentials include founding the STEM Caucus, hosting the Stand Up For Science rally and National Public Health Day of Action with the Public Health Activism and Leadership Stewards, and collaborating on this year’s Housing and Childcare Stroller rallies with GEO and our campus unions.

As a member of the steering committee, I will collaborate with my slate and all GEO members to build and exercise our collective power to protect ourselves and our communities from the current U.S. administration. My first priority is the safety and material security of our members, starting with protecting our jobs. Only 12% of UMass’s operating budget comes from federal grants, but as we saw during the COVID-19 response, the university tends to cry austerity while seizing any opportunity to pad its bottom line. Furthermore, our membership is already experiencing political violence and repression, particularly international students, students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and disabled and/or neurodivergent students. GEO must wield our collective power in service of our membership- anything less is a dereliction of duty.

The necessary precondition for exerting our power is creating a democratic, member-led structure for information sharing and decision making. That’s why we will ensure that we have a schedule of monthly GMMs set at the beginning of the year, consistent and clear communication, a functioning website, and community-building events that members actually want to attend. I will use GEO resources to help members get what we need to survive- food, housing, transportation, childcare, and an empowered union.

GEO must enforce our contract to prevent exploitation and abuse. This means proactively looking for and quickly handling cuts in contract hours and overwork spurred by funding cuts, connecting international students with legal and physical protections, and fighting for freedom of speech on our campus. If elected to steering, I will expand my work as a department steward and member of the grievance committee by organizing grad hourly contract workers in misclassified positions and preparing group grievances to enforce ADA compliance across campus.

GEO cannot continue its myopic focus on short-term interests of current dues-paying members. Attitudes toward labor unions in the U.S. are shifting as our population’s class consciousness expands. With strategic and principled organizing, GEO can seize this opportunity and make incredible gains. We must build stronger relationships with other campus unions and community organizations in order to collaborate effectively. Perhaps most importantly, GEO must heal our culture of infighting and petty squabbles so that we can pursue our shared vision.