Fellow workers,
We’re sending a follow-up email regarding the implementation of the recent GEO contract wins! As many of you know the contract was ratified unanimously by the GEO membership and is now in full effect. We’ve met with the UMass administration and have a few updates regarding the implementation timeline. Keep in mind, we don’t have all the answers yet (the university is still ironing out some things) but we have shared what we know below. If you have clarifying questions feel free to reach out and we will work to get you answers. As always we thank you for your passion and willingness to work collectively; without active GEO members, none of the union benefits that make graduate school viable for most of us would be secure.
Graduate Service Fee Waivers: 50% of the Graduate Service Fee should now be waived for all GEO-Protected workers. Check your SPIRE to make sure the reduction is reflected for you! We’ve included a few potential situations you might find yourself in below but are waiting for the University to respond to clarifying questions we asked. We should have further information by this Friday.
Given the timing of the contract changes, GEO-protected workers will not be subject to a late fee or registration hold for the Fall 2022 semester. The due date for the Fall 2022 bill has been extended to December 10, 2022. You will continue to receive monthly billing statements, but holds and late fees will not apply until after December 10th.
GEO-protected workers who are enrolled in University courses and charged a Service Fee are entitled to receive a 50% credit toward that fee beginning with the Fall 2022 semester.
Credits will appear on your account listed as ‘Service Fee Credit’.
Any student who has paid their bill in full will receive a refund. Students enrolled in Excess Express will receive this refund no later than October 20th. All students are encouraged to enroll in Excess Express to receive this refund. We are currently waiting to hear from the university about how refunds will work for those who do not enroll in Excess Express.
For any student who has an outstanding balance for Fall 2022, the service fee credit that is applied will reduce the balance owed.
For any student that has enrolled in payroll deduction, the service fee credit will be refunded to you, and your payroll deduction amount will remain the same. We are currently waiting to hear from the university on when this refund will occur. We believe they will process it at the end of the semester, but we are pushing for a more timely refund.
Wage Increases: All GEO-protected workers should receive a 7.69% raise regardless of if they’re making the GEO minimum rate or a higher union wage. This raise will be retroactive (going back to) to the start of the Fall contract period (9/4/22). These wage increases should go into effect on the 11/11 paycheck. So, you should see a higher pay rate starting on the 11/11 check and going forward. This paycheck will also have the one-time lump sum payment outlined below if you are eligible for it.
One-time Lump Sum Payment
Graduate student employees with an active appointment as of September
4, 2022 shall receive a one-time lump sum payment as follows:
Appointment Hour Range Lump Sum Amount
0-9 $175
10-14 $250
15-19 $425
20+ $500
If a graduate student employee has more than one appointment they will be paid the lump sum
amount corresponding to the combined appointment range. Graduate student employees shall
receive only one lump sum payment in accordance with the above distribution (up to $500).
Further, the “retropay” payments should be seen on the 11/28 paycheck. These are the various payments that correlate, imperfectly, to back pay. We have included the full eligibility language in an attached document to save space on this email. We will be happy to help you calculate what you may be eligible for. With that being said, we anticipate quite a few emails so we thank you for your patience ahead of time. We have asked the university for a comprehensive list of GEO-protected workers and what payments they are expected to receive so we can ensure none of you are being short-changed, but we are unsure if we will receive it. So, make sure you check your pay stubs!
Prestigious Graduate Fellows (Previously “Non-working Fellows”): A major win of this last contract campaign is the inclusion of most workers on fellowship in the bargaining unit. Previously, if you took an external fellowship you’d lose most of the GEO benefits. This is a precedent-setting union victory; virtually no other graduate union in the country has achieved this! But as a result of breaking new ground, we can’t give a clear and decisive timeline for the logistics. We anticipate it will be long. We are currently working with the University to get as much information as possible and will share it as we get it. If you, or anyone you know, is on a fellowship or similar award, make sure they’re in touch with GEO so no one falls through the cracks. We will have more information soon!
Childcare: GEO won an extra $100,000 per year towards childcare reimbursements for graduate workers. This brings the total fund earmarked for childcare to $215,000 per year and this will go a long way to helping those of you who apply for the benefit. We believe Fall applications for reimbursements will take into account the increase but are still working through logistics with the Health and Welfare Trust Fund.
Those are most of the major implementation updates we have at the moment. We will be meeting with the University again this Friday and hope to have more information coming out of that discussion! If you have questions send them our way and we’ll work through them as we can. Soon we will begin the bargaining process again and anticipate an assertive contract campaign to secure stronger wages and benefits. We’re all better off when we work and contribute collectively; it’s the reason our union is still strong more than 30 years after it was formed. If you’re not a GEO member, or have been on the fence, there has never been a better time to join us and get involved. We would be very happy to chat with you about why your membership matters and how it will help us continue to build towards a more equitable graduate experience. No one is going to do it for us; we have to do it for ourselves and each other.
solidarity always,
GEO leadership
