GEO IS RALLYING FOR A FAIR CONTRACT!

Where: Outside Whitmore Administration Building

When: Wednesday, April 27 at 11 a.m.

Why: To deliver our demands directly to the Chancellor

Who: YOU!

Fellow workers,

We have reached a critical juncture in negotiations for our next contract. We’ve presented a wealth of evidence to the administration’s bargaining team about what graduate students need and want to afford living in the Pioneer Valley. GEO members have shared heartbreaking testimonies about living paycheck-to-paycheck, choosing between rent and groceries, and going into crushing debt to be able to barely make ends meet. In response, the administration continues to tell us the same thing: no. They can’t get rid of mandatory fees, they can’t increase our stipends, they can’t increase contributions to the Health and Welfare Trust for childcare. They’re not authorized to do any of this.

This is unacceptable. GEO members are hungry, we’re angry, and we need solutions—yesterday. If the university’s bargaining team isn’t authorized to make any movement at the table, we’ll take our demands directly to the people who make decisions in Whitmore. Join us next week for FEES, FELLOWS, FUNDS: RALLY FOR A FAIR CONTRACT. If we want a fair contract that addresses our major concerns—an end to mandatory fees, cost-of-living wage increases, and more funding for childcare subsidies, to name just a few—we’ll need all graduate student employees and campus allies to turn up and make some noise. UMass needs to know: we won’t pipe down till we get a fair contract.

See the top of this email (with attached flier) for more information. Mark your calendars now, and spread this far and wide on social media.

We’re looking for speakers who are interested in sharing their stories about living in the Pioneer Valley at this event. If you’d like to say a few words at this rally—or if you have any questions at all—please email bargaining.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

In solidarity,

GEO leadership