Hi fellow workers,

Hope you all are having a fantastic start to the week! Read onto the newsletter for important information regarding our first general membership meeting, our next bargaining session, asks from various committees, and more!

IMPORTANT: FIRST GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MOVED TO ZOOM

Our first general membership meeting will be on Zoom due to inclement weather. The Zoom link is linked here. Please join us to discuss important union business including bargaining updates, stewards’ retreat reportbacks, and more.

If you have any items you would like to add to the agenda, please submit them to this Google Form. We will stop collecting responses today by 2pm.

NEXT GEO BARGAINING SESSION, SAVE THE DATE 2/16 10am-12pm Location TBA

Our next bargaining session will be on February 16th from 10am to 12pm. We are still figuring out the location so please stay tuned to hear where it will be! High attendance is crucial to show the administrators our collective strength and commitment to living wages and better protections!

GET INVOLVED: DISABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY CAUCUS BUILDING AUDITS

Members in the disability and accessibility caucus are currently auditing buildings to identify accessibility concerns and would like for more members to get involved! This is a low-stakes way to get involved in the union and they would appreciate any assistance. There will be a template sheet that can be followed so people can know what to look for.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to shane!

PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAUCUS TEACH-IN

Are you a STEM worker in a lab that receives funding from the Department of Defense and/or private defense-related corporations? The Palestine Solidarity Caucus wants to hear from you! We are researching the relationships UMass has with war-profiteers, and how to protect the positions of student workers in the event of divestment from those funding sources. Contact geo.palestine.solidarity, and join the teach-in TONIGHT at 8pm with other STEM workers across the U.S. in similar positions.

Registration here

REMINDER: PRO BARGAINING SESSION: 2/13, 9am in CAMPUS CENTER 804

PRO, the union representing postdoctoral students at UMass Amherst, will have their next bargaining session on February 13th at 9am in Campus Center 804. Members of PRO have asked for GEO members to come to their sessions in solidarity with their bargaining demands.

PRO has consistently shown up for GEO and we should continue to show up for them as union siblings!

GET INVOLVED: OUR ACTIVE CAUCUSES & COMMITTEES

ABOLITION COMMITTEE

The Abolition Committee stands in solidarity with calls for abolition from the UMass Amherst undergraduate student body, Western Mass, community organizations, and students and workers at colleges and universities across the higher education landscape. Abolition is a multi-faceted political endeavor rooted in Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty, and there are many precedents for labor union coalition with abolitionist movements, including our local UAW 2322. As members of a union with a long history of activism and organizing, the Abolition Committee will offer leadership in this work, beginning with an educational campaign about abolition intended for membership.

For more information, contact Shane Henckel (shane)

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Organizing committee meets every Monday from 4-5:30pm in Campus Center 915 and over Zoom. Want to get more involved? Follow us on slack to get the link or email geo

BARGAINING COMMITTEE

The Bargaining Committee has been meeting on Mondays from 1:30-3:30 at Campus Center 917 (with a new meeting time to be announced for the upcoming semester!). Meetings are open to all members as we discuss proposals and action items regarding the bargaining process. Please make sure to come in order to participate in bargaining and provide your inputs. bargaining

CONTRACT ACTION TEAM

The Contract Action Team (otherwise known as CAT😼) are a team of organizers who go to various buildings and departments on campus to build up relationships, spread awareness about our bargaining progress, and mobilize our coworkers to take action with us for the contract we deserve!

Becoming a CAT member is a low-stakes effort to get involved in the union! If you can dedicate 1-2 hours per week to talking with graduate student workers about GEO, contact Anna at abonomo OR come to CAT meetings (time TBD)

DISABILITY CAUCUS

The Disability & Accessibility Caucus is a space for disabled graduate students and their allies within GEO. We gather to provide community and advocate for ourselves and others with any kind of disability (mental, physical, short-term, chronic, etc). Our volunteer work focuses on drafting better protections in our contract and supporting accessibility efforts around the campus. We meet semi-regularly over zoom; for more information, join our Slack Channel #disability_accommodations or contact shane

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CAUCUS

The international student caucus is a space for international students within GEO. Whether you are familiar with the concept of labor organizing and unions or not, you are welcome; we believe that our union is not a space for those already “in the know,” but for all our members. The caucus has a simple structure, mainly two co-chairs which are elected on an annual basis; all other roles are on a volunteer basis. In the past, we organized events where international graduate students shared food, experiences, and frustrations about life and work. We regularly invite folks from GEO’s leadership for meetings focused on issues specific to international workers (Visa, labor laws, health benefits) and make sure we have members who can raise these issues in official settings (for example, bargaining meetings).

Contact the international student caucus at alanacaucus557!

PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAUCUS

The Palestine Solidarity Caucus provides a space for sustainable discussion, education, and collective action regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. The caucus recognizes the relationship between organized labor and international humanitarian causes, including the occupation of Palestine. We seek to reaffirm GEO’s 2003 resolution for divestment from the Israeli occupation and 2016 endorsement of BDS. More widely, we call on the University of Massachusetts, UAW International, and UAW Local 2322 to divest from the Israeli occupation, call on the government to end military aid to Israel, and to donate to Palestinian relief efforts. We provide spaces for political education and healthy conversations as we work toward liberation and peace.

For more information, contact geo.palestine.solidarity!

PEOPLE OF COLOR (POC) CAUCUS

The People of Color Caucus in GEO functions as a space for workers of color. Our aim is to address concerns of racism in the workplace and we remain steadfast in our commitment to abolish the imperialist, neo-colonial state.

If you have any further inquiries, please contact sbano

GEO WRITTEN TESTIMONIALS

If you’re uncomfortable sitting behind a camera and recording a video testimonial for why you joined GEO, no worries! We have an alternative option for folks who want to participate.

In the provided google form, please fill in whichever question you want to answer about why YOU joined the union and the various ways you have been involved. We’d love to hear from you so please share your thoughts!

You can sign up here.