Fellow Workers,
We hope you are all well as we move further into the semester. GEO has been busy. Last week we held our Monthly General Membership Meeting, a stewards’ training session, and our organizing committee meeting so we can continue to build collective power across our university and workplaces. But in addition to union business, we met at Groff Park for a pumpkin carving social that brought members and their families together for some Halloween cheer. If you have any suggestions for social events you would like to see, or want to help plan in the coming months, please reach out to us at geo. This week and the following have more events planned that you surely will not want to miss, so as always please mark your calendars!
✏️ 📓 An online forum discussing the future of debt-free higher education, called “Imagining a Better Future for Higher Education Part II” will take place this Thursday, October 20th from 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Pre-registration for the Zoom session is required here.
✊ The GEO Abolition Committee will also hold its weekly meeting this Thursday from 4:00-5:30 PM over Zoom. Please consider attending and joining the committee’s slack channel #abolition_committe.
🧑💻 Friday, October 21st, from 3-4 PM we will continue our stewards’ training with a brief follow up over Zoom. Pre-registration required.
👩🏫 On Monday, October 24th, at 5PM, PHENOM, the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and GEO invite you to join them for the Education Justice Remote Rally—A Debt Free Future over Zoom. Guest speakers will share their experiences of navigating the perils of student loan debt in higher education and how a future free of debt will transform the lives of millions of students across the country.
🗳 Right after, we will host a Virtual Candidate Forum from 6-8 PM (10/24) for candidates running for UAW Region 9A director. Candidates will answer any questions we present to them about their vision for the future of the UAW at both the regional and national level, as well as how they plan to use the position to do so. Questions for the forum may be submitted here and will be accepted until this Wednesday evening, October 19th. Again, this is a space to speak directly with UAW leaders and to continue to build democratic unionism from the bottom up.
✊ Finally, on Thursday October 27th, from 5:00-6:30 PM, there will be a rally in Northampton to protest the violence against women in Iran. The organizers are searching for members from the UMass community to speak at the event. Please feel free to reach out to organizingsolidarity or contact GEO at geo if interested. Also, please share and promote widely!
❤️ For all of the latest updates and news, please consider joining the GEO Members’ Slack Channel. See you around!
