Dear Members,
Today’s Membership Meeting needs registration to give you the Zoom link. Please register here and we hope to see you at 4pm.
The Emergency Technology Assistance Fund is accepting applications from March 24, 2021 to April 15, 2021. GEO members can apply here – YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO APPLY AFTER THAT DATE.
In response to several questions you sent in about the Tech Fund, here are some FAQs, please go through them, hope they help.
Jyoti and Dora, Co-Chairs
- I filled out the GEO survey about the Tech and Childcare Fund, is that all I have to do? No! You HAVE TO fill out the actual UMass form to get your reimbursement. It is here: The Emergency Technology Assistance Fund is accepting applications from March 24, 2021 to April 15, 2021. GEO members can apply here.
- I am a Non-Working Fellow/on an external fellowship/teaching at a different institution can I apply? Sorry, you are NOT eligible because UMass Management deos not consider you an employee (therefore you are not "part of the union"), even though you do the same work as RAs/TAs/TOs. We need to win this fight and get UMass to give you the same benefits. However we strongly encourage you to apply. If you do, we will have clear data showing how you are impacted and need financial support, which we can get you once you are recognized as part of the GEO bargaining unit.
- I don’t have any employment right now, can I apply? If you HAD a GEO-eligible job in Fall 2020 OR you have one now, you are eligible. You should apply. If you have/had neither, but you have been a GEO employee in the past, you are not eligible right now but to be honest it might be worth applying just in case.
- How much will I get reimbursed? Since the Fund is limited to $30,000, how much you will end up getting reimbursed really depends on how many people apply and for how much each. Note that the maximum any one person can get from the fund is $500 – even if you have spent more than that. Our preliminary survey got 70 responses of expenses ranging from $50 to the full $500.
- Can I get reimbursed for furniture? We have responded to a few people to say that unfortunately Management did not agree to reimburse furniture, the reason being that ergonomic desk/chair is already covered by the Wellness Reimbursement from the Health and Welfare Trust – however as many of you have noted, that amount (up to $190) is not enough to reimbursement wellness AND tech needs. We encourage you to help in successor bargaining efforts by submitting your receipts ANYWAY with notes on expenses, because we will use these demonstrated needs to argue for these kinds of things to be part of our REGULAR employment package.
- What about wifi expenses and other random things not listed in here? Same as above, you won’t get it this time but PLEASE APPLY so we have data!
- I did not need anything to transition to online, should I BUY something NOW so I can get money from this fund? This one you will have to decide for yourself based on the above information and with the understanding that you may not get back all of your spent money.
- Oh crap I don’t have receipts, what do I do?! Just write down believable details of your expenses and say why you don’t have a receipt (even if it is "I lost the receipt"). This applies to both tech expenses AND childcare.
- I don’t have receipts for childcare (and/or it was informal, not licensed). APPLY ANYWAY! Friends and Family Network (FFN) is now included in the regular Health and Welfare Trust childcare-reimbursement categories. DO NOT HESITATE JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE A RECEIPT! Contact leslie with questions.
