Fellow workers,
A few important updates for your Wednesday evening—with more to come soon about bargaining and our organizing efforts!
BARGAINING COMMITTEE ELECTION
Just a reminder that GEO will be having a special membership meeting next Tuesday, July 26, from 5-6pm in order to elect someone to fill the vacancy on our Bargaining Committee! The meeting will take place over Zoom; you can register for it here. The nominees for the vacant position are:
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Marwa Amer
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Pia Furkan
At the meeting, the candidates will read brief statements about their vision for the committee and for GEO bargaining. Then we will conduct the vote in the meeting itself. So if you want to participate in our union’s democracy, register for the meeting today! Please note that only members in good standing may attend the meeting and cast a vote. If you’re not a member yet for whatever reason, fill out our digital membership form and become one today!
TRADER JOE’S UNITED SOLIDARITY RALLY THIS SATURDAY!
Workers at the Trader Joe’s in Hadley are holding a rally on Saturday to celebrate their upcoming union election—the first vote to unionize at a Trader Joe’s store in the country! Let’s show up for our fellow workers and show our solidarity. Join us at 1pm on the green in front of Trader Joe’s, 375 Russell St., Hadley, MA. See attached flier for more information, and be sure to share widely to every and any person who wants to support the right of all workers to join unions and bargain collectively.
PIZZA SURPLUS IN THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
Join graduate workers in the Physics Department on Thursday, July 21 @ 4:30 p.m. in LGRT 1033 to combat the urgent problem of a massive surplus of pizza! Grab a slice and learn what’s been going on in GEO—and how (and why) getting involved is so important! This event is meant to be a space for new GEO members and grad workers who haven’t been as involved in the union yet where they can ask questions and voice concerns; so be sure to pass this along to anyone who’s been curious about GEO in the past but maybe hasn’t felt empowered to jump in! For more information, contact Dyson Kennedy at dkennedy.
UAW CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The UAW Constitutional Convention will take place next week from July 25-28 in Detroit, MI. The convention happens every 4 years, but this year is a particularly special one: delegates from all over the country will come together to figure out how to revise the UAW constitution in order to reflect the results of last fall’s referendum, in which members voted resoundingly in favor of direct elections for international and regional leadership (as opposed to the older delegate system). As the largest shop in UAW Local 2322, GEO is empowered to elect its own delegates internally to send to the convention and represent GEO’s interests alongside (and in connection with) the interests of 2322’s other shops. Local 2322 is sending a solid batch of resolutions to the convention, including one that calls on the UAW International to prioritize organizing electric vehicle manufacturers; one that calls on the UAW leadership to pressure Joe Biden to cancel student debt; and one that reaffirms the commitment (formalized in the UAW Constitution) to combating harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The Local also voted unanimously to send a resolution to the convention that was generated out of conversations among international students and member-leaders in GEO. If passed, this resolution would require the UAW International to pay to translate contracts into any language upon the request of a member. This would be an enormous victory for our members whose first language is not English, not to mention thousands and thousands of workers elsewhere who are also a part of the UAW. The text of this resolution is attached to this email for your reference, along with the other resolutions we sent to the convention. If you have any questions or want to learn more about the process for writing, debating, and voting on resolutions for the constitutional convention, write to geo or reach out to someone from GEO leadership. And stay tuned for a report back from GEO’s delegates about this exciting and pivotal event for our union!
solidarity always,
GEO Leadership
