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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Labor |
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GEO's First Contract with UIUC Overwhelmingly Approved by Membership |
Current rating: 0 |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
02 Aug 2004
Modified: 10:28:48 PM |
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Voting 98% in favor, GEO member's have given a solid and enthusiastic endorsement to their recently negotiated first contract with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
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Voting 98% in favor, GEO member's have given a solid and enthusiastic endorsement to their recently negotiated first contract with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While the vote was held during the summer, when many graduate employees are out of town, more than 50% of the GEO membership was able to vote despite the University's pressure to rapidly ratify the recently negotiated contract that directly covers some 2,500 graduate employees in the bargaining unit. It's economic benefits also apply to thousands of other working graduate students who have yet to be recognized as part of the bargaining unit by the University.
Voting was conducted by ballot box, mail, and via the internet. The secret ballots were counted by an inter-faith group of local ministers. The results were announced at 8pm at the GEO's offices in the University YMCA at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL.
Bryan Nicholson, the GEO's spokesperson, acknowledged the historic nature of the vote as a culmination of more than 10 years of organizing by thousands of graduate employees via "hundreds" of work actions, rallies, and pickets, as well as one sit-in. The contract provides for a 3% raise in each of its three years, a major cut in fees, and a strong grievance procedure that puts the GEO on an equal footing with other, traditionally-recognized unions at the University.
With the ratification by the GEO, the only remaining hurdle for the contract to go into effect is its approval by the UI Board of Trustees. This is considered a pro-forma event, since there is little doubt that the University's negotiating team was given direction by the BoT in coming to terms with the Union.
The GEO will continue to aggresively organize, signing up new members from among the hundreds of incoming graduate employees in this year's new class of graduate students, as well as bringing on board fencesitters who have put off joining the GEO because they thought a contract would never come to pass. Based on the positive response of graduate employees in the short time since the signing of the contract, it is expected that the union's membership will grow quickly in the next few months. Since the contract provides for "fair share" it is in the best interest of every graduate employee, who will be paying dues in any case, to join the union and make their voices heard by joining with those of the many others who make up the Graduate Employees' Organization, IFT/AFTLocal 6300. |
See also:
http://www.shout.net/~geo/
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