Hello,
My name is Joseph Strom and I am a member of USAS Local 15, also known as the Student and Worker Advocacy Network (SWAN), at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For the last year, graduate employees with the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) have been bargaining with the UIC administration for a fair contract. At every turn the administration has made the process of negotiating for fair wages, decent healthcare, and transparent hiring, amid other important issues, immensely difficult; they have been uncooperative, unfair, and ultimately unjust.
On Tuesday, March 19th, graduate employees decided enough was enough. They started an indefinite strike until the administration decides to make real and meaningful concessions in the bargaining process.
Chicago has a strong history in the labor movement and numerous local unions including the UIC United Faculty, the Chicago Teachers Union, and the SEIU Local 73 have shown their support in statements, financial help, picketing, or otherwise. As undergraduates, we also stand in solidarity with the GEO and demand the UIC administration give fair wages and benefits in a fair contract to graduate employees.
This fight has just begun and we are glad to be on the front lines but there are ways that you, too, can show your solidarity:
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- Donate to the strike fund so the GEO can keep going as long as necessary: https://www.gofundme.com/uic-geo-local6297-strike-fund
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- Email UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis at chancellor@uic.edu and express your support for the GEO while demanding they get a fair contract now.
- If you are in the Chicagoland area, definitely feel free to join the picket lines in solidarity!
Their fight is our fight and we are ready to show our support. Please consider helping out as well.
In solidarity,
Joseph Strom
University of Illinois at Chicago
USAS Local 15