[Peace] GEO to strike Monday

[Ricky Baldwin]

According to the GEO Facebook page, no agreement was reached last night and the strike committee voted early this morning to walk out over tuition waivers.

Tuition waivers are, of course, important because if a graduate employee has to pay tuition in order to work at UIUC, it effectively wipes out the miserly pay that most of them receive.  The UI had been offering to pay grad employees IN-KIND (meal tickets, housing) instead of money.

The same University that wasted millions on the research park, millions on the "Global Campus" boondoggle, heaps of cash on sky-boxes and bonuses for disgraced administrators (and a nice, fat paycheck after resignation) -- and a  million bucks on scholarships and specially created jobs for well-connected children and on attorneys' fees during the investigation alone -- says they can't afford to keep its obligations to the LOWEST PAID workers at the UI, who teach almost a fourth of its classes?

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.

The UI also waited until the contract expired to start bargaining.  So this crisis is of their making (in case we hadn't noticed that there's profound mismanagement at the UI).

Picket lines begin at 8am Monday morning around Quad buildings.  GEO will have strike captains there in charge.  Soldarity armbands are available for workers who have no-strike clauses in their contracts.  "GEO Solidarity" buttons are also available.  

Community support is very important to sending a strong message to this land-grant institution that we expect some responsibility for our public trust, to achieving justice, and to making this strike the shortest, most successful action it can be.

See you there!

In Solidarity,
Ricky



"Speak your mind even if your voice shakes." - Maggie Kuhn


      
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