[Peace] GEO Wins Strike After Two Days of Picketing

[E. Wayne Johnson]

Brian,

You are correct on that.

I was in no way prepared for the depth of the culture of corruption, 
chicanery, collusion, and sheltered incompetency
that I encountered at the University of Illinois.  Mind you I was 
returning to Illinois from south China.

I am not quite sure if anyone can restore the University to its former 
glory.  Or to a new one.

Easter knows what is right.  That makes him different from some of his 
totally clueless predecessors.

Anyone could fix the problems if there could be six weeks of continuous 
public executions.  Indeed there
has been somewhat of a prelude to that.  Let's see if the bloody purges 
will go far enough to really make a difference.

Wayne

On 11/18/2009 10:29 AM, Brian Dolinar wrote:
> You are remarkably naive. BD

On 11/18/2009 10:23 AM, E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
> I know Bob Easter personally and have worked with him on projects off 
> and on over a period of 33 years.
> It was Bob Easter who wrote to me in China and suggested I should come 
> back to Illinois and take up a job at the University here.
> I should never forgive him for that :-) :-P but he was well meaning 
> toward me and my family and toward the University in that suggestion.
>
> A deeper examination of the situation and the character of Dr. Easter 
> would be useful to the graduate students.
>
> Easter is not a person without compassion for the needs of the poor 
> and the needs of graduate students.  It wasnt all that long ago (a 
> mere 33 years) that Bob was a graduate student himself.   I think that 
> he really can relate to the needs of the graduate student body.  He 
> grew up on a farm in extremely rural Texas and knows something of 
> poverty and discomfort.
>
> In the position that he is in, he will no doubt be subject to a lot of 
> flak from all sides.  I dont think that it is quite fair to Bob Easter 
> that the graduate students say that "Provost Easter makes us sick!"  
> There are a lot of real scumbags in the university at all levels.  No 
> one is going to be able to purge all of the scum from the 
> administration, and certainly no one can do it quickly.  Easter has 
> only been in this new post for a few weeks.  It's not fair to blame 
> the pre-existing problems on him.
>
> Indeed, I would really guess that Bob Easter is quite sympathetic to 
> the plight of the graduate student, and could be a valuable ally for 
> the students, if they could manage to see him that way.
>
>
>
> On 11/18/2009 8:49 AM, Brian Dolinar wrote:
>> This story at ucimc.org <http://ucimc.org>
>>
>> GEO Wins Strike After Two Days of Picketing
>>
>> After two days of picketing in stormy weather, the Graduate Employees 
>> Organization (GEO) emerged victorious. The GEO called a strike on 
>> Monday, November 16, after contract negotiations broke down over the 
>> issue of tuition waivers for out-of-state graduate students. Their 
>> strike is an example of how sheer people power can push back against 
>> the growing corporatization of public education.
>>
>>
>> In recent years, the University of Illinois has been racked with 
>> several scandals, most notably the “clout-gate” scandal in which 
>> well-connected students gained admission while more qualified 
>> students were turned away. As a result, the president, chancellor, 
>> and almost all of the Boart of Trustees were forced to step down. The 
>> so-called “global campus” was shut down, but only after incurring 
>> millions of dollars in debt. A proposed Academy of Capitalism and 
>> Limited Government Fund was opposed by faculty for its lack of 
>> oversight. A decade after it was founded, the research park on south 
>> campus has become home to multinational corporations like Caterpillar 
>> and the stealth military contractor SAIC with little benefit to the 
>> university.
>>
>> After a vote by GEO members, 92% of them authorized a strike. The 
>> organization provides one quarter of the instruction on campus. On 
>> the first day, approximately 1,000 members joined picket lines and 
>> hundreds of classes were cancelled.
>>
>> University flak-catchers responded in the press by claiming that most 
>> classes were still held and the strike had not disrupted campus 
>> activities. Interim Chancellor and Provost Robert Easter said in a 
>> mass email sent out that he wanted to be “as clear as possible” that 
>> graduate students “will not have their tuition waivers reduced.”
>>
>> On the second day, despite the driving rain, picketing continued at 
>> buildings surrounding the quad. Those on the picket line outside 
>> Gregory Hall chanted, “Reading, writing, arithmetic! Provost Easter 
>> makes us sick!”
>>
>>
>> In an interview on the quad, GEO communications officer Peter 
>> Campbell stated, “The bargaining team would be happy if the 
>> administration would say the same thing in the bargaining room that 
>> they are saying in the press.”
>>
>> In a bargaining session that took place on Tuesday, the GEO 
>> bargaining team produced a document citing the language from Easter’s 
>> own mass email that tuition waivers would not be reduced. The 
>> administration’s representatives deliberated for one hour and came 
>> out agreeing to protect tuition waivers for all graduate students, 
>> whether in or out of state.
>>
>> The GEO held a general membership meeting that night where 450 
>> members agreed to accept the agreement and suspend the strike.
>>
>>
>> BD
>> -- 
>> Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
>> 303 W. Locust St.
>> Urbana, IL 61801
>> briandolinar at gmail.com <mailto:briandolinar at gmail.com>
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