Dear GEO members, 

Your union (the Graduate Employee Organization or GEO) is holding elections to fill one half-time (0.5 FTE) assistantship position on the Organizing Committee. Self-nominations can be submitted starting Monday, March 2, to geo@umb.edu. 

The GEO Organizing Committee comprises 8 UMass Boston graduate assistants working collaboratively to advocate for graduate employee rights and enrichment opportunities at UMass Boston. Some of the projects on which the Organizing Committee is currently working include:

• Engaging with graduate employees and community members of UMass Boston to organize collective action and increase membership engagement
• Administering Scholarly Support Funds (SSF) for students seeking funding to present at or attend conferences, and the Emergency Support Fund (ESF) for emergency situations
• Mediating member grievances 
• Attending and helping organize coalition efforts within the community
• Developing communications content for the website, social media, and e-newsletters
• Preparing to negotiate the next contract (2027-2030) with UMB’s administration to address labor concerns affecting graduate employees. 
   

Spring 2026 Election Process
I. Nominations: The nomination period starts on Monday, March 2
Your nomination should include: 

• Your completed nomination form (attached here),
• Evidence that you are an active dues-paying member (your most recent paystub, accessed through HR Direct) or a signed dues authorization form (attached here),
• Complete all sections of the nomination form. We strongly recommend including the headshot photograph you will use for campaigning and the official GEO nominee package – a PDF document we prepare and distribute with our membership. 
• Nominations must be emailed to geo@umb.edu on or before the end of the day Friday, March 6, 11:59 p.m. EST

II. Campaigning: The campaigning period starts on Tuesday, March 10, and lasts until voting closes on Friday, March 20, 11:59 p.m. EST. During this time, nominees are expected to do in-person and online outreach among other graduate students and share their campaigning platforms. 

To campaign, nominees should talk to graduate classmates/friends about:

• the importance of being active in your graduate student union,
• what your target topics of action while in the committee would be -if elected,
• and why they should vote for you to be part of the GEO Organizing Committee.
• use social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, X, Instagram, and email to spread the word!
• join our All Members Meeting on March 11 at either 12:30 p.m. (in-person) or 7:30 p.m. (ZOOM) to talk to attendees. 

We will announce all nominees (name, picture, bio, program, and platform) via email, our website, and on our social media platforms. However, the GEO Organizing Committee cannot campaign for or endorse any candidates, nor grant any advantage to one candidate.

III. Voting: Voting will be open for two days from Thursday, March 19, at 8:00 a.m, to Friday, March 20, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Votes will be collected using online ballots distributed to our members early on the first voting day (Thursday, March 19). One GEO committee member will be online at geo@umb.edu in case of any technical difficulties.

In the event that the number of eligible candidates does not exceed 1, such a candidate will be deemed elected by acclamation, and no election will be held. Please note that only dues-paying GEO members are eligible to vote in this election. Non dues-paying members can still sign up on March 19 and 20 and vote in this election. Results will be released to nominees by email that weekend, and to all members on Monday, March 23 (via email and our social media platforms).  

See more information on election nominations and registration to vote, here. 

For general inquiries, you can reach us at geo@umb.edu.

In Solidarity,
The GEO Organizing Committee

REMINDER: SELF-NOMINATE FOR GEO ELECTIONS

Want to get involved in the union – and get paid for it? Self-nominate for one of the FOUR open organizing committee spots that we have this semester! Each spot is a 0.5 FTE position, and can be stacked on top of a 1.0 FTE appointment – even if you’re an international student! Any and all dues paying members of the union can self-nominate to run.

Your nomination should include: 

• Your completed nomination form (attached here),
• Evidence that you are an active dues-paying member (your most recent paystub, accessed through HR Direct) or a Dues Authorization Form (attached here; or filling out the online version of the dues form),
• Complete all sections of the nomination form. Westrongly recommend including a headshot photograph for the official GEO nominee PDF. 
• Nominations must be emailed to geo@umb.edu on or before Tuesday, September 23rd  (by 11:59 p.m. EST).

Check here for more information on elections.

We are running elections this semester! Starting Monday, February 3, you can nominate yourself for the open organizing committee GEO position. This is a 0.5 FTE appointment that can complement your 0.50, 0.75, or 1.00 current assistantship(s)! You can run for our organizing committee as long as you are a dues-paying graduate worker – a GEO member. Please visit our website for more information on elections.

Dear GEO members. Welcome to the Spring 2025 semester! Applications for the Scholarly Support Fund (SSF) will open on Monday, February 10, at 8 am EST. If you attended a conference during the Winter, or plan to attend one in the Spring (1/6-5/26), or if you incurred scholarly expenses in the last four months (on or after October 1, 2024), it’s time to prepare to apply for SSF funding. Remember, SSF is a first-come-first-serve grant, so you will want to be ready. Also, you can apply for non-conference-related expenses. Please read the SSF guidelines carefully before applying!

We are running elections this semester! Starting on Tuesday, September 17, you can nominate yourself for the open organizing committee GEO position. This is a 0.5 FTE appointment that can complement your 0.50, 0.75, or 1.00 current assistantship(s)! You can run for our organizing committee as long as you are a dues-paying graduate worker – a GEO member. If you want to nominate yourself, and you are not sure if you are an active-dues-paying member, please fill out the dues membership form. Nominations must be emailed to geo@umb.edu on or before the end of the day Tuesday, October 24. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Dear GEO Members! Applications for the Scholarly Support Fund (SSF) will open on Monday, September 9, at 8 am EST. If you attended a conference during the Summer, plan to attend one in the Fall, or if you incurred scholarly expenses in the last four months (on or after May 1, 2024), it’s time to prepare to apply for SSF funding. Remember, SSF is a first-come-first-serve grant, so you will want to be ready. Also, you can apply for non-conference-related expenses. Please read the SSF guidelines carefully before applying!

Voting will open to all members on Tuesday, March 5, and will remain open until the end of the day on Wednesday, March 6 (11:59 p.m. EST).

​​Only dues-paying members will be able to vote. If you are not a dues-paying member but want to become one and vote in this election, please fill out the following dues authorization form (here) by Wednesday, March 6 at 8 pm EST at the latest. 

We will hold two “meet your nominee” all-member meetings on Wednesday, February 28. The in-person meeting will happen at 1 p.m. EST (ISC 2nd Fl, Room 2003), and we will serve pizza! The virtual meeting will happen the same day at 7 p.m. EST; we’ll send out a Zoom link the day-of.

Who’s running? Meet your Spring 2024 Election nominees (click here).

For more information on Elections, visit our Elections SPR24 Guidelines (click here).

We are running elections to fill one assistantship position (0.5 FTE) on the GEO Organizing Committee! Starting Monday, February 12, you can nominate yourself for the open organizing committee GEO position. This is a 0.5 FTE appointment that can complement your 0.50, 0.75, or 1.00 current assistantship(s). You can run for our organizing committee as long as you are a dues-paying graduate worker – a GEO member. 

If you want to nominate yourself, and you are not sure if you are an active-dues-paying member, please fill out the dues membership form and send it to geo@umb.edu on or before Wednesday, February 21 (11:59 p.m.) EST. You will find more details about the Spring 2024 elections here.

Greetings, GEO Members! Applications for the Scholarly Support Fund (SSF) will open on Tuesday, January 30, at 8 am EST. If you attended a conference during the Winter break or plan to attend one in the Spring, you can start preparing to apply for funding. Remember, SSF is a first-come-first-serve grant, so you will want to be ready. Also, you can apply for non-conference-related expenses. Please read the SSF guidelines carefully before applying!

The GEO stands in solidarity with the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG-AFTRA), who represent film and television writers and actors and who have been on strike for the last several months. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are fighting to protect their members from pay cuts and worsening workplace conditions brought about by changes in technology, such as the rise of streaming platforms and AI. As profits for television and movie studios continue to rise, writers and actors are still fighting for a living wage. 

While we as grad students mostly have very different jobs than Hollywood writers and actors, we empathize with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in their struggle for pay increases that keep pace with inflation. We share their uncertainty in facing the impacts of new technologies on our working conditions. We, like the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, are all too familiar with suggestions that we should be content with a mediocre contract because we should be grateful to have a job in such a competitive field at all. 

We wish the WGA and SAG-AFTRA success in their negotiations. If you’d like to financially support workers affected by the strike, you can donate to the Entertainment Community Fund here.