Officially our last Collective Bargaining Agreement with the University ended this summer, which means we are still living in the old world. Going has been slow as COVID and the change of University leadership has caused delays to bargaining. As significant uncertainty exists around the budget and longer-term implications of the pandemic; we are currently looking at options around a one year extension to buy everyone some time. This delay in bargaining is an approach other unions on campus are using as well.
For us in GEO, we are unwilling to let the university buy time for free! We are demanding immediate relief from extra costs associated with COVID and Health Care. We will keep you updated as negotiations progress. But our guiding principles are still the same, we need fair wages and a safe working environment for graduate student employees at UMass!
Scholarly Support Fund
Because we are still working on a new contract with the university, SSF is still up in the air; as things stand currently no travel or reimbursement for travel is allowed by UMass. Unfortunately SSF remains in a tentative grey area as we negotiate with the University.
Graduate Employee Organization 